Hebrews 2:15

Hebrews 2:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
• New King James Version (NKJV)and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

Context of Hebrews 2:15

13And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.” 14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 2:15 word by word

καὶ ἀπαλλάξῃ τούτους ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• deliverἀπαλλάσσωapallassō · to releaseG525
• themοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• whoὅσοςhosos · just as/how muchG3745
• through fearφόβοςphobos · fearG5401
• of deathθάνατοςthanatos · deathG2288
• wereεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• ·διάdia · through/because ofG1223
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• theirὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• lifetimeζάωzaō · to liveG2198
• subjectἔνοχοςenochos · liable forG1777
• to bondageδουλείαdouleia · slaveryG1397

Cross-references for Hebrews 2:15

• Job 33:21Their flesh wastes away to nothing, and their bones, once hidden, now stick out.
• Psalms 33:19to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
• Psalms 56:13For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
• Psalms 89:48Who can live and not see death, or who can escape the power of the grave?
• Luke 1:74to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear
• 2 Corinthians 1:10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
• Job 18:11Terrors startle him on every side and dog his every step.
• Job 24:17For all of them, midnight is their morning; they make friends with the terrors of darkness.
• Psalms 55:4My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me.
• Psalms 73:19How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!
• 1 Corinthians 15:50I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
• Romans 8:15The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
• Galatians 4:21Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?
• 2 Timothy 1:7For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Commentaries on Hebrews 2:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15And deliver them who through fear of death - It is very likely that the apostle has the Gentiles here principally in view. As they had no revelation, and no certainty of immortality, they were continually in bondage to the fear of death. They preferred life in any state, with the most grievous evils, to death, because they had no hope beyond the grave. But it is also true that all men naturally fear death; even those that have the fullest persuasion and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15And deliver them - Not all of them “in fact,” though the way is open for all. This deliverance relates: (1) to the dread of death. He came to free them from that. (2) from death itself - that is, ultimately to bring them to a world where death shall be unknown. The dread of death may be removed by the work of Christ, and they who had been subject to constant alarms on account of it may be brought to look on it with calmness and peace; and ultimately they…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-18Verses 14-18 The angels fell, and remained without hope or help. Christ never designed to be the Saviour of the fallen angels, therefore he did not take their nature; and the nature of angels could not be an atoning sacrifice for the sin of man. Here is a price paid, enough for all, and suitable to all, for it was in our nature. Here the wonderful love of God appeared, that, when Christ knew what he must suffer in our nature, and how he must die in it…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-15The death of the Son of God as a sacrifice for sin weakened the devil's power. It made the devil's power over death ineffective (1 Corinthians 15:56). Philo, a first-century Jewish philosopher, wrote that "nothing enslaves the mind like fearing death" (Philo, That Every Good Person Is Free 3.22). Through his sacrificial death, Christ freed those who were slaves to the fear of dying.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. fear of death--even before they had experienced its actual power. all their lifetime--Such a life can hardly be called life. subject to bondage--literally, "subjects of bondage"; not merely liable to it, but enthralled in it (compare Ro 8:15; Ga 5:1). Contrast with this bondage, the glory of the "sons" (He 2:10). "Bondage" is defined by Aristotle, "The living not as one chooses"; "liberty," "the living as one chooses." Christ by delivering us from the…Read the comment

Topics related to Hebrews 2:15

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Death
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Righteous
• Salvation
• War

In the dictionaries

• Adoption
• Bondage
• Heed
• Neglect
• Recompense
• Reconciliation
• Taste
• Congregation
• Death
• Ebionism; Ebionites

Commentaries on Hebrews 2

• 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
• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings