---
title: Hebrews 1:8
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/hebrews-1-8/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/hebrews-1-8.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Hebrews 1:8
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Hebrews 1:8

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> But about the Son He says:  “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (1984 edition): "God is your throne forever and ever"
- NWT (2013 revision): "God is your throne forever and ever"

## JW Usage

The NWT renders the Father's address to the Son as "God is your throne forever and ever" rather than "Your throne, O God." JWs argue this means God is the source of Christ's kingly authority — God supports Christ's rule the way a throne supports a king — not that the Son is himself God.

## Protestant Usage

The Greek ho thronos sou ho theos is a vocative direct address: "Your throne, O God." The author of Hebrews opens v.8 with "but with reference to the Son" — so whoever is being addressed in v.8 is the Son, and whoever is being called "God" in v.8 is the Son. The Father himself names Jesus as God. Verse 9 ("God, your God, anointed you") presents no contradiction: in the incarnation the Son relates to the Father as his God (cf. Philippians 2:6-7), yet remains the one the Father addresses as God in v.8. ESV, NIV, NASB, KJV, CSB, NRSV and NET all read "Your throne, O God."

## NWT Issue

Hebrews 1:8 has more legitimate scholarly support than most NWT divergences — Westcott himself preferred "God is your throne" and the RSV/NRSV provide it as a footnote alternate. But no major translation uses this reading in its main text, and the Watchtower's own Kingdom Interlinear glosses the Greek literally as "the throne of you the God." The NWT pushes a footnote-level option into the main text precisely where the natural vocative reading would have the Father calling the Son God. The "God is your throne" rendering also yields a strange image: what does it mean for God to be someone's furniture?

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Jesus' Eternality](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/psalm102-hebrews1.md) — Psalm 102 → Hebrews 1 [Deity of Christ]
- ['A God' = Polytheism](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/john1-polytheism.md) — John 1:1 + Exodus 20:3 + Isaiah 43:10 [Deity of Christ]
- [The Incarnation Framework](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/philippians2.md) — Philippians 2:5–8 [Deity of Christ]
- [The Bible Has Not Been Corrupted](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/bible-reliability.md) — 5,800 Manuscripts Can't All Be Wrong [Authority]
- [The NWT's One-Way Mirror](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/nwt-unidirectional-bias.md) — Every Change Points the Same Direction [NWT Translation]
- [The Father Calls the Son 'God'](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/hebrews1-8-throne.md) — Hebrews 1:8 quoting Psalm 45:6 [Deity of Christ]
- [Gods Who Die and God to Pharaoh Don't Parallel Jesus](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/psalm82-exodus71-gods-parallel.md) — Psalm 82:6-7 / Exodus 7:1 / John 10:34-36 [Deity of Christ]
- ["My God and Your God" — John 20:17](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/john20-17-my-god.md) — Jesus distinguishes his relationship, not his nature [Deity of Christ]
- [You Can't Cite a Bible You Say Is Corrupted](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/consistency-corrupt-bible-self-defeat.md) — The Selective-Appeal Inconsistency [Authority]
- [The Salvation-Name Dilemma](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/salvation-name-dilemma.md) — Old Testament — only Jehovah's name saves. New Testament — only Jesus' name saves. [Deity of Christ]
- [Three "I"s in One Divine Mind — Why the Trinity Isn't a Body-Count Problem](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/trinity-three-centres-of-consciousness.md) — Person and being are different categories — and God is spirit [Deity of Christ]
- [You're Not God — Why Your Model Isn't the Standard](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/epistemic-humility-trinity-objection.md) — An incomprehensible Creator and the limits of created reason [Deity of Christ]
- [We Didn't Invent the Trinity — We Summarised What God Revealed](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/trinity-from-revelation-not-deduction.md) — A summary of three biblical revelations, not a philosophical speculation [Deity of Christ]