Hebrews 1:8 (NWT)
But about the Son, he says: “God is your throne forever and ever, and the scepter of your Kingdom is the scepter of uprightness.
A few other translations render this text the same way.
The Complete Bible: An American Translation
Hebrews 1:8
But of the Son he says, "God is your throne forever and ever! And a righteous scepter is the scepter of his kingdom!
The Twentieth Century New Testament
Hebrews 1:8
while of the Son he said-- 'God is thy throne for ever and ever; The scepter of his Kingdom is the scepter of Justice;
The question seem worthy of asking...
which rendering is in harmony with the context?
God is the one speaking, not the one being addressed.
This is seen from the surrounding texts, and the verse itself. Verse 7 says “Therefore God, thy God...” The one being addressed is a worshiper of that God.
Hebrews 1:8 is quoting Psalm 45:6, which originally was addressed to a human king of Israel.
Clearly, the Bible writer of this Psalm did not think that this human king was Almighty God.
Psalm 45:6, in
Revised Standard Version reads...
Your divine throne(Footnote*) endures for ever and ever.
Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;
Footnote* Psalm 45:6
Or Your throne is a throne of God, or Thy throne, O God
NE says, “Your throne is like God’s throne.” JP (verse 7): “Thy throne given of God.”
Solomon, who was possibly the king originally addressed in Psalm 45, was said to sit upon Jehovah’s throne. (1 Chronicles. 29:23)
Bible scholar B. F. Westcott states concerning this quotation:
“The LXX. admits of two renderings: [ho theosʹ] can be taken as a vocative in both cases (Thy throne, O God, . . . therefore, O God, Thy God . . . ) or it can be taken as the subject (or the predicate) in the first case (God is Thy throne, or Thy throne is God . . . ), and in apposition to [ho theosʹ sou] in the second case (Therefore God, even Thy God . . . ). . . . It is scarcely possible that [’Elohimʹ] in the original can be addressed to the king.
The presumption therefore is against the belief that [ho theosʹ] is a vocative in the LXX. Thus on the whole it seems best to adopt in the first clause the rendering: God is Thy throne (or, Thy throne is God), that is ‘Thy kingdom is founded upon God, the immovable Rock.’” — The Epistle to the Hebrews (London, 1889), pp. 25, 26.
In harmony with the fact that God is the “throne,” or Source and Upholder of Christ’s kingship, Daniel 7:13, 14 and Luke 1:32 show that God confers such authority on him.
The context is a very important factor.
By the way, I spoke with
@Hockeycowboy. Did he contact you?