Notice that this group of translations favor
again translated in such a
way as to not favor this as a reference to the Second Coming --
And again, when he brings the firstborn
(NRSV)
And again, when he bringeth
in the firstbegotten into the world (KJV)
And again, when God brings his firstborn
into the world (NIV)
And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world (DNT)
And again, when he brings his firstborn
into the world (ISV)
And again, when he leads the first-born
into the world, (NAB)
And again, when he brings the firstborn
into the world (ESV)
But when God was about to send his
first-born Son into the world (TEV)
Further, when he brings his first-born into
this world of men, (Phillips)
And again, when God brings his Firstborn into the world (JNT)
and further when introducing the firstborn
into the world (Moffatt)
Now again when He brings the Firstborn
[fig., the Pre-existent One] into the inhabited earth (ALT)
And again, when he is sending his only Son
into the world (BBE)
Notice that the following translations
favor again
translated in such a way as to favor this as a reference to the Second
Coming --
But speaking of the time when He once more
brings His Firstborn (WNT)
And when he again bringeth in the firstborn
into the world (ASV)
And whenever He shall have brought again
the first-begotten into the inhabited earth (Wuest)
Moreover, when He brings the firstborn Son
again into the habitable world (Amp)
When He again brings His firstborn into the
world, (Adds a note: Or And again, when He brings His firstborn into the
world..." ) (Holman Christian Std Bible)
But when he again brings his firstborn into
the world, he says, “Let all the angels of God worship him!” (NET Bible is
similar to Holman above adding an explanatory note but stating that they favor
the rendering that "looks forward to Christ's Second Coming to earth")
and when he re-introduces the
first-begotten into the world (Mace NT)
But speaking of the time when He once more
brings His Firstborn into the world (WNT)
But when He again brings the firstborn
(NKJV)
and when again He may bring in the
first-born to the world (YLT)
If again
the Greek adverb palin is taken as modifying the verb (brings...into)
that it immediately precedes in the Greek construction, one would interpret
this as a reference is to Second Coming (see notes
Hebrews 9:28;
Hebrews 10:37)
- see also
Second Coming - Table comparing
Rapture vs Second Coming).
Charles Ryrie, Vincent, Wuest, Expositor’s Commentary, and Alford interpret
this as a reference to the Second Coming. John MacArthur notes that that one
can interpret it either way and A T Robertson adds that
There is no way to decide certainly about it.
First-born (firstborn)
(4416)
(prototokos
= protos = first, + tíkto
=bear, bring forth) (Click
study of
prototokos) can mean first-born chronologically (Lu 2:7) but refers
primarily to position, or rank.
In both Greek and Jewish
culture, the first-born was the son who had the right of inheritance.
He was not necessarily the first one born. Although Esau was born first
chronologically, it was Jacob who was the “first-born” and received the
inheritance. Jesus is the One with the right to the inheritance of all
creation. In Ps 89:27, God says of the Messiah,
“I also shall make him My
first-born,” then defines what He means—“the highest of the kings of
the earth.”
In
Revelation 1:5 (note), Jesus is called “the first-born of the dead,”
even though He was not the first person to be resurrected chronologically. Of
all ever raised, He is the preeminent One.
Romans 8:29 (note) refers to Him as the
first-born in relation to the church. In all the above cases, first-born
clearly means highest in rank, not first created.
TWISTING OF
THE SCRIPTURE
HEBREWS 1:6
BY JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
Jehovah's Witnesses claim that the title “firstborn of all creation” (see
note
Colossians 1:15) means that
Jesus is the first created being, based on the analogy of a human family where
the first-born child is younger than his parents. To support this they must
insert the word other into their translation called the New
World Translation so that it reads
