Ibrani 4:7

4:7 So God ¹  again ordains a certain day, “Today,” speaking through David ²  after so long a time, as in the words quoted before, ³  “O, that today you would listen as he speaks! ⁴  Do not harden your hearts.”

Ibrani 8:8

8:8 But ⁵  showing its fault, ⁶  God ⁷  says to them, ⁸ 

“Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

[4:7]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:7]  ² sn Ps 95 does not mention David either in the text or the superscription. It is possible that the writer of Hebrews is attributing the entire collection of psalms to David (although some psalms are specifically attributed to other individuals or groups).

[4:7]  ³ tn Grk “as it has been said before” (see Heb 3:7).

[4:7]  ⁴ tn Grk “today if you hear his voice.”

[8:8]  ⁵ tn Grk “for,” but providing an explanation of the God-intended limitation of the first covenant from v. 7.

[8:8]  ⁶ sn The “fault” or limitation in the first covenant was not in its inherent righteousness, but in its design from God himself. It was never intended to be his final revelation or provision for mankind; it was provisional, always pointing toward the fulfillment to come in Christ.

[8:8]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:8]  ⁸ tc ‡ Several witnesses (א* A D* I K P Ψ 33 81 326 365 1505 2464 al latt co Cyr) have αὐτούς (autous) here, “[in finding fault with] them, [he says],” alluding to Israel’s failings mentioned in v. 9b. (The verb μέμφομαι [memfomai, “to find fault with”] can take an accusative or dative direct object.) The reading behind the text above (αὐτοίς, autoi"), supported by Ì⁴⁶ א² B D² 0278 1739 1881 Ï, is perhaps a harder reading theologically, and is more ambiguous in meaning. If αὐτοίς goes with μεμφόμενος (memfomeno", here translated “showing its fault”), the clause could be translated “in finding fault with them” or “in showing [its] faults to them.” If αὐτοίς goes with the following λέγει (legei, “he says”), the clause is best translated, “in finding/showing [its] faults, he says to them.” The accusative pronoun suffers no such ambiguity, for it must be the object of μεμφόμενος rather than λέγει. Although a decision is difficult, the dative form of the pronoun best explains the rise of the other reading and is thus more likely to be original.