Hebrews 1 · Verse 11

Hebrews 1:11

They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
Hebrews 1:11, King James Version

Hebrews 1:11 in other translations

BSBThey will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment.
WEBThey will perish, but you continue. They all will grow old like a garment does.
ASVThey shall perish; but thou continuest: And they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
YLTthese shall perish, and Thou dost remain, and all, as a garment, shall become old,
DARBYThey shall perish, but thou continuest still; and they all shall grow old as a garment,
BBEThey will come to their end; but you are for ever; they will become old as a robe;
WebsterThey shall perish; but thou remainest: and they all shall become old as doth a garment;

What does Hebrews 1:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
11. They--The earth and the heavens in their present state and form "shall perish" (He 12:26, 27; 2Pe 3:13). "Perish" does not mean annihilation; just as it did not mean so in the case of "the world that being overflowed with water, perished" under Noah (2Pe 3:6). The covenant of the possession of the earth was renewed with Noah and his seed on the renovated earth. So it shall be after the perishing by fire (2Pe 3:12, 13). remainest--through (so the Greek) all changes. as ... a garment--(Is 51:6).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 11. They shall perish. That is, the heavens and the earth. They shall pass away; or they shall be destroyed. Probably no more is meant by the phrase here, than that important changes will take place in them, or than that they will change their form, Still, it is not possible to foresee what changes may yet take place in the heavenly bodies, or to say that the present universe may not at some period be destroyed, and be succeeded by another creation still more magnificent. He that created the universe by a word, can destroy it by a word; and he that formed the present frame of nature can cause it to be succeeded by another, not less wonderful and glorious. The Scriptures seem to hold out the idea, that the present frame of the universe shall be destroyed. See 2Pet 3:10-13; Mt 24:35.

But thou remainest. Thou shalt not die, or be destroyed, What a sublime thought! The idea is, that though the heavens and earth should suddenly disappear, or though they should gradually wear out and become extinct, yet there is one infinite Being who remains unaffected, and unchanged. Nothing can reach or disturb him. All these changes shall take place under his direction, and by his command. See Lev 20:11. Let us not be alarmed, then, at any revolution. Let us not fear, though we should see the heavens rolled up as a scroll, and the stars falling from their places. God, the Creator and Redeemer, presides over all. He is unchanged, He ever lives; and though the universe should pass away, it will be only at his bidding, and under his direction.

And they all shall wax old. Shall grow or become old. The word wax is an old Saxon word, meaning to grow, or increase, or become. The heavens here are compared with a garment-meaning, that as that grows old and decays, so it will be with the heavens, and the earth. The language is evidently figurative; and yet who can tell how much literal truth there may be couched under it? Is it absurd to suppose that that sun which daily sends forth so many countless millions of beams of light over the universe, may, in a course of ages, become diminished in its splendour, and shine with feeble lustre? Can there be constant exhaustion, a constant burning like that, and yet no tendency to decay at some far distant period? Not unless the material for its splendour shall be supplied from the boundless resources of the Great Source of Light--God; and when he shall choose to with. hold it, even that glorious sun must be dimmed of its splendour, and shine with enfeebled beams.

(*) "wax old" "shall become old"

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 11 They shall perish - Permanently fixed as they seem to be, a time shall come when they shall be dissolved, and afterward new heavens and a new earth be formed, in which righteousness alone shall dwell. See 2Pet 3:10-13. Shall wax old as doth a garment - As a garment by long using becomes unfit to be longer used, so shall all visible things; they shall wear old, and wear out; and hence the necessity of their being renewed. It is remarkable that our word world is a contraction of wear old; a term by which our ancestors expressed the sentiment contained in this verse. That the word was thus compounded, and that it had this sense in our language, may be proved from the most competent and indisputable witnesses. It was formerly written weorold, and wereld. This etymology is finely alluded to by our excellent poet, Spencer, when describing the primitive age of innocence, succeeded by the age of depravity: - "The lion there did with the lambe consort, And eke the dove sat by the faulcon's side; Ne each of other feared fraude or tort, But did in safe security abide, Withouten perill of the stronger pride: But when the World woxe old, it woxe warre old, Whereof it hight, and having shortly tride The trains of wit, in wickednesse woxe bold, And dared of all sinnes, the secrets to unfold." Even the heathen poets are full of such allusions. See Horace, Carm. lib. iii., od. 6; Virgil, Aen. viii., ver. 324. Thou remainest - Instead of διαμένεις, some good MSS. read διαμενεῖς, the first, without the circumflex, being the present tense of the indicative mood; the latter, with the circumflex, being the future - thou shalt remain. The difference between these two readings is of little importance.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hebrews 1:4-14

Many Jews had a superstitious or idolatrous respect for angels, because they had received the law and other tidings of the Divine will by their ministry. They looked upon them as mediators between God and men, and some went so far as to pay them a kind of religious homage or worship. Thus it was necessary that the apostle should insist, not only on Christ's being the Creator of all things, and therefore of angels…

Read the full comment on Hebrews 1:4-14 →

Hebrews 1:11 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

αὐτοὶautoiThey themselvesG846
ἀπολοῦνται,apolountaiwill perish,G622
σὺsuYou yourselfG4771
δὲdehoweverG1161
διαμένεις·diameneisremain;G1265
καὶkaiandG2532
πάντεςpantesallG3956
ὡςhōslikeG5613
ἱμάτιονhimationa garmentG2440
παλαιωθήσονται,palaiōthēsontaiwill grow old,G3822

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Hebrews 1:11

  • Isaiah 51:6

    Lift 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 13:31

    Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

  • Luke 21:33

    Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

  • Matthew 24:35

    Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

  • Isaiah 34:4

    And 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.

  • Revelation 21:1

    And 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.

  • Psalms 10:16

    The Lord is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

  • Isaiah 65:17

    For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

  • 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.

  • Isaiah 41:4

    Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.

  • 2 Peter 3:7-10

    But 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. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

  • Psalms 29:10

    The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
shall perish.
12:27; Isa 34:4; 65:17; Mt 24:35; Mr 13:31; Lu 21:33; 2Pe 3:7-10
Re 20:11; 21:1
thou.
Ps 10:16; 29:10; 90:2; Isa 41:4; 44:6; Re 1:11,17,18; 2:8
shall wax.
Isa 50:9; 51:6,8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Hebrews 1:10

    And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

  • Hebrews 1:11

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

  • Hebrews 1:12

    And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

Read all of Hebrews 1

Hebrews 1:11 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Ellos perecerán, mas tú eres permanente; y todos ellos se envejecerán como una vestidura;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		eux, ils périront, mais toi, tu demeures; et ils vieilliront tous comme un habit,
German
Elberfelder 1871		sie werden untergehen, du aber bleibst; und sie alle werden veralten wie ein Kleid,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Ipsi peribunt, tu autem permanebis, et omnes ut vestimentum veterascent: