Hebrews 1:11
in Hebrews 1They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They shall perish; but thou continuest: And they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
KJV
They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
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This verse in Hebrews 1
Commentary
17 notes on this verseHe suggests something more important than creation, namely, the transformation of the world. Everything will be changed from corruption to incorruption, and so easily, as if someone were rolling up a garment. If He will so easily accomplish the transformation and conversion of the world …
This site's exposition
laid the foundations of the earth
on Hebrews 1:10-12
Psalm 102:25 to 27, addressed to the eternal Creator, is here applied to the Son. The heavens will all wear out like a garment, while You remain the same, and Your years will never end. The letter returns to this unchanging Son at 13:8.
This site's exposition
They will perish, but You remain
They will perish, but You remain sets the passing heavens and earth against the Son who made them. Scripture uses the same verb for the world of Noah's day, which ended in the flood, at 2 Peter 3:6. 2 Peter 3:12 then speaks of the present heavens ending in fire.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
A commentator
Ephrem the SyrianCOMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS · Written before 373.
proposed
Paul also said, "They will perish," and all the other things, and again the apostle took up the same words of David. But if all the works of creation perish completely, then paradise, which is not perishable, will also perish. In truth, because of paradise, …
He indicated creation's change for the better that was due to him, and his own lack of beginning or extinction. "You are the same, and your years will never end," he says, note, meaning, "You were not made, but you are, and you admit of …
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.
And again he saith: "Thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Thine hands. They shall perish, but Thou remainest, and they shall all wax old as a garment, and as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the same and Thy years shall not fail." Lest hearing the words, "and when He bringeth in the First-Begotten into the world"; thou shouldest think it as it were a Gift afterwards super-added to Him; above, he both corrected this beforehand, and again further corrects, saying, "in the beginning": not now, but from the first. See again he strikes both Paul of Samosata and also Arius a mortal blow, applying to the Son the things which relate to the Father. And withal he has also intimated another thing by the way, greater even than this. For surely he hath incidentally pointed out also the transfiguration of the world, saying, "they shall wax old as a garment, and as a vesture Thou shall fold them up, and they shall be changed." Which also he saith in the Epistle to the Romans, that he shall transfigure the world. And showing the facility thereof, he adds, as if a man should fold up a garment so shall He both fold up and change it. But if He with so much ease works the transfiguration and the creation to what is better and more perfect, needed He another for the inferior creation? How far doth your shamelessness go? At the same time too this is a very great consolation, to know that things will not be as they are, but they all shall receive change, and all shall be altered, but He Himself remaineth ever existing, and living without end: "and Thy years," he saith, "shall not fail."
A commentator
Severian of GabalaFRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 1.12-14 · Written before 425.
proposed
He does not say that a change of nature took place, but by way of comparison, that he permits these things to be destroyed and they do perish in contrast to the eternity of the Son. For also the Lord, when predicting his second coming, …
9 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
"they will perish." Something greater than creation has been revealed, the transformation of the world. For all that is seen will be transformed, and they will come to incorruption. Therefore, it is said, "they will perish" from the present sight.
The Medieval Church1 voice
71. – Then (v. 11) he shows the difference between Creator and creature, and this in regard to two things which are proper to the Creator; the first is eternity; the second is immutability (v. 11c). In regard to the first he dos two things: …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
, where the omnipotence of the Lord Jesus Christ is declared as it appears both in creating the world and in changing it. First, In creating the world (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
They shall perish,....
Christ lives to take care of us while we live, and of ours when we are gone, and this should quicken us all to make our interest in him clear and sure, that our spiritual and eternal life may be hid with Christ in God. The superiority of Christ to the angels appears in this that God never said to the angels what he has said to Christ,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
They shall perish - That is, the heavens and the earth. They shall pass away; or they shall be destroyed. Probably no more is meant by the phrase here, than that important changes will take place in them, or than that they will change their form. Still it is not possible to foresee what changes may yet take place in the heavenly bodies, or to say that the present universe may not at some period be destroyed, and be succeeded by another creation still more magnificent.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The covenant of the possession of the earth was renewed with Noah and his seed on the renovated earth. So it shall be after the perishing by fire (2Pe 3:12, 13). remainest--through (so the Greek) all changes. as . . . a garment-- (Isa 51:6).
They shall perish - Permanently fixed as they seem to be, a time shall come when they shall be dissolved, and afterward new heavens and a new earth be formed, in which righteousness alone shall dwell. See 2Pe 3:10-13. Shall wax old as doth a garment - As a garment by long using becomes unfit to be longer used, so shall all visible things; they shall wear old, and wear out; and hence the necessity of their being renewed. It is remarkable that our word world is a contraction of wear old; a term by which our ancestors expressed the sentiment contained in this verse. That the word was thus compounded, and that it had this sense in our language, may be proved from the most competent and indisputable witnesses. It was formerly written weorold, and wereld. This etymology is finely alluded to by our excellent poet, Spencer, when describing the primitive age of innocence, succeeded by the age of depravity: - “The lion there did with the lambe consort, And eke the dove sat by the faulcon’s side; Ne each of other feared fraude or tort, But did in safe security abide, Withouten perill of the stronger pride: But when the World woxe old, it woxe warre old, Whereof it hight, and having shortly tride The trains of wit, in wickednesse woxe bold, And dared of all sinnes, the secrets to unfold.” Even the heathen poets are full of such allusions. See Horace, Carm. lib. iii., od. 6; Virgil, Aen. viii., ver. 324. Thou remainest - Instead of διαμένεις, some good MSS. read διαμενεῖς, the first, without the circumflex, being the present tense of the indicative mood; the latter, with the circumflex, being the future - thou shalt remain. The difference between these two readings is of little importance.
Modern Voices1 voice
A commentator
Michael S. Heiser"Naked Bible Podcast Episode 176: Hebrews 1:5-14" show notes (drmsh.com) (2017)
The writer of Hebrews builds on his assertions that the particular son of God (Jesus) who was the agent of creation, eternal wisdom, and the essence of God, by comparing him to other supernatural sons of God (angels).
The words behind it
10 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| αὐτοὶ | autoi | They themselves | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἀπολοῦνται, | apolountai | will perish, | G622 → | |
| σὺ | su | You yourself | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| δὲ | de | however | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| διαμένεις· | diameneis | remain; | G1265 → | |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| πάντες | pantes | all | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| ὡς | hos | like | G5613 → | 500 times |
| ἱμάτιον | himation | a garment | G2440 → | |
| παλαιωθήσονται, | palaiothesontai | will grow old, | G3822 → | 4 times |
αὐτοὶThey themselves
autoiG846 →5565 times
ἀπολοῦνται,will perish,
apolountaiG622 →
σὺYou yourself
suG4771 →2973 times
δὲhowever
deG1161 →2765 times
διαμένεις·remain;
diameneisG1265 →
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
πάντεςall
pantesG3956 →1235 times
ὡςlike
hosG5613 →500 times
ἱμάτιονa garment
himationG2440 →
παλαιωθήσονται,will grow old,
palaiothesontaiG3822 →4 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 5:18
For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Peter 1:25
but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you.
- Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- Isaiah 55:11
so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
- Isaiah 40:8
Through
Isaiah 51:6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like…
it leads to
- Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 102:25–26
In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 24:35
Through
Mark 13:31Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
it leads to
- Isaiah 51:6
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 51:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About Hebrews
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Clement of Rome, 1 CLEMENT 36.1-6; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Hebrews 3; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Michael S. Heiser, "Naked Bible Podcast Episode 176: Hebrews 1:5-14" show notes (drmsh.com); Oecumenius, The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews; Severian of Gabala, FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 1.12-14; Theodoret of Cyrus, INTERPRETATION OF HEBREWS 1; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Hebrews and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews.