Chapter 1

In old days, God spoke to our fathers in many ways and by many means,1 through the prophets; now at last

in these times he has spoken to us with a Son to speak for him; a Son, whom he has appointed to inherit all things, just as it was through him that he created this world of time;

a Son, who is the radiance of his Father’s splendour, and the full expression of his being;2 all creation depends, for its support, on his enabling word. Now, making atonement for our sins, he has taken his place on high, at the right hand of God’s majesty,

superior to the angels in that measure in which the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Did God ever say to one of the angels, Thou art my Son, I have begotten thee this day? And again, He shall find in me a Father, and I in him a Son?

Why, when the time comes for bringing his first-born into the world anew, then, he says, Let all the angels of God worship before him.

What does he say of the angels? He will have his angels be like the winds, the servants that wait on him like a flame of fire.

And what of the Son? Thy throne, O God, stands firm for ever and ever; the sceptre of thy kingship is a rod that rules true.

Thou hast been a friend to right, an enemy to wrong; and God, thy own God, has given thee an unction to bring thee pride, as none else of thy fellows.

And elsewhere: Lord, thou hast laid the foundations of the earth at its beginning, and the heavens are the work of thy hands.

They will perish, but thou wilt remain; they will all be like a cloak that grows threadbare,

and thou wilt lay them aside, like a garment, and exchange them for new; but thou art he who never changes, thy years will not come to an end.

Did he ever say to one of the angels, Sit on my right hand, while I make thy enemies a footstool under thy feet?

What are they, all of them, but spirits apt for service, whom he sends out when the destined heirs of eternal salvation have need of them?