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Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
Hebrews 2:7 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB You made him a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor.
  • BSB You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor
  • NKJV You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands.
  • NASB “You have made him for a little while lower than angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor;
  • NLT Yet for a little while you made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.

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

God made humanity for a time lower than the angels yet crowned them with glory and honor. This describes both humanity's humble status and its high calling.

Overview

Continuing Psalm 8, the verse notes humanity's temporary lower position and its appointed glory. While true of mankind generally, the author reads it ultimately of Christ, who took a position 'lower than the angels' in His incarnation and was then crowned with glory. The 'lower then crowned' pattern foreshadows Jesus' humiliation and exaltation.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Ps 8:5For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
  • Phil 2:6–7Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Hebrews videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Hebrews 2:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on HebrewsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 2:7 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.