God the Father calls Jesus “God.”

Formal Equivalence (Word-For-Word)

  • Received Text (Textus Receptus)

    But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. — Hebrews 1:8 KJV (48.83% / 66.58%)

    But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. — Hebrews 1:8 NKJV (60.32% / 65.21%)

  • Majority Text

    But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom. — Hebrews 1:8 WEB (World English Bible)

  • Critical Text

    But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. — Hebrews 1:8 LSB (NASB ‘95 61.65% / 67.99%)

    But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. — Hebrews 1:8 ESV (62.36% / 68.74%)

Dynamic Equivalence (Thought-For-Thought)

  • Critical Text

    But to the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice. — Hebrews 1:8 NLT (70.08% / 39.90%)

    But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. — Hebrews 1:8 NIV (67.20% / 53.10%)

    but of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and a righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom. — Hebrews 1:8 NET (66.28% / 53.94%)

  • NET Bible Translator Notes

    c. Hebrews 1:8 NET tn Or possibly, “Your throne is God forever and ever.” This translation is quite doubtful, however, since (1) in the context the Son is being contrasted to the angels and is presented as far better than they. The imagery of God being the Son’s throne would seem to be of God being his authority. If so, in what sense could this not be said of the angels? In what sense is the Son thus contrasted with the angels? (2) The μέν…δέ (men…de) construction that connects v. 7 with v. 8 clearly lays out this contrast: “On the one hand, he says of the angels…on the other hand, he says of the Son.” Thus, although it is grammatically possible that θεός (theos) in v. 8 should be taken as a predicate nominative, the context and the correlative conjunctions are decidedly against it. Hebrews 1:8 NET is thus a strong affirmation of the deity of Christ.

Messianic Bible translations

  • Critical Text

    But regarding the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your Kingdom. — Hebrews 1:8 TLV (Tree of Life Version, Formal Equivalent)

    but to the Son, he says, “Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; you rule your Kingdom with a scepter of equity; — Hebrews 1:8 CJB (Complete Jewish Bible, Dynamic Equivalent)

Highly Idiomatic Translation / Paraphrase

  • Critical Text

    But he says to the Son, You’re God, and on the throne for good; your rule makes everything right. You love it when things are right; you hate it when things are wrong. That is why God, your God, poured fragrant oil on your head, Marking you out as king, far above your dear companions. — The Message (MSG)

Conclusion

⚠️ Warning

  • It is clear that scholars have shown that the reading should be “Your throne, O God”; however, that didn’t stop the cults from abusing this verse and changing it to read “God is your throne” in an attempt to strip Jesus of his deity. The context and the correlative conjunctions are decidedly against the blasphemous and illogical latter rendering. Remember that this is a direct quote from the Old Testament Psalm 45:6.

    “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;” — Psalm 45:6