He also says, twice repeated, makes two separate quotations out of successive sentences of Isaiah 8.17-18 (the first quotation is similar to 2 Sam 22.3 and Isa 12.2). The writer does this because he is making two distinct points. First, the words I will put my trust in God (the I is emphasized) show that Jesus, like his brothers, depends on his Father. The keyword of the second quotation is children. There is no distinction in meaning between sons in verse 10 and children here. Neither daughters nor adults are excluded; what matters is the relationship of dependence.

I will put my trust in God may be expressed merely as “I will trust God.” But this type of confidence in God is often expressed idiomatically; for example, “I will lean my weight upon God” or “I will put myself in the hands of God.”

A literal translation of the children that God has given me may be understood incorrectly as a reference to Jesus’ children in a physical sense. It may therefore be better to translate the second part of verse 13 as “Here I am with the people whom God has given to me” or “… whom God has caused to belong to me.” On the other hand, it may be useful to retain the figure of speech in the children, but to indicate that this is a simile; for example, “Here I am with the people that God has given to me; these are like children.” In this way one may anticipate the further extension of this figure of speech as it occurs in verse 14.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .