3:2a

He was faithful to the One who appointed Him: This clause indicates that Jesus was faithful to God. God is the one who appointed Jesus to be the high priest for God’s people.

In some languages it may be helpful to begin a new sentence in 3:2a. It may also be helpful to refer explicitly to God as the one who appointed Jesus. For example:

He was faithful to God, who chose him to do this work (Good News Translation)
-or-
Jesus is faithful to God, who appointed him. (God’s Word)
-or-
He was trustworthy to obey God, as he did what God appointed/chose him to do

was faithful: The word faithful means “reliable, trustworthy.” Here it indicates that Jesus was worthy to be trusted. God could depend on him to do what is right and good. Some other ways to translate it in this context are:

did what ⌊God⌋ trusted him to do
-or-
was trustworthy/dependable

It was also used about Jesus in 2:17.

to the One who appointed Him: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as appointed is the common verb that is sometimes translated as “do” or “make.” Here it indicates that God gave Jesus the role of apostle and high priest. Use an appropriate verb in your language to refer to appointing someone to be a priest.

3:2b

In this part of the verse, the author quoted Numbers 12:7, where God said that he spoke to other prophets in dreams or visions. Then he said, “But this is not true of my servant Moses who is faithful in all my house.”

just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house: Here the author compared Jesus to Moses. Jesus was faithful to God, just as Moses was faithful. The phrase faithful in all God’s house indicates that Jesus and Moses were both faithful as they led all God’s people. You should translate the word faithful as you did in 3:2a.

Some other ways to translate the clause are:

just as Moses was faithful in serving all of God’s people (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
in the same way that Moses was faithful when he served/worked in God’s house
-or-
he was faithful doing the work that God ordered him to do, like Moses long ago was faithful doing his work taking care of the people of God

Moses was: Moses is mentioned here for the first time in Hebrews. The Revised Standard Version adds the word “also” to refer back to Jesus, who was mentioned in 3:1b. Moses and Jesus were both faithful.

The Jews respected Moses as their great leader and the one who gave them God’s Law. If you use footnotes, you may want to include a footnote about Moses. An example of a possible footnote is:

Moses was a great leader in the Old Testament. He led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, and guided them to the land that God had prepared for them. Throughout the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, he is the chief leader of Israel.

was faithful: See the note on 3:2a.

in all God’s house: There is a textual issue here concerning the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as all :

(1) Some Greek manuscripts have a word that means “whole.” For example:

with God’s entire house (New Living Translation (2004))

(2) Other Greek manuscripts do not have the word “whole.” For example:

in God’s house (Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). In 3:5 the author includes the word “all” when he refers to the Greek text of Numbers 12:7. However, there is good support for both options in manuscripts, English versions and commentaries. You may choose to follow either text and include a footnote to give the other possibility. For example, the New Revised Standard Version has this footnote:

Other ancient authorities lack all

Other ways to translate all here are:

all God’s people
-or-
God’s entire house (New Living Translation (2004))

God’s house: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as house occurs six times between 3:2 and 3:6. It has two different meanings in these verses:

(a) household/family

(b) dwelling (building where one or more people live).

In some contexts the author has used the word in a way that can imply both of these meanings. In many languages there is no word that can have both of these meanings. If that is true in your language, you will need to translate the most likely meaning in each context.

In this context the word house refers to the people of Israel. Some ways to translate the phrase in this context are:

God’s people (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
God’s family (New Century Version)

General Comment on 3:2a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of 3:2a and 3:2b. For example:

2b Moses served God faithfully among all God’s people. In the same way, 2a Jesus worked faithfully for God who had appointed him.

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