And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith: And let all the angels of God adore him.

“This is the way, dear friends, in which we found our salvation, Jesus Christ, the high priest of our offerings, the protector and helper of our weakness. Through him we fix our gaze on the heights of heaven. In him we see mirrored God's pure and transcendent face. Through him the eyes of our hearts have been opened. Through him our foolish and darkened understanding springs up to the light. Through him the Master has willed that we should taste immortal knowledge. For, since "he reflects the glory of God," "he is as much superior to the angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs." For thus it is written: "He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire." But of his Son this is what the Master said: "You are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession." And again he says to him, "Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool." Who are meant by "enemies"? Those who are wicked and resist his will.”

“Our Lord Jesus Christ calls His coming in the flesh an exodus [or going out]: as when He saith, "The sower went out to sow." And again, "I went out from the Father, and am come." And in many places one may see this. But Paul calls it an [eisodus or] coming in, saying, "And when again He bringeth in the First-Begotten into the world," meaning by this Bringing in, His taking on Him flesh. Now why has he so used the expression? The things signified [thereby] are manifest, and in what respect it is [thus] said. For Christ indeed calls it a Going out, justly; for we were out from God. For as in royal palaces, prisoners and those who have offended the king, stand without, and he who desires to reconcile them, does not bring them in, but himself going out discourses with them, until having made them meet for the king's presence, he may bring them in, so also Christ hath done. Having gone out to us, that is, having taken flesh, and having discoursed to us of the King's matters, so He brought us in, having purged the sins, and made reconciliation. Therefore he calls it a Going out. But Paul names it a Coming in, from the metaphor of those who come to an inheritance and receive any portion or possession. For the saying, "and when again He bringeth in the First-Begotten into the world," means this, "when he putteth the world into His hand." For when He was made known, then also He obtained possession of the whole thereof, He saith not these things concerning God The Word, but concerning that which is according to the flesh. For if according to John, "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him": how is He "brought in," otherwise than in the flesh? "And," saith he, "Let all the angels of God worship Him." Whereas he is about to say something great and lofty, he prepares it beforehand, and makes it acceptable, in that he represents the Father as "bringing in" the Son. He had said above, that "He spake to us not by prophets but by His Son"; that the Son is superior to angels; yea and he establishes this from the name [Son]. And here, in what follows, from another fact also. What then may this be? From worship. And he shows how much greater He is, as much as a Master is than a slave; just as any one introducing another into a house straightway commands those having the care thereof to do him reverence; [so] saying in regard to the Flesh, "And let all the Angels of God worship Him."”

“As was said above, the Apostle throughout the whole chapter intends to set Christ before the Angels as to excellence, and so he has set down four things pertaining to the excellence of Christ: namely as to origin, because he is Son; as to lordship, because he is heir; as to operation, because he himself made the ages; as to honor, because he sits at the right hand of majesty. Now the Apostle in this part shows that Christ, as to these four things, surpasses the Angels; and first as to sonship; second as to lordship, where he says and again when he brings in; third as to the operation of creation, where he says and thou, Lord, in the beginning hast founded the earth; fourth as to the Father's confession, where he says but to which of the Angels. Concerning the first he does two things, for first he sets forth what he intends; second he proves what he has proposed, where he says for to which. He says therefore so much better than the Angels, that is, holier, and therefore closer, in which he sets forth the excellence of Christ over the Angels. Eph. 1:20: setting him on his right hand in the heavenly places, above all principality and power. But then a question arises how the Apostle understands this, whether according to the divine nature or the human, since according to the divine it does not seem true, because according to that he was begotten, not made; but according to the human he is not better than the Angels, as below, chapter 2: but him who by a little than the Angels, and so on. But it must be said that Christ according to human nature had two things in this life, namely the infirmity of the flesh, and thus he was made lower than the Angels — below, chapter 2: him who by a little, and so on. Likewise he had the fullness of grace, and thus also in his humanity he was greater than the Angels in grace and glory. Jn. 1:14: we saw him as it were the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. But this is not the understanding meant here. For the Apostle does not understand that he was made better as to grace, but on account of the union of the human nature to the divine; and thus he is said to have been made, insofar as through the accomplishing of that union he came to this, that he should be better than the Angels, and should be called and should be the Son of God. And therefore he adds as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. And as to this name, he shows the difference as to three things: namely as to the signification of the name, because the proper name of the Angels is that they are called Angels, which is the name of a minister — for Angel is the same as messenger — but the proper name of Christ is that he is called the Son of God. And this name is very much more different from that one, because however much difference you posit, there is still a greater one to be given, since they differ infinitely. Prov. 30:4: what is his name, and what is the name of his son, if thou knowest? For the name of his son, like that of the Father, is incomprehensible. Phil. 2:9: and gave him a name which is above every name. But perhaps you will say that the Angels too are called sons of God. Job 1:6 and 2:1: when the sons of God stood before the Lord, and so on. It must be said that if they are called sons of God, this is not essentially and by nature, but by a certain participation. But he himself is essentially the Son of God, and therefore has a name more different than theirs; and this is the second point, for they differ as to the manner. Ps. 88:7: who among the sons of God is like to God? As if to say: none, by nature. As to the third he says that he inherited that name. For an inheritance follows upon origin. Hence Christ has it that he is Son from his origin, and by nature; but the Angels have it from the gift of grace. Matt. 21:38: this is the heir. Hence he inherited the name, but not the Angels, and this is the third difference. Then when he says for to which of the Angels said he at any time, he proves what he said; and first he treats of the name as it belongs to Christ according to divinity; second according to humanity, where he says and again, I will be, and so on. As to the first he brings in the authority of Ps. 2:7: the Lord hath said to me, and so on. And this is for to which of the Angels, etc., as if to say: to none of the Angels were these words spoken, but only to Christ. Where three things can be noted. First, the manner of origin, in the word said; second, the singularity of the sonship, where he says thou art my son; third, his authority, where he says I this day. This manner is not carnal but spiritual and intellectual. For God is spirit, Jn. 4:24, and therefore he does not beget carnally, but spiritually and intellectually. Now the intellect, in speaking, begets a word, which is its concept, and therefore he pointedly said that the Lord said to me, that is, the Father said to the Son. For the Father's intellect to speak, then, is nothing other than to conceive a word in the heart. Ps. 44:2: my heart hath uttered a good word. Job 33:14: he speaketh once, and repeateth not the same thing a second time. Ecclus. 24:5: I came out of the mouth of the most High. But as to the second, this generation is singular, for he says thou art my son, as if to say: although many others are called sons, yet to be a natural son belongs to him alone; the others are called sons of God because they are participants of the Word of God. Jn. 10:35: he called them gods to whom the word of God was made; but Christ is the very Word. Matt. 17:5: this is my beloved son. But as to the third, this generation is not temporal but eternal, for this day have I begotten thee. Now time differs from eternity, because time varies as motion does, whose measure lies in variation and succession, and therefore it is named by the succession of past and future. But eternity is the measure of a thing immovable, and therefore there is no variation there by succession, but it is always present; and therefore it is denoted by the adverb of present time, namely today, that is, in eternity. But because that which is coming to be, since it is not yet, is on that account incomplete, whereas that which has been made is complete, and thus perfect; therefore he does not say I beget thee but I have begotten, because he is perfect. Yet lest his generation be thought to be entirely in the past, and consequently in defect, he adds today. And he joins the past to the present, namely today and I have begotten, that you may know that this generation always is, and is perfect, and thus in today its permanence, and in I have begotten its perfection, is designated. So that the sense is: thou art perfect, O Son, and yet thy generation is eternal, and thou art always begotten of me; just as light in the air is perfect, and yet always proceeds from the sun. Mic. 5:2: his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity. Ps. 109:3: from the womb before the day-star I begot thee. This could also be expounded of a temporal generation, so that he says today, that is, in time, I have begotten thee. Next, when he says and again: I will be to him a father, etc., he shows what he has proposed, according as it belongs to Christ according to his humanity, and this by another authority. According to the Gloss, this is said in Isaiah, I will be to him a father, yet nothing quite like this is found in Isaiah except this: and a son is given to us. But in 2 Kings 7:14 and 1 Chron. 22:10 these same words of the Lord are found, spoken to David concerning Solomon, by whom Christ was prefigured. Now it should be known that in the Old Testament certain things are said of one who is a figure, not insofar as he is a certain thing, but insofar as he is a figure, and then it is not to be expounded of him except insofar as it is referred to the thing figured. For example, in Ps. 71 certain things are said of David, or of Solomon, only insofar as they prefigured Christ. But certain things are said of them also according as they are certain men, and these sayings about them can be expounded also of Christ; as this: give to the king thy judgment, O God, since that can apply to Solomon. But those things that are said of them insofar as they are a figure can never be expounded of them, as this: and he shall rule from sea to sea, etc., because this can in no way be verified of Solomon. So too in the case before us, although these words were said of Solomon, yet they can be expounded of Christ, who was prefigured by him. He says therefore I will be, which is of future time, to denote that the incarnation of the Son was to be in time. Gal. 4:4: but when the fullness of time was come, and so on. Above, however, when he was speaking of the eternal generation, he said thou art, as it were without motion; but here, when he speaks of the temporal, he says into a son, which denotes the terminus of some motion. For assumption implies motion into sonship. And since every motion comes about through the operation of someone, terminated at some effect, therefore he first sets down the operation of the one acting, because the assumption was made not by the power of the humanity, but of the divinity, when he says I will be to him a father, that is, I will assume him to the union of the person of the Son. And he adds the effect that follows, namely that, because he has been received into the personal unity of the Son, he shall be to me a son. Of the first it is said, Lk. 1:35: the power of the Most High, namely that which makes the assumption, shall overshadow thee. Of the second, Rom. 1:3: who was made to him of the seed of David according to the flesh. Again, I will be to him, that is, unto his honor and benefit I will glorify him. Jn. 17:5: glorify me, Father. And he shall be to me, that is, unto my honor, by manifesting my name to men. Jn. 17:6: I have manifested thy name, and so on. Then when he says and again, etc., he treats of the lordship of Christ, by which he is heir of all things. Where he does three things: first he shows his lordship, and especially over the Angels; second he sets down the reason for that lordship on the part of the Angels, where he says and to the angels; third on the part of Christ, where he says but to the son. As to the first he brings in the authority of Ps. 96:7, when he says: adore him, all his angels; this is found in Ps. 96:1: the Lord hath reigned, let there be rejoicing, and so on. For adoration is not paid except to a lord; therefore if the Angels adore him, he is their lord. The Apostle, wishing to bring in this authority, first touches upon the intention of the Psalmist, when he says and when again he bringeth in, etc., that the Psalmist speaks of the coming of Christ into the world. And therefore he says: and when Scripture bringeth in, that is, is about to bring in, it saith firstborn, etc.; as if to say: it has already been said that Christ is Son above the Angels; therefore he is principally begotten from the Father. He is therefore to be called firstborn. Rom. 8:29: that he might be the firstborn amongst many brethren. Now this firstborn was to be brought into the world, and so on. And see how orderly the Apostle speaks. For first he says that he himself is from the Father, where he says I will be to him a father; second, that he was assumed into the unity of the person, where he says and he shall be to me a son; but now he sets him forth into the knowledge of men. Now he calls the incarnation a bringing in unto the world. But against this: Christ himself calls it a going out. Jn. 16:28: I came out from the Father, and am come into the world. And it must be said that a going out is also a bringing in. Just as, if someone is to be reconciled to a prince, first a mediator goes out to him and afterward brings him in. A similar thing is found in 1 Kings 20:5 and following, concerning David toward Jonathan. So Christ, the mediator of God and men, first went out to men, and afterward brought them back in reconciled. Below, 2:10: who had brought many sons into glory, and so on. Or he bringeth in, that is, leads him even into the hearts of men, because Scripture, speaking of the coming of Christ, says that he is to be received within the hearts of men. Now this reception comes about through faith. Eph. 3:17: Christ to dwell by faith in your hearts. Ps. 95:3: declare his glory among the nations. For when Scripture says that the nations ought to believe, it says that Christ is about to enter into their heart. Now this word again, which he uses, is expounded in many ways. For Chrysostom says that concerning the incarnation of the Word, which is called a bringing in, Scripture does not speak once, but again and again. Or otherwise, because he himself was first in the world through the power of his divinity invisibly, but again he is brought into the world according to the presence of his humanity, visibly. Or otherwise, because above he had said I will be to him a father, that is, I will assume him into personal unity with myself. And when again he bringeth in him, namely this firstborn one, assumed to the unity of the person: because it would not suffice to say that he is brought in, unless it were said how he is brought in, namely that it is not as one of the world, nor as the Angels, but above all. Therefore he says let all the angels adore him. Neh. 9:6: the host of heaven adoreth thee. Apoc. 7:11: all the angels stood round about the throne, and they fell down, and adored, and so on. Then when he says and to the angels, etc., the reason is set down on the part of the Angels why they adore him, as if to say: it is just that they should adore him, because they are ministers. Hence he says who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. For God sometimes operates by illuminating the intellect. Jn. 1:9: he enlighteneth every man, and so on. But sometimes he moves to a work. Is. 26:12: thou hast wrought all our works in us. And the first, God does in us by the mediation of the Angels. Ps. 75:5: thou enlightenest wonderfully from the everlasting hills. The second also he does in us, they themselves being the intermediaries, as Dionysius says in chapter 4 of the Celestial Hierarchy. Insofar, therefore, as he enlightens through them, they are called messengers, for it belongs to messengers to announce those things that are in the heart of their lord. But insofar as they are the intermediaries of divine works, they are called ministers. Ps. 102:21: his ministers, that do his will. They are therefore both messengers and ministers. But of what sort they are, he describes them by two corporeal things most fitting for this. One is air, whose property greatly suits a messenger, while the property of fire suits a minister. For air is receptive of light and of impressions; likewise it renders very well what it has received; likewise it has swift motion. Now a good messenger ought to have these qualities, namely that he receive well what is said, report well what he has received, and do both swiftly. These things fit the Angels well. For they receive divine illuminations most excellently. For the Angels are clean mirrors, according to Dionysius. Matt. 18:10: and their angels in heaven, and so on. Likewise they render most excellently, which is signified in Apoc. 1:1: God signified the things which must shortly come to pass, speaking by his angel to his servant John, and so on. Likewise they are swift. Is. 18:2: go, ye swift angels, and so on. Now these are called spirits, because every invisible substance is called spirit; hence also air is called spirit. Likewise they are fire, insofar as ministers. Now fire, among all the elements, is most active and efficacious for acting. Hence in Ps. 103:4, concerning the Angels, where they are called his ministers, there it is added and thy ministers a burning fire. Likewise fire causes heat, by which charity is designated. Cant. 8:6: lamps of fire and flames. Hence they are described in fire, and are called Seraphim, Is. 6:2. Likewise fire always moves upward; so the Angels and good ministers, whatever they do, always refer it to the glory of God, as is clear of the Angel, Tob. 12:6: bless ye the God of heaven, and so on. He does not say: bless me, but the God of heaven. Not so of the evil angel, who says, Matt. 4:9: if falling down thou wilt adore me. But the good Angel, as a good minister, says, Apoc. last: see thou do it not, and there follows: adore God.”

“And again, when he bringeth the first begotten into the world;.... By "the first begotten" is meant Christ. This is a name given him in the Old Testament, and is what the Hebrews were acquainted with, and therefore the apostle uses it; it is in Psa 89:27 from whence it seems to be taken here, and which the ancient Jews (u) acknowledge is to be understood of the Messiah; who, as the Son of God, is the only begotten of the Father, and was begotten from eternity, as before declared, and before any creature had a being, and therefore called the firstborn of every creature, Col 1:15 and is sometimes styled the first begotten from the dead; he rose the first in time, and is the first in causality and dignity: and he may be called the firstborn, with respect to the saints, who are of the same nature with him, and are partakers of the divine nature, and are adopted into the family of God, though they are not in the same class of sonship with him; and the bringing of him into the world may refer to his second coming, for this seems agreeable from the natural order of the words, which may be rendered, "when he shall bring again", &c. that is, a second time, and from Psa 97:1 from whence the following words are cited; and from the glory he shall then have from the angels, who will come with him, and minister to him; and not to his resurrection from the dead, when he was exalted above angels, principalities, and powers; though, as we read the words, they seem to regard his first coming in to this habitable world, at his incarnation and birth, when he was attended with angels, and worshipped by them, according to the order of God the Father, as follows: he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him; these words are cited from Psa 97:7 where the angels are called Elohim, gods. So Aben Ezra on the place observes, that there are some (meaning their doctors) who say, that "all the gods are the angels"; and Kimchi says, that the words are not imperative, but are in the past tense, instead of the future, all the angels have worshipped him; that is, they shall worship him; as they have done, so they will do. According to our version, they are called upon to worship God's firstborn, his only begotten Son, with a religious worship and adoration, even all of them, not one excepted; which shows, that Christ, as the first begotten, is the Lord God, for he only is to be served and worshipped; and that if angels are to worship him, men ought; and that angels are not to be worshipped, and that Christ is preferable to them; and the whole sets forth the excellency and dignity of his person. Philo the Jew (w) often calls the Logos, or Word of God, his first begotten. (u) Shemot Rabba, sect. 19. fol. 104. 4. (w) De Agricultura, p. 195. De Confus. Ling. p. 329, 341. Somniis, p. 597.”

“And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten - This is not a correct translation of the Greek, Ὁταν δε παλιν εισαγαγῃ τον πρωτοτοκον εις την οικουμενην· But when he bringeth again, or the second time, the first-born into the habitable world. This most manifestly refers to his resurrection, which might be properly considered a second incarnation; for as the human soul, as well as the fullness of the Godhead bodily, dwelt in the man, Christ Jesus on and during his incarnation, so when he expired upon the cross, both the Godhead and the human spirit left his dead body; and as on his resurrection these were reunited to his revivified manhood, therefore, with the strictest propriety, does the apostle say that the resurrection was a second bringing of him into the world. I have translated οικουμενη the habitable world, and this is its proper meaning; and thus it is distinguished from κοσμος, which signifies the terraqueous globe, independently of its inhabitants; though it often expresses both the inhabited and uninhabited parts. Our Lord's first coming into the world is expressed by this latter word, Heb 10:5 : Wherefore when he cometh into the world, διο εισερχομενος εις τον κοσμον, and this simply refers to his being incarnated, that he might be capable of suffering and dying for man. But the word is changed on this second coming, I mean his resurrection, and then οικουμενη is used; and why? (fancy apart) because he was now to dwell with man; to send his gospel everywhere to all the inhabitants of the earth, and to accompany that Gospel wherever he sent it, and to be wherever two or three should be gathered together in his name. Wherever the messengers of Jesus Christ go, preaching the kingdom of God, even to the farthest and most desolate parts of the earth where human beings exist, there they ever find Christ; he is not only in them, and with them, but he is in and among all who believe on him through their word. Let all the angels of God worship him - The apostle recurs here to his former assertion, that Jesus is higher than the angels, Heb 1:4, that he is none of those who can be called ordinary angels or messengers, but one of the most extraordinary kind, and the object of worship to all the angels of God. To worship any creature is idolatry, and God resents idolatry more than any other evil. Jesus Christ can be no creature, else the angels who worship him must be guilty of idolatry, and God the author of that idolatry, who commanded those angels to worship Christ. There has been some difficulty in ascertaining the place from which the apostle quotes these words; some suppose Psa 97:7 : Worship him, all ye gods; which the Septuagint translate thus: Προσκυνησατε αυτῳ, παντες αγγελοι αυτου· Worship him, all ye his angels; but it is not clear that the Messiah is intended in this psalm, nor are the words precisely those used here by the apostle. Our marginal references send us with great propriety to the Septuagint version of Deu 32:43, where the passage is found verbatim et literatim; but there is nothing answering to the words in the present Hebrew text. The apostle undoubtedly quoted the Septuagint, which had then been for more than 300 years a version of the highest repute among the Jews; and it is very probable that the copy from which the Seventy translated had the corresponding words. However this may be, they are now sanctioned by Divine authority; and as the verse contains some singular additions, I will set it down in a parallel column with that of our own version, which was taken immediately from the Hebrew text, premising simply this, that it is the last verse of the famous prophetic song of Moses, which seems to point out the advent of the Messiah to discomfit his enemies, purify the land, and redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Deu 32:43, from the Hebrew Deuteronomy 32:43, from the Septuagint - Rejoice, ye heaven, together with him; and let all the ... Rejoice, O ye nations, with angels of God worship him. Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people ... his people; and let the children of God be strengthened ... for he will avenge in him; for he will avenge the blood of his children; the blood of his servants; - and will render he will avenge, and will repay judgment to his adver- vengeance to his adversaries: - and ... saries; and those who hate him will he recompense: ... will be merciful to his land and to his people and the Lord will purge the land of his people This is a very important verse; and to it, as it stands in the Septuagint, St. Paul has referred once before; see Rom 15:10. This very verse, as it stands now in the Septuagint, thus referred to by an inspired writer, shows the great importance of this ancient version; and proves the necessity of its being studied and well understood by every minister of Christ. In Romans 3 there is a large quotation - from Psa 14:1-7 :, where there are six whole verses in the apostle's quotation which are not found in the present Hebrew text, but are preserved in the Septuagint! How strange it is that this venerable and important version, so often quoted by our Lord and all his apostles, should be so generally neglected, and so little known! That the common people should be ignorant of it, is not to be wondered at, as it has never been put in an English dress; but that the ministers of the Gospel should be unacquainted with it may be spoken to their shame.”

“Let all the Angels of God adore him. These words seem to be cited out of Psalm xcvi. 7., according to the Septuagint. And they seem to be an invitation, and a command to the Angels to adore Jesus Christ, when at the end of the world he shall come to judgment. This is one of the proofs which St. Paul here brings, to shew that the Angels are inferior to Christ, because they are commanded to adore him. (Witham) — God shews the superiority of his divine Son over the Angels, in ordering the latter to adore him. Wherever the person of Christ is, there it ought to be adored by both men and Angels, therefore in the blessed sacrament [of the Eucharist].”

“And--Greek, "But." Not only this proves His superiority, BUT a more decisive proof is Psa 97:7, which shows that not only at His resurrection, but also in prospect of His being brought into the world (compare Heb 9:11; Heb 10:5) as man, in His incarnation, nativity (Luk 2:9-14), temptation (Mat 4:10-11), resurrection (Mat 28:2), and future second advent in glory, angels were designed by God to be subject to Him. Compare Ti1 3:16, "seen of angels"; God manifesting Messiah as one to be gazed at with adoring love by heavenly intelligences (Eph 3:10; Th2 1:9-10; Pe1 3:22). The fullest realization of His Lordship shall be at His second coming (Psa 97:7; Co1 15:24-25; Phi 2:9). "Worship Him all ye gods" ("gods," that is, exalted beings, as angels), refers to God; but it was universally admitted among the Hebrews that God would dwell, in a peculiar sense, in Messiah (so as to be in the Talmud phrase, "capable of being pointed to with the finger"); and so what was said of God was true of, and to be fulfilled in, Messiah. KIMCHI says that the ninety-third through the hundred first Psalms contain in them the mystery of Messiah. God ruled the theocracy in and through Him. the world--subject to Christ (Heb 2:5). As "the first-begotten" He has the rights of primogeniture (Rom 8:29); Col 1:15-16, Col 1:18). In Deu 32:43, the Septuagint has, "Let all the angels of God worship Him," words not now found in the Hebrew. This passage of the Septuagint may have been in Paul's mind as to the form, but the substance is taken from Psa 97:7. The type David, in the Psa 89:27 (quoted in Heb 1:5), is called "God's first-born, higher than the kings of the earth"; so the antitypical first-begotten, the son of David, is to be worshipped by all inferior lords, such as angels ("gods," Psa 97:7); for He is "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Rev 19:16). In the Greek, "again" is transposed; but this does not oblige us, as ALFORD thinks, to translate, "when He again shall have introduced," &c., namely, at Christ's second coming; for there is no previous mention of a first bringing in; and "again" is often used in quotations, not to be joined with the verb, but parenthetically ("that I may again quote Scripture"). English Version is correct (compare Mat 5:33; Greek, Joh 12:39).”