God’s Word Translation
Hebrews 9:5
5Above the ark were the angels of glory ⌞with their wings⌟ overshadowing the throne of mercy. (Discussing these things in detail isn’t possible now.)
Hebrews 9:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.
- New International Version (NIV)Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
- New King James Version (NKJV)and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
Context of Hebrews 9:5
3Behind the second curtain was the part of the tent called the most holy place. 4It contained the gold incense burner and the ark of the Lord’s promise. The ark was completely covered with gold. In the ark were the gold jar filled with manna, Aaron’s staff that had blossomed, and the tablets on which the promise was written. Above the ark were the angels of glory ⌞with their wings⌟ overshadowing the throne of mercy. (Discussing these things in detail isn’t possible now.) 6That is how these two parts of the tent were set up. The priests always went into the first part of the tent to perform their duties. 7But only the chief priest went into the second part of the tent. Once a year he entered and brought blood that he offered for himself and for the things that the people did wrong unintentionally.
Read all of Hebrews 9Hebrews 9:5 word by word
ὑπεράνω δὲ αὐτῆς Χερουβὶν δόξης κατασκιάζοντα τὸ ἱλαστήριον, περὶ ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν νῦν λέγειν κατὰ μέρος.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andδέde · thenG1161
- overὑπεράνωhuperanō · aboveG5231
- itαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- the cherubimsχερουβίμcheroubim · CherubG5502
- of gloryδόξαdoxa · gloryG1391
- shadowingκατασκιάζωkataskiazō · to overshadowG2683
- the mercyseatὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the mercyseatἱλαστήριοςhilastērion · propitiationG2435
- ofπερίperi · aboutG4012
- whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- we cannotοὐou · noG3756
- we cannotεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
- speakλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- ·κατάkata · according toG2596
- particularlyμέροςmeros · partG3313
Cross-references for Hebrews 9:5
- Exodus 25:17“Make a throne of mercy to cover the ark out of pure gold 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.
- Exodus 37:6He made the throne of mercy out of pure gold 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.
- Leviticus 16:2The Lord said, “Tell your brother Aaron that he cannot go into the holy place whenever he wants to. If he goes up to the canopy and stands in front of the throne of mercy on the ark, he will die, because I appear in the smoke above the throne of mercy.
- Numbers 7:89Whenever Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the throne of mercy on the ark containing the words of God’s promise, from between the two angels. This is how the Lord spoke with Moses.
- 1 Samuel 4:4The troops sent some men who brought back the ark of the promise of the Lord of Armies—who is enthroned over the angels. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, came along with God’s ark.
- 1 Kings 8:6The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s promise to its place in the inner room of the temple (the most holy place) under the wings of the angels.
- 2 Kings 19:15and prayed to the Lord, “Lord of Armies, God of Israel, you are enthroned over the angels. You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the world. You made heaven and earth.
- Psalms 80:1Open your ears, O Shepherd of Israel, the one who leads ⌞the descendants of⌟ Joseph like sheep, the one who is enthroned over the angels.
- Psalms 99:1The Lord rules as king. Let the people tremble. He is enthroned over the angels. Let the earth quake.
- Ephesians 3:10He did this so that now, through the church, he could let the rulers and authorities in heaven know his infinite wisdom.
- 1 Peter 1:12God revealed to the prophets that the things they had spoken were not for their own benefit but for yours. What the prophets had spoken, the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven, has now made known to you by those who spread the Good News among you. These are things that even the angels want to look into.
- Hebrews 4:16So we can go confidently to the throne of God’s kindness to receive mercy and find kindness, which will help us at the right time.
- 1 Chronicles 28:11Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the entrance hall and the temple, its storerooms, upper rooms, inner rooms, and the room for the throne of mercy.
Commentaries on Hebrews 9:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5And over it the cherubims of glory - Cherubim is the plural of cherub, and it is absurd to add our plural termination (s) to the plural termination of the Hebrew. The glory here signifies the shechinah or symbol of the Divine presence. Shadowing the mercy-seat - One at each end of the ark, with their faces turned toward each other, but looking down on the cover or propitiatory, ̔, here called the mercy-seat. Of which we cannot now speak particularly - The…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And over it - That is, over the ark. The cherubim of glory - A Hebrew mode of expression, meaning “the glorious cherubim.” The word “cherubim” is the Hebrew form of the plural, of which cherub is the singular. The word “glory” used here in connection with “cherubim,” refers to the splendor, or magnificence of the image, as being carved with great skill, and covered with gold. There were two cherubim on the ark, placed on the lid in such a manner that…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5The cherubim of divine glory were angel statues on the cover of the ark. These angels are closely linked to God's glorious presence (Genesis 3:24; Psalms 80:1; 99:1; Isaiah 37:16). The ark's cover was the atonement place, where they sprinkled blood from the Day of Atonement sacrifice (Leviticus 16:14–16). we cannot discuss these things in detail now: The main topic is the offering of sacrifices under the old covenant (Hebrews 9:6–10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. over it--over "the ark of the covenant." cherubim--representing the ruling powers by which God acts in the moral and natural world. (See on Eze 1:6; Eze 10:1). Hence sometimes they answer to the ministering angels; but mostly to the elect redeemed, by whom God shall hereafter rule the world and set forth His manifold wisdom: redeemed humanity, combining in, and with itself, the highest forms of subordinate creaturely life; not angels. They stand on the…Read the comment
Topics related to Hebrews 9:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Hebrews 9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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