They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
Parallel translations
- WEB They will perish, but you continue. They all will grow old like a garment does.
- BSB They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment.
- NKJV They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;
- NASB They will perish, but You remain; And they all will wear out like a garment,
- NLT They will perish, but you remain forever. They will wear out like old clothing.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The created heavens and earth will perish and wear out, but the Son remains. He is permanent while creation is passing.
Overview
The quotation from Psalm 102 contrasts the changeable, aging creation with the unchanging Creator. Like a worn-out garment, the present world will pass away, yet the Son 'continues.' This permanence is a divine attribute, reinforcing both Christ's deity and the security believers have in one who outlasts all that is temporary.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Isa 51:6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
- Mark 13:31Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
- Luke 21:33Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
- Matt 24:35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
- Isa 34:4And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
- Rev 21:1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
- Ps 10:16The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
- Isa 65:17For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
- Ps 90:2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
- Isa 41:4Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
- Rev 20:11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
- Rev 1:11Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
- Ps 29:10The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.
- Isa 50:9Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.
- Rev 2:8And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
- 2 Pet 3:7–10But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
- Heb 12:27And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
- Isa 51:8For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.
- Isa 44:6Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
- Rev 1:17–18And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Hebrews is sustained worship of Christ: better than angels, Moses, and the priests; the great High Priest after Melchizedek who by one sacrifice perfects forever those he saves.
How Hebrews 1:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.