Hebrews 1:6

Hebrews 1:6. And in accordance with this relation, whenever (to quote another passage, ‘again') He bringeth or leadeth (literally ‘shall have led') in the first-begotten i nto the world, he saith, ‘ Let all the angels of God worship him.' Here are several difficulties. The quotation from Psalms 97:7 is not exact, as most of the quotations in this Epistle are. In Deuteronomy 32:43 the very words are found in the Septuagint; but there are no words corresponding to them in the Hebrew text. The Psalm belongs to the Messianic Psalms, and the exact words of Deuteronomy describe the welcome given to the Messianic King. Two passages are here blended in one. Some translate ‘bringeth or leadeth again,' and refer the words to our Lord's second coming alone. But ‘bringeth in' is hardly appropriate to the second coming; and the use of an expression that describes an indefinite future is justified by the fact that it is a quotation of what was spoken long ago, from which time the futurity begins. It is therefore better to regard the language as fulfilled whenever Christ is introduced into the world of men. Then at His birth, His resurrection, His kingdom is He the object of angelic worship.

The angels. The Hebrew of Psalms 97:7 is, ‘all ye mighty or divine ones,' a word applied to God, and applicable to magistrates, and to all who had a divine message and spoke in God's name (John 10:34). Comp. ‘The divine in man,' ‘The divine disciples sat.' Divine though they be, the Son is exalted above them all in His nature, and in the reverence paid Him. (See on Hebrews 2:6.)