Hebrews 2:9
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Study Note
Study Note
The declaration that Jesus was 'for a little while made lower than the angels' but is 'now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone' applies Psalm 8 to the Incarnation and Atonement with remarkable theological compression. The letter re-reads 'a little lower than the angels' (Psalm 8:5) from a collective anthropological reference to a singular christological one, making the psalmist's wonder about human dignity prophetically anticipatory of Christ's humiliation. The phrase 'taste death for everyone' (hyper pantos) presents the atonement as universally sufficient in scope — the 'everyone' later qualified by 'many sons' (verse 10) but not rescinded as a statement of substitutionary intent. The verse captures the letter's central dynamic: Christ entered human weakness from divine glory in order to carry humanity from weakness back to glory.
Other Translations
But we behold him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for every man.
and him who was made some little less than messengers we see--Jesus--because of the suffering of the death, with glory and honour having been crowned, that by the grace of God for every one he might taste of death.
But we see him who was made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, crowned with glory and honour, because he let himself be put to death so that by the grace of God he might undergo death for all men.
Cross References
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise …
For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall …
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of …
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: …
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul …
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither …
Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the …
And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which …