¹ tn Grk “you subjected all things under his feet.”

sn A quotation from Ps 8:4-6.

² sn The expression all things under his control occurs three times in 2:8. The latter two occurrences are not exactly identical to the Greek text of Ps 8:6 quoted at the beginning of the verse, but have been adapted by the writer of Hebrews to fit his argument.

³ tn Or “they were not united.”

⁴ tc A few mss (א and a few versional witnesses) have the nominative singular participle συγκεκερασμένος (sunkekerasmeno", “since it [the message] was not combined with faith by those who heard it”), a reading that refers back to the ὁ λόγος (Jo logo", “the message”). There are a few other variants here (e.g., συγκεκεραμμένοι [sunkekerammenoi] in 104, συγκεκεραμένους [sunkekeramenou"] in 1881 Ï), but the accusative plural participle συγκεκερασμένους (sunkekerasmenou"), found in Ì^13vid,46 A B C D* Ψ 0243 0278 33 81 1739 2464 pc, has by far the best external credentials. This participle agrees with the previous ἐκείνους (ekeinou", “those”), a more difficult construction grammatically than the nominative singular. Thus, both on external and internal grounds, συγκεκερασμένους is preferred.

⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn The words “did so” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 110:4 (see Heb 5:6, 6:20, and 7:17).

⁸ tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesith", “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms.

⁹ tn Grk “the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “a death having occurred.”

¹¹ sn A quotation from Deut 31:6, 8.