John 20 & Hebrews 1

John 20:17 and Hebrews 1:8,10-12

You have been taught that John 20:17, which reads as below in your New World Translation, precludes Jesus being God:

"Jesus said to her: 'Stop clinging to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God." ' "

Because Jesus is God the Son and God the Father is God the Father, Jesus calls God the Father, "God," as in God the Father, and God the Father calls Jesus, "God," as in God the Son, in Hebrews 1:8:

"But to the Son He says: 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.' "

Hebrews 1:8 in the New World Translation says, "God is your throne," not, "Your throne, O God":

"But about the Son, he says: 'God is your throne forever and ever, and the scepter of your Kingdom is the scepter of uprightness.' "

"Your throne, O God" is correct for three reasons. First, as you can see below and on this page, the original Greek says, "throne of You" - ie. Your throne - "O God":

As you can see above, there is no verb in the phrase, "The throne of you, O God," and the article "Ho" (the) in front of "throne" precludes it from being a predicate (see John 1:1). This is why, as seen on this page, all other English translations correctly translate this phrase as "Your throne, O God."

Second, compare these two sentences:

"Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom."
"God is your throne forever and ever, and the scepter of your Kingdom is the scepter of uprightness."

The sentence on top flows and coherently pairs "throne" and "scepter," both signs of reigning over a "kingdom," while the sentence on the bottom is awkward and incoherent.

Third, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever" means His reign, which "throne" represents, will last forever, and thus makes sense. On the other hand, 'God is your reign' doesn't make sense, so the "throne" in "God is your throne" remains in its literal meaning of a chair on which a king sits, and the sentence "God is your throne forever and ever" makes no sense unless you are supposed to be sitting on top of God forever and ever.

It should also be noted that the Greek word translated "about" in the phrase "But about the Son" in the New World Translation is "πρὸς" (pros), which more commonly means "to, towards, unto." Since God the Father is talking not only about Jesus but also "to" Jesus in verse 8, the correct translation of that phrase is, "But to the Son He says."

Hebrews 1:1-7 makes it clear that God the Father is indeed speaking to Jesus, and it is even more precise in Hebrews 1:10 to 12, even in the New World Translation, which reads:

"At the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; and just like a garment, they will all wear out, and you will wrap them up just as a cloak, as a garment, and they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never come to an end."

Psalm 102:25-27 in the New World Translation reads:

"Long ago you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; Just like a garment they will all wear out. Just like clothing you will replace them, and they will pass away. But you are the same, and your years will never end."

So Hebrews 1:10-12 is echoing Psalm 102:25-27, whose first verse - Psalm 102:1 reads, "O Jehovah, hear my prayer; Let my cry for help reach you," so this Psalm is addressed to "Jehovah." In other words, even according to the New World Translation, God the Father is describing Jesus as "Jehovah" as well.