Devine Scripture

Hebrews 1:11

What does Hebrews 1:11 mean?

A plain-English look at Hebrews 1:11 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Hebrews 1:11 means

“They shall perish; but thou continuest: And they all shall wax old as doth a garment.” Creation, for all its grandeur, is temporary and wearing out. The universe ages like clothing that eventually frays, but the Son remains. He is not subject to decay or dissolution. The contrast is stark: what He made is finite, but He Himself is enduring. This highlights His transcendence over time and entropy, underlining that He is not merely within creation’s processes but Lord over them. The verse calls the reader to see the created order as contingent and passing, while fixing attention on the Son’s unbroken, self-consistent existence.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

They shall perish; but thou continuest: And they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

KJV

King James Version · 1611

They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

They shall perish; but thou continuest: And they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

They will come to their end; but you are for ever; they will become old as a robe;

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

these shall perish, and Thou dost remain, and all, as a garment, shall become old,

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

They shall perish: but thou shalt continue: and they shall all grow old as a garment.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

They shall perish, but thou continuest still; and they all shall grow old as a garment,

Context

Verse 11 continues the quotation begun in verse 10, setting the Son’s permanence against creation’s perishability. It prepares the final stroke of the comparison in verse 12, which speaks of the Son’s sameness and unfailing years. Together, these verses emphasize that the Son’s nature does not change, whereas the created order does. This further distinguishes Him from angels, who are themselves part of the created sphere and subject to God’s purposes within it.

v.10And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of thy hands:

v.11This passage

v.12And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up, As a garment, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, And thy years shall not fail.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Psalms 10:16

    Jehovah is King for ever and ever: The nations are perished out of his land.

  • Revelation 20:11

    And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

  • Psalms 90:2

    Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

  • Hebrews 12:27

    And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain.

  • Revelation 21:1

    And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more.

  • Revelation 1:17

    And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last,

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