Thy throne O God Psalm 45 Hebrews 1
“Thy throne, O God” in Psalm 45 and Hebrews 1: A Critical, Non‑Trinitarian Reading
Abstract
This study argues that Hebrews 1:8–9 quotes Psalm 45:6–7 in a way that does not require identifying Jesus as God. The thesis is that Psalm 45 originally addressed a future Israelite king and that Hebrews applies the psalm to the Son as its fulfillment and to demonstrate his authority and anointing by God. The core claim: in Hebrews 1:8 the Father is not calling the Son “God”; rather, God addresses the Son with a line about God’s throne (as in the psalm), followed by verse 9 clarifying that “God, your God” anoints the Son. Translation debates (“O God” vs. “God is your throne”) do not need to be resolved in favor of a unitarian bias or a trinitarian bias to sustain this reading.
This reading assumes that Psalm 45, like several other royal psalms, is ultimately messianic in scope, anticipating a future Davidic ruler whose fulfillment is found in Jesus the Messiah; thus, Hebrews’ use of the psalm represents not a reinterpretation but a recognition of its prophetic intent.
1) Introduction and Thesis
One of the most common trinitarian arguments appeals to Hebrews 1:8–9, claiming that God calls Jesus “God.”
Hebrews 1:8–9 (KJV)
8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Many non‑trinitarians, including Unitarians, reply that “O God” is a mistranslation influenced by trinitarian bias. This study reaches a different conclusion: the translation “O God” can be defensible, yet the interpretation often drawn from it is incorrect. The decisive control text is Psalm 45:6–7, which Hebrews quotes. We should interpret Hebrews via the psalm’s original sense, not the other way around.
2) Presenting the Source Texts
Before we look at this passage in Hebrews in more detail, it is important to note that this passage is quoting Psalm 45:6-7
Psalm 45:6–7
Psalm 45:6–7 (KJV)
6 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Hebrews 1:8–9
Hebrews 1:8–9 (KJV)
8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Initial observation: Most modern translations (NIV, ESV, ISV, NET) render Psalm 45:6 and Hebrews 1:8 with “O God.” This is not a KJV‑only phenomenon.
3) Method: Read Hebrews Through Psalm 45
If Psalm 45 is misunderstood, Hebrews 1:8–9 will be misread. The common mistake is to start with Hebrews and impose that conclusion onto the psalm. This study proceeds in the opposite direction: establish the sense of Psalm 45 first, then consider how Hebrews reuses it.
4) Psalm 45 in Context
Addressee and Setting. Psalm 45 is a royal psalm addressed to an Israelite king of David’s line (often proposed: Solomon or David; the text itself leaves the king unnamed). I believe that the king in question is a future messianic king, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. I have written elsewhere on why I believe that the psalms—particularly the royal and messianic psalms—point forward prophetically to the coming Messiah, and that this understanding best fits both the literary and theological framework of the Hebrew Bible. The psalmist speaks to the king in vv. 1–5:
Ps 45:1–5 (KJV) My heart is inditing a good matter… touching the king… Thou art fairer than the children of men… therefore God hath blessed thee for ever… (vv. 1–5 summarize the king’s might, splendor, and victories.)
The Crux: vv. 6–7.
6 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee…
Two questions must be addressed for v. 6:
How should we render the Hebrew?
The Hebrew reads אֱלֹהִים (’elohim); the LXX Greek has ὁ θεός (ho theos). “Many versions render this as ‘Your throne, O God,’ such as the NIV, ESV, and NET Bible. This should certainly not be construed as a KJV-only argument. Others—notably JPS Tanakh 1917 (‘Thy throne given of God is for ever and ever’) and the NWT (‘God is your throne forever and ever’)—construe God as the source or ground of the throne rather than a vocative addressed to the king. It is not unusual for non-trinitarians to assert that the correct reading should follow the NWT or similar.”
The NWT translation—“God is your throne forever and ever”—while grammatically possible, is contextually improbable and stylistically awkward. The imagery of God serving as a throne has no clear parallel in Hebrew poetry or biblical idiom, making this rendering unlikely. It appears more as a reaction to trinitarian interpretations than as a conclusion derived from the text’s own linguistic or literary context. A more natural reading understands the verse as referring to the divine throne itself, or to God’s throne being shared with or granted to the king, which aligns with the broader theological and poetic patterns of the Hebrew Bible.
Who is the referent?
Is the king being called “God,” or is the psalmist momentarily addressing God before returning to the king in v. 7?
4.1 Translation Options and Their Implications
Vocative (“O God”): If v. 6 addresses the king as “O God,” that does not prove ontological deity. In the Hebrew Bible ’elohim can be applied to human rulers/judges in a representative sense (cf. Exod 7:1). Rashi takes this route, glossing “Your throne, O judge,” analogizing to Moses made “a god/judge to Pharaoh.”
Rashi did not interpret the verse in the same way as the JPS Tanakh or the NWT. He maintained that the referent was indeed the king, yet understood the expression differently: the king is called Elohim in a representative sense, just as Moses was made “a god” or “judge” over Pharaoh (Exod 7:1). In Rashi’s view, the term signifies delegated authority and divine commission rather than divine nature—thus, the king is called Elohim in the same way Moses was.
This interpretation rules out the idea that the king was being called God in an ultimate or ontological sense. Rather, he is designated Elohim in the same representative manner that judges and rulers were sometimes addressed in Scripture. Consequently, when this verse is applied to Jesus in Hebrews, it need not imply that he is God in an ultimate sense, but that he shares in the divinely appointed authority and anointing of the messianic king.
The absence of the article with ’Elohim allows, though does not require, a vocative sense (‘O God’). Grammarians such as Waltke and O’Connor (§13.5d) note that such vocatives can also mark exalted human figures, consistent with Rashi’s interpretation.”
Predicate/Locative (“God is your throne” / “Your throne of God”): JPS 1917 and NWT exemplify this. The king’s throne is from God or grounded in God, cohering with the notion that the Davidic king sits on YHWH’s throne:
1 Chr 29:23: “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father…”
2 Chr 9:8: “…to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God…”
Referential Shift to God: A third option—adopted in this study as the correct understanding of the passage—is that in v. 6 the psalmist interjects an address to God (“Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever”), then in v. 7 resumes addressing the king. Such shifts of addressee occur elsewhere in Scripture and are reflected in Targum Psalms, which reads:
“The throne of your glory, O Lord, lasts forever and ever; the scepter of your kingdom is an upright scepter.”
On this reading, v. 6 calls God “O God,” not the king.
Key point: Even if “O God” is retained as the best rendering of אֱלֹהִים/ὁ θεός, the referent can still be God rather than the king. This view harmonizes with the messianic reading: the psalmist momentarily addresses God before describing how God anoints the messianic king—fulfilled ultimately in Jesus.
“Some (e.g., Kraus, Dahood) maintain that the king remains the addressee in both verses, with Elohim serving as a royal title of divine authority. However, the immediate return to ‘God, your God’ in v. 7, combined with the Targumic reading, supports a momentary shift to direct address to God in v. 6.”
(I shall just point out that IF the King is the referent here then I would argue this has to be King David rather than Solomon. It was King David that was promised his throne would not end.)
2 Samuel 7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
Jeremiah 33:17 For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;
Solomon was never promised this, and in fact his Kingdom was taken away from him.
We know that the King sits upon the throne of YHWH
1 Chronicles 29:23Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.
2 Chronicles 9:8 Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.
If this is the correct translation and the correct referent of this verse, then the King is not being called God but rather the Psalmist is simply saying that the Kings throne is given to him by God. The throne, ultimately is Gods throne but is given by God to the King to sit upon.
But is this correct?
4.2 Consistency Check on “O God” in Non‑Trinitarian Translations
Claims that “O God” is a trinitarian imposition fail because the same Hebrew/Greek is translated as “O God” in non‑trinitarian versions elsewhere:
Psalm 72:1 [A Psalm] of Solomon. Give the king Thy judgments, O God, And Thy righteousness unto the king’s son; JPS Tanakh 1917
Psalm 72:1 O God, give your judgments to the king, And endow the son of the king with your righteousness. NWT
Also, the same Hebrew/Greek is translated as “O God” in both the JPS and NWT in other places, Ps 51:10; Ps 61:1 and many other vocatives.
Thus, the question in Psalm 45 is not whether “O God” is a permissible rendering, but who is being addressed in v. 6.
4.3 Verse 7: “Therefore God, your God…”
Verse 7 mirrors v. 2 structurally: “Therefore God has blessed/anointed you…” The phrase “thy God” functions as a clarification of which God is in view—not as an assertion that one “God” has another “God.” Parallels abound where Scripture first says “God,” then specifies “your God / our God”:
This reflects a common biblical pattern in which the text first refers to “God” in general terms and then qualifies the reference with a possessive (“your God,” “our God,” etc.) to identify the covenant relationship and specify that it is the true God, YHWH, that is meant.
Gen 46:3: “I am God, the God of thy father…”
Ps 68:24: “They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God…”
Ps 77:13; Ps 146:10; 2 Sam 7:28; Ps 50:7: “I am God, even thy God.”
“The genitive phrase ‘your God’ expresses covenantal relationship, not subordination within deity. Similar constructions (Ps 50:7) clarify identity without implying polytheism.”
Conclusion for Psalm 45: Whether v. 6 is an interjection to God or a representative use of ’elohim for the king, v. 7 unmistakably distinguishes God from the king: God, your God, has anointed you. This accords with a messianic understanding—the divine anointing of the promised Davidic king who finds his ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.
5) Hebrews 1 in Context
Hebrews opens by exalting the Son’s status and mission without conflating him with God:
Heb 1:1–4 (KJV) 1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
From v. 5 onward the author strings Scripture to argue the Son’s superiority to angels:
- Heb 1:5 cites Ps 2:7 and 2 Sam 7:14 (begotten/sonship).
Psalm 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
2 Samuel 7:14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
Hebrews 1:6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
- Heb 1:6 introduces a future scene: “Let all God’s angels worship him.” (often connected to the LXX of Deut 32:43; this study notes alternative views and does not rely on that point).
- Heb 1:7 (Ps 104:4) describes what God says of angels.
Hebrews 1:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.Psalm 104:4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
- Heb 1:8–9 contrasts what God says to the Son against what he says to the angels.
5.1 “He says” and the Addressee in v. 8
Some Unitarians observe that the Greek of v. 8 lacks an explicit “he says.” Grammatically, however, v. 8 continues the finite verb from v. 7: “of the angels he says… but to the Son [he says]…” The contrast in Greek and English is explicit in the switch of prepositions (περὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων vs. πρὸς τὸν υἱόν). Thus, the structure plainly signals direct address to the Son in contrast to what he says to the angels, vv. 8–9. The point of this observation is not that God calls the Son “God,” but that God is the speaker in v. 8.
In verse 8, God is not speaking about the Son or concerning the Son, but directly to Him—the statement is an address, not a description.
5.2 Applying Psalm 45 in Hebrews
On the psalmic reading adopted above, God addresses the Son with a line about God’s throne (Ps 45:6), then applies v. 7 to the Son’s anointing while confirming that it is indeed “God—his God—has anointed him”: “Therefore God, your God, has anointed you…” The theology is coherent: the Son is anointed by his God and enthroned with reference to God’s eternal reign/scepter.
5.3 Alternative Translation in Hebrews 1:8 (NWT)
If, however, we understand the text to mean that the king’s throne is established by God—or that God’s throne is granted to the king, as reflected in the JPS and NWT translations of Psalm 45—then this sense can naturally be carried over to the passage in Hebrews.
“As noted above, the NWT’s ‘God is your throne forever and ever’ is grammatically possible but contextually unlikely; retaining ‘O God’ does not require reading the Son as ontologically God, given the psalm’s literary dynamics and the clarifying ‘God, your God’ in v. 9.”
6) Patristic Witnesses (for Context, Not as Final Authority)
Early Christian writers like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian cited Psalm 45/Heb 1 to support calling both Father and Son “God.” For example:
- Justin, Dial. Trypho 63: interprets the lines as warranting worship of Christ “as God and as Christ.”
- Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.6: says the Spirit “designates both by the name of God—both Him who is anointed as Son, and Him who does anoint (the Father).”
- Tertullian, Against Praxeas 13: argues the psalm “described Two as God.”
These show how the passage was leveraged in a developing trinitarian trajectory. The present study dissents from those conclusions while acknowledging their historical significance.
[he says]: ‘Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of rectitude is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hast hated iniquity: therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows. [He hath anointed Thee] with myrrh, and oil, and cassia from Thy garments, from the ivory palaces, whereby they made Thee glad. Kings’ daughters are in Thy honour. The queen stood at Thy right hand, clad in garments embroidered with gold.Literally, “garments of gold, variegated.” Hearken, O daughter, and behold, and incline thine ear, and forget thy people and the house of thy father; and the King shall desire thy beauty: because he is thy Lord, and thou shalt worship Him.’11. Therefore these words testify explicitly that He is witnessed to by Him who established these things, The incarnation, etc. as deserving to be worshipped, as God and as Christ
Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho chapter LXIII
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; the sceptre of Thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee.”33313331 Ps. xlv. 6. For the Spirit designates both [of them] by the name, of God—both Him who is anointed as Son, and Him who does anoint, that is, the Father. And again: “God stood in the congregation of the gods, He judges among the gods.”33323332 Ps. lxxxii. 1. He [here] refers to the Father and the Son, and those who have received the adoption; but these are the Church. For she is the synagogue of God, which God—that is, the Son Himself—has gathered by Himself. Of whom He again speaks: “The God of gods, the Lord hath spoken, and hath called the earth.”33333333 Ps. l. 1. Who is meant by God? He of whom He has said, “God shall come openly, our God, and shall not keep silence;”33343334 Ps. l. 3. that is, the Son, who came manifested to men who said, “I have openly appeared to those who seek Me not.”33353335 Isa. lxv. 1. But of what gods [does he speak]? [Of those] to whom He says, “I have said, Ye are gods, and all sons of the Most High.”33363336 Ps. lxxxii. 6. To those, no doubt, who have received the grace of the “adoption, by which we cry, Abba Father.
Irenaeus against Heresies book 3 chapter 6
listen to the psalm in which Two are described as God: Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever; the sceptre of Your kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness. You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore God, even Your God, has anointed You or made You His Christ.
Now, since He here speaks to God, and affirms that God is anointed by God, He must have affirmed that Two are God, by reason of the sceptre’s royal power
Tertullian Against Praxeas chapter 13
The interpretations of this passage by early Church Fathers such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian are best understood within the framework of their Christological and pre-existence theologies. Their readings were not strictly grammatical or contextual exegesis of Psalm 45 or Hebrews 1, but theological interpretations shaped by a conviction that Christ pre-existed as divine and was worthy of worship. Consequently, when they encountered statements such as “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever,” they read them as affirmations of Christ’s deity rather than royal or representative language. This approach reflects the developing Christian understanding of the relationship between the Father and the Son in the second and third centuries, where passages that could be interpreted in a divine sense were often employed to support emerging Trinitarian formulations.
7) Consolidated Argument
- Psalm 45 should control Hebrews 1. The psalm either (a) addresses God in v. 6 before returning to the king in v. 7, or (b) uses ’elohim for the king in a representative/judicial sense. In either case, v. 7 distinguishes God from the king.
- “O God” translations are not uniquely trinitarian. JPS 1917 and NWT sometimes render the same vocative as “O God” elsewhere (e.g., Ps 72:1).
- “God, your God” clarifies identity, not deity of the king/Son. It functions like “I am God, your God” (Ps 50:7) and similar passages.
- Hebrews’ rhetoric: God speaks to the Son (contrast with angels), quoting Psalm 45 to affirm the Son’s anointing and reign from God, not to collapse God and the Son into a single identity.
8) Conclusion
Hebrews 1:8–9, read in the light of Psalm 45:6–7, need not—and on this reading does not—assert that Jesus is God. It affirms instead that God addresses the Son, announces the permanence and righteousness of God’s reign, and declares the Son’s exaltation and anointing by God, his God. Thus the translation “O God” can stand, while the common trinitarian interpretation does not follow.
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