2:17a

For this reason: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For this reason introduces a conclusion from 2:16. This conclusion is also a summary and conclusion of 2:10–16. Some other ways to introduce this conclusion are:

That is why
-or-
Therefore (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
As a result

Introduce it in a natural way in your language.

He had to be made like His brothers: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as had to means “to be obligated” to do something. The clause means that Jesus was obligated to become human like other humans so that he would be a good high priest for them.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

it was necessary for him to be made…like his brothers and sisters (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
he needed to become a man/human so that he could be the same as his siblings
-or-
The reason it was necessary for Him to become a human was so that He might become like us(incl.) His siblings.

be made like His brothers in every way: The phrase be made like His brothers in every way has a special meaning in this context. It indicates that in every way Jesus became a real human being, just as his brothers and sisters were human beings. However, the phrase in every way does not imply that Jesus was sinful like other human beings.

Some other ways to translate be made like His brothers in every way are:

become completely human like his people
-or-
to become a real human being like his fellow human beings
-or-
to become just like any human being

His brothers: The phrase His brothers refers back to 2:11. There the author indicated that people whom Jesus sanctifies become his brothers and sisters. The author also implied that these brothers and sisters are the descendants of Abraham that he mentioned in 2:16. In many languages it is good to translate the phrase His brothers in the same way as you did in 2:11.

In some languages it may be necessary to add a phrase to indicate that brothers is used in a spiritual instead of a physical sense here, as it was in 2:11. For example:

⌊ us whom he calls⌋his own siblings

If you include a pronoun like “us,” it should refer to both the author and the people who heard his message.

2:17b

Here in 2:17b the author first used the term “high priest” to refer to Jesus. In Hebrews the author compared the work of a Jewish high priest in the Old Testament to what Jesus did for people. Jewish high priests represented the people and offered sacrifices to God on their behalf. Jesus also represented his people to God, and he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice so that God would forgive the people’s sins.

so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God: This clause tells the purpose for which Jesus became completely human (2:17a). He became human in order to be a good high priest for human beings. The words merciful and faithful both describe the phrase high priest. They do not indicate that Jesus was not merciful or faithful before he became human.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

so that he would be a high priest who treats people with compassion. He would also be faithful toward God and toward people as he does the work of the high priest.
-or-
Because he did that, when he does the work of the high priest, he sympathizes with the people. Both God and people can trust him.

a merciful…high priest: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as merciful means “sympathetic, compassionate.” It refers to a person who is concerned about the needs of other people and sympathizes with them. The phrase a merciful…high priest implies that as a human high priest, Jesus knows the temptations of human beings, and he has compassion for them.

See the examples in the preceding note for translation advice.

faithful high priest in service to God: The word faithful means “worthy of trust, dependable.” It refers to someone who is worthy to be believed and trusted. The phrase in service to God indicates here that Jesus was faithful to both God and people as he served God as high priest. Both God and human beings could trust him.

Some other ways to translate the phrase faithful high priest in service to God are:

a high priest who is…trustworthy as he represents us to God
-or-
to serve God as our high priest in a faithful way

high priest: The high priest was the leader of all the priests of the people of Israel. All the priests offered sacrifices on behalf of the people, but the high priest offered certain special sacrifices that no other priest could offer. Once a year, he offered the special sacrifice that atoned for the people’s sins. In a special way, he represented them to God.

Some ways to translate high priest are:

the chief/leader of all the priests
-or-
the main/principal priest
-or-
the highest/leading priest

The author described the work of Jesus as a high priest in more detail from 4:14 onwards. Translate the term high priest in the same way here and in the Gospels. For more information, see priest in Key Biblical Terms.

in service to God: There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in service to God :

(1) It means “toward God.” In this context it refers to service to God or to relationship with him. For example:

in his service to God (Good News Translation)

(2) It means “about God.” It refers to things concerning God or about God. For example:

things relating to God (NET Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), as most English versions and many commentators do. In this context in service to God refers to what the high priest did as he served God on behalf of the people. It refers especially to the sacrifice he made so that God would forgive the people’s sins (2:17c).

Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

to represent us to God
-or-
working the work that God gave him
-or-
as he served God

Be sure to connect this phrase to 2:17c in a natural way in your language.

2:17c

in order to make atonement for the sins of the people: This clause tells the purpose for Jesus being a merciful and faithful high priest. As a high priest like that, Jesus was able to make atonement for the people’s sins. He did this by offering himself to be killed as a sacrifice to God. Jesus himself took the punishment that people deserve for their sins so that God would forgive them. Then they themselves would not have to be killed.

Some other ways to translate this purpose are:

in order to offer sacrifice so that the people’s sins would be forgiven
-or-
so he would undergo the punishment of our sins so that it would thus be possible for our sins to be forgiven
-or-
Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. (New Living Translation (2004))

make atonement: The phrase make atonement is one word in Greek. It refers to the way that people can obtain forgiveness from God for their sins. In the Bible the word implies that people have sinned against God. God is just, and he must punish people for sin. Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice to be punished instead of other people so that God could forgive them.

In many cultures people make sacrifices for other reasons that do not fit the meaning of the Greek word. It is often necessary to use a descriptive phrase to translate it. See the translation examples in the preceding note. Since the Greek word is a key biblical term, it is especially important to check the meaning of your translation of it with other speakers of your language.

Other forms of this Greek word occur in 1 John 2:2 and 4:10. For more information, see reconcile, sense B, in Key Biblical Terms.

the sins of the people: The phrase the sins of the people refers to the sins which the people have committed. Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

the sins that the people have done
-or-
the offenses that the people committed ⌊against God⌋

sins: The word sins was used in 1:3d. You may translate it in the same way here. For more information, see the note on 1:3d.

the people: In the original context of the OT the word people refers to the same people as “the descendants of Abraham” in 2:16 and “his brothers” in 2:17a. Refer to them here in a natural way in your language.

© 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

2:16

For: The conjunction For indicates that 2:16 is an explanation for 2:14–15. The word For introduces the reason why Jesus became a human being, rather than an angel. He became human because human beings are the ones whom he came to earth to help. He did not come to earth to help angels. Use a natural way in your language to indicate that 2:16 is the explanation for the statement in 2:14–15.

surely: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as surely only occurs here in the NT. It introduces a fact that is obviously true. Some other ways to translate it here are:

clearly/certainly
-or-
We…know that (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Of course

it is not the angels He helps, but the descendants of Abraham: In Greek this clause first tells what Jesus did not do, and then it tells what he did do. In some languages it may be more natural to change this order. For example:

Jesus helps Abraham’s descendants rather than helping angels. (God’s Word)

Here the author compared angels and humans (the descendants of Abraham). Since Jesus became human, the author also implied a contrast between the angels and Jesus. That contrast is the theme of this division (1:5–2:18).

The author wanted to show that it was people whom Jesus came to earth to help. It was not angels whom he came to earth to help. He became a human being and shared human sorrows, sufferings, and joys. Then he died for humans so that he would be part of the same family with those who follow him. He did not do those things for angels.

Some other ways to translate this contrast are:

So Jesus helps Abraham’s descendants rather than helping angels. (God’s Word)
-or-
Clearly it is not the angels’ nature/life that he shares but rather he shares the nature/life of human beings, the descendants of Abraham.

Translate the contrast in a natural way in your language.

the angels: The word angels was also used in 1:4. Translate it in the same way as you did there.

He helps: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the phrase He helps literally means “to take hold of.” In this context it means “to be concerned about, to help.” Jesus came to earth to help human beings (the “descendants of Abraham”). Many English versions translate the word as “help” in this verse, as in the Berean Standard Bible. Another way to translate the meaning is:

his concern is not for angels, but he is concerned for Abraham’s descendants (NET Bible)

the descendants of Abraham: The phrase the descendants of Abraham has both a literal and figurative meaning here. Literally, it refers to the Jews, the people of Israel. Abraham was their ancestor. However, in this verse the phrase also expresses two figurative meanings:

(a) It refers generally to human beings in contrast to the angels.

(b) It refers especially to people who have faith in God, as Abraham did.

In some languages it is necessary to indicate in some way that the phrase has a figurative meaning. For example:

us people who are counted/considered as Abraham’s descendants
-or-
the people who follow the faith of Abraham

The author of Hebrews and also the people who heard his message were among the descendants of Abraham. In some languages, you may need to make this explicit. For example:

descendants of ⌊our (incl.) ancestor⌋ Abraham
-or-

⌊ us who are⌋Abraham’s ⌊spiritual⌋ descendants

General Comment on 2:16

In Greek this verse first tells what Jesus did not do, and then what he did do. In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of these statements. For example:

We all know that Jesus came to help the descendants of Abraham, not to help the angels. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
It is clear/obvious that Jesus helps Abraham’s descendants rather than helping angels.

© 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

2:15

and free those who…were held in slavery by their fear of death: This clause tells the second purpose that Jesus had in becoming a human being (2:14b) and dying (2:14c). Jesus became human and died in order to set people free from the fear of death.

The verb free and the phrase held in slavery by are metaphors. The author used them to compare what Jesus did to the way someone rescues people from slavery. People were living like slaves because they were always afraid to die. After Jesus died for them (and came alive again), the people became free from fearing death. They did not have to be afraid to die anymore.

Some ways to translate this meaning are:

• Keep the metaphors. For example:

Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. (New Living Translation (2004))

• Use a simile and make the comparison more explicit. For example:

and free those who were like slaves all their lives because of their fear of death (New Century Version)
-or-
to release/help those who were living like slaves because they were afraid to die

• Use a different figure of speech that has the same meaning in your language. For example:

he helped those who were afraid to die and took away their fear. For as long as they lived, they were gripped/held tightly by their fear of dying.

• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:

But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying (Contemporary English Version)

Translate the figure of speech in a natural way in your language.

those who: The phrase those who is a general way to refer to everyone who feared death, that is, to human beings in general. In some languages it may be more natural to use a different way to refer to them. For example:

all of us who… (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
everyone who
-or-
we…our

who all their lives: The phrase who all their lives refers to the time that the people were alive on earth. Some other ways to translate it are:

who live each day (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
beginning from the time of their birth
-or-
since our becoming people here in this world

Refer to the people’s lifetimes in a natural way in your language.

all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death: Notice that the phrase by their fear of death is the cause or reason for the fact that all their lives people were held in slavery. In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of these phrases so that the reason comes before the result. For example:

all their lives they were afraid to die and/so they lived like slaves

General Comment on 2:14–15

In Greek 2:14–15 is one long sentence. In many languages it is more natural to translate it with two or three sentences. For example:

So because ⌊God’s⌋ children have human bodies, he also received a human body like they had. ⌊He did this⌋ so that when he died, he would make powerless the one who controls death, that is, the devil. Then he would release those people who were like slaves as long as they lived, because they were afraid to die.

© 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Paragraph 2:14–18

The final paragraph of chapter 2 explains in more detail why God’s Son had to become a human being like us. He came to defeat the devil, and stop people from being afraid to die. He also became human so that he could become the high priest for his people. In these ways, he is greater than the angels, because none of them was able to become human, defeat the devil, and free his people from fearing death.

The author briefly introduces the topic of Jesus as our high priest, which he will discuss more fully in 4:14–5:10 and 7:1–8:1.

2:14–15

In Greek, 2:14–15 is one long sentence. In many languages it is more natural to break it into two or three sentences. For examples of how this can be translated as three sentences, see the General Comment on 2:14–15 at the end of 2:15.

2:14a

Now since: This verse begins with the two Greek conjunctions that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now since The word translated as Now is usually translated as “therefore” and introduces the connection between this paragraph and the OT quotations in 2:12–13. The word since indicates the connection between 2:14a and 2:14b. It is important to consider each of these connections and how to translate them in a natural way in your language.

Some other ways to translate the connections are:

So then, because the children…
-or-
The children have flesh and blood, so/therefore

Some versions leave the connection with the previous paragraph implicit and translate only the connection between the clauses (2:14a and 2:14b). For example:

Since all of these sons and daughters…

the children have flesh and blood: The clause the children have flesh and blood means that God’s children are human beings. The phrase flesh and blood refers to being human, and it implies the weakness of human beings. Some ways to translate this clause are:

those children being referred to are people/humans
-or-
these children are people with physical bodies (New Century Version)
-or-
the children of God that it is talking about here are people who have bodies that die

the children: The phrase the children repeats the phrase from the quotation in 2:13b. It refers to the children of God, whom Jesus said were his “brothers and sisters” in 2:12a. Indicate clearly that the author referred back to the same children that he mentioned in 2:13b. Some ways to do this in English are:

these children (New Century Version)
-or-
God’s children (New Living Translation (2004))

Refer back to them in a natural way in your language.

flesh and blood: The Greek phrase flesh and blood is literally “blood and flesh.” It is an idiom that usually refers to human bodies. It indicates that the children of God he referred to here are human beings. Use the natural way in your language to refer to humans.

2:14b

He too shared in their humanity: The clause He too shared in their humanity means that Jesus also had “flesh and blood.” It indicates that he became a human being and had a human body like the children of God whom he was leading to salvation.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

he also became a human being, (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. (Good News Translation)
-or-
Jesus took on flesh and blood to be like them. (God’s Word)

their humanity: The phrase their humanity refers back to “flesh and blood” in 2:14a. Refer back to it in a natural way in your language.

2:14c–d

so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil: This clause tells the purpose for which Christ became a human being (2:14a–b). He came to destroy the devil’s power. The clause indicates that when Christ died, he defeated the devil and took away the devil’s power of death.

In some languages it may be more natural to make 2:14c–d a separate sentence. For example:

⌊ He/Jesus did this⌋so that by dying himself, he might destroy the devil who has power over death.

He might destroy: In this context the verb destroy means “to make powerless.” The phrase He might destroy indicates that Jesus’ purpose in dying was to take away the devil’s power. The context indicates that by dying Jesus was successful in destroying the devil’s power. The word might does not imply any doubt about that.

Some ways to translate He might destroy are:

in order that he would spoil the power of
-or-
to completely take away the power of
-or-
he would totally defeat

him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil: Scholars have different views about what the power of death refers to here:

(1) It indicates that the devil has power to tempt people to sin, which causes spiritual death (separation from God). For example:

who works to cause ⌊spiritual⌋ death

(2) It indicates that the devil brought sin and death into the world. For example:

Satan, who is the origin of death

(3) It refers to the power that the devil has to cause people’s physical death. For example:

the devil, who causes people to die

English versions are ambiguous. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) or (2). These interpretations fit the context of Hebrews and are supported by various Bible scholars. Interpretation (3) is not recommended, because the Scriptures indicate that God is the one who has power to decide when a person will die.

Some ways to translate interpretation (1) or (2) are:

his control over people, that being what leads them to death which is unending punishment
-or-
the devil’s power that causes people to die ⌊eternally⌋

the devil: The phrase the devil refers to the chief of all evil spirits. His name is Satan. In Hebrew this name means “enemy.” He is the enemy of God and God’s people. The terms the devil and “Satan” refer to the same spiritual enemy. In some languages, you may want to use one term for both terms in your translation.

Here are some ways to translate the devil :

• Use a local name or idiom that refers to the chief of all demons.

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

the leader of the evil spirits
-or-
the spirit enemy of God

• Transliterate the name “Satan.” If this word is not already known in your area, you may also want to add a descriptive phrase. For example:

Satan, the ruler of demons

If you transliterate “Satan” or borrow a word from another language, be sure that it communicates the biblical meaning to people in your culture. It is important to check this in each biblical context.

Try to use a term that is acceptable to churches in the area. It is suggested that you also add a footnote or glossary entry that further explains who the devil is. For example:

The devil is the leader of all the evil spirits or demons. Once he was an angel in heaven, but he rebelled against God. God expelled him from heaven, and now he tempts people on earth. Other names for him in the Bible are “Beelzebul,” “Satan,” “the Evil One,” “the Enemy,” and “the Tempter.”

If you have translated the Gospels, you may use the same term as you used there. For more information, see Satan, “other expressions” in Key Biblical Terms.

© 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.