Bible Strands
Hebrews 2:6
But somewhere it is testified in these words: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author addresses Jewish-Christian readers familiar with the Old Testament, contrasting the future world's subjection to angels with God's plan to crown a human. The speaker cites an established scriptural testimony to explain this shift from angelic administration to human dignity.
The words — διεμαρτυράτο (diemarturato) means "has testified," indicating the author is pointing to a recognized scriptural witness. ποῦ (pou) translates as "somewhere," signaling that the exact textual location is secondary to the theological claim being made.
The thread — This quotation appears in Psalms 8:4, Psalms 144:3, and Job 7:17, where each passage questions why God directs attention toward fragile humanity. The author of Hebrews uses this shared scriptural thread to ground the discussion of human exaltation.
Why it lands — The text asks the reader to recognize that divine attention is not reserved for celestial beings but is actively directed toward human beings. It requires an assessment of human worth based on God's deliberate care rather than human achievement.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Cross-references
- Psalms 8:4 what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?
- Psalms 144:3 O LORD, what is man, that You regard him, the son of man that You think of him?
- Job 7:17 What is man that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart upon him,
- Isaiah 51:12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?
- Job 15:14 What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
- Job 25:6 how much less man, who is but a maggot, and the son of man, who is but a worm!”
- Hebrews 4:4 For somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this manner: “And on the seventh day God rested from all His works.”
- Genesis 50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
- Luke 7:16 A sense of awe swept over all of them, and they glorified God. “A great prophet has appeared among us!” they said. “God has visited His people!”
- 1 Peter 1:11 trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.