Hebrews 12
12
A Large Crowd of Witnesses
1 #
4 Macc 6.10;
4 Macc 14.2. Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. 2#4 Macc 11.26. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side#12.2 right side: See the note at 1.3. of God's throne! 3So keep your mind on Jesus, who put up with many insults from sinners. Then you won't get discouraged and give up.
4None of you have yet been hurt#12.4 hurt: Or “killed.” in your battle against sin. 5#Job 5.17; Pr 3.11,12 (LXX). But you have forgotten that the Scriptures say to God's children,
“When the Lord punishes you,
don't make light of it,
and when he corrects you,
don't be discouraged.
6The Lord corrects the people
he loves
and disciplines those
he calls his own.”
7Be patient when you are being corrected! This is how God treats his children. Don't all parents correct their children? 8God corrects all his children, and if he doesn't correct you, then you don't really belong to him. 9Our earthly fathers correct us, and we still respect them. Isn't it even better to be given true life by letting our spiritual Father correct us?
10Our human fathers correct us for a short time, and they do it as they think best. But God corrects us for our own good, because he wants us to be holy, as he is. 11It is never fun to be corrected. In fact, at the time it is always painful. But if we learn to obey by being corrected, we will do right and live at peace.
12 # Is 35.3 (LXX). Now stand up straight! Stop your knees from shaking 13#Pr 4.26 (LXX). and walk a straight path. Then lame people will be healed, instead of getting worse.
Warning against Turning from God
14Try to live at peace with everyone! Live a clean life. If you don't, you will never see the Lord. 15#Dt 29.18 (LXX). Make sure no one misses out on God's wonderful kindness. Don't let anyone become bitter and cause trouble for the rest of you. 16#Gn 25.29-34. Watch out for immoral and ungodly people like Esau, who sold his future blessing#12.16 sold his future blessing: As the first-born son, Esau had certain privileges that were known as a “birthright.” for only one meal. 17#Gn 27.30-40. You know how he later wanted it back. But there was nothing he could do to change things, even though he begged his father and cried.
18 #
Ex 19.16-22; 20.18-21; Dt 4.11,12; 5.22-27. You have not come to a place like Mount Sinai#12.18 a place like Mount Sinai: The Greek text has “a place,” but the writer is referring to the time that the Lord spoke to the people of Israel from Mount Sinai (see Exodus 19.16-25). that can be seen and touched. There is no flaming fire or dark cloud or storm 19or trumpet sound. The people of Israel heard a voice speak. But they begged it to stop, 20#Ex 19.12,13. because they could not obey its commands. They were even told to kill any animal that touched the mountain. 21The sight was so frightening that Moses said he shook with fear.
22You have now come to Mount Zion and to the heavenly Jerusalem. This is the city of the living God, where thousands and thousands of angels have come to celebrate. 23Here you will find all of God's dearest children,#12.23 all of God's dearest children: The Greek text has “the gathering of the first-born children” (see the note at 1.6). whose names are written in heaven. And you will find God himself, who judges everyone. Here also are the spirits of those good people who have been made perfect. 24#Gn 4.10. And Jesus is here! He is the one who makes God's new agreement with us, and his sprinkled blood says much better things than the blood of Abel.#12.24 blood of Abel: Cain and Abel were the two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain murdered Abel (see Genesis 4.1-16).
25 #
Ex 20.22. Make sure you obey the one who speaks to you. The people did not escape, when they refused to obey the one who spoke to them at Mount Sinai. Do you think you can possibly escape, if you refuse to obey the one who speaks to you from heaven? 26#Hg 2.6 (LXX). When God spoke the first time, his voice shook only the earth. This time he has promised to shake the earth once again, and heaven too.
27The words “once again” mean that these created things will someday be shaken and removed. Then what cannot be shaken will last. 28We should be grateful we were given a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And in this kingdom we please God by worshiping him and by showing him great honor and respect. 29#Dt 4.24. Our God is like a destructive fire!
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Hebrews 12: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Hebrews 12
12
Follow Jesus’ Example
1We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back. 2Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect. He suffered death on the cross. But he accepted the shame as if it were nothing because of the joy that God put before him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. 3Think about Jesus’ example. He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to him. So do not get tired and stop trying.
God Is like a Father
4You are struggling against sin, but your struggles have not yet caused you to be killed. 5You have forgotten the encouraging words that call you his children:
“My child, don’t think the Lord’s discipline is worth nothing,
and don’t stop trying when he corrects you.
6The Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as his child.”#Proverbs 3:11–12
7So hold on through your sufferings, because they are like a father’s discipline. God is treating you as children. All children are disciplined by their fathers. 8If you are never disciplined (and every child must be disciplined), you are not true children. 9We have all had fathers here on earth who disciplined us, and we respected them. So it is even more important that we accept discipline from the Father of our spirits so we will have life. 10Our fathers on earth disciplined us for a short time in the way they thought was best. But God disciplines us to help us, so we can become holy as he is. 11We do not enjoy being disciplined. It is painful at the time, but later, after we have learned from it, we have peace, because we start living in the right way.
Be Careful How You Live
12You have become weak, so make yourselves strong again. 13Keep on the right path, so the weak will not stumble but rather be strengthened.
14Try to live in peace with all people, and try to live free from sin. Anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord. 15Be careful that no one fails to receive God’s grace and begins to cause trouble among you. A person like that can ruin many of you. 16Be careful that no one takes part in sexual sin or is like Esau and never thinks about God. As the oldest son, Esau would have received everything from his father, but he sold all that for a single meal. 17You remember that after Esau did this, he wanted to get his father’s blessing, but his father refused. Esau could find no way to change what he had done, even though he wanted the blessing so much that he cried.
18You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire. You have not come to darkness, sadness, and storms. 19You have not come to the noise of a trumpet or to the sound of a voice like the one the people of Israel heard and begged not to hear another word. 20They did not want to hear the command: “If anything, even an animal, touches the mountain, it must be put to death with stones.” 21What they saw was so terrible that Moses said, “I am shaking with fear.”
22But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands of angels gathered together with joy. 23You have come to the meeting of God’s firstborn children whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all people, and to the spirits of good people who have been made perfect. 24You have come to Jesus, the One who brought the new agreement from God to his people, and you have come to the sprinkled blood that has a better message than the blood of Abel.
25So be careful and do not refuse to listen when God speaks. Others refused to listen to him when he warned them on earth, and they did not escape. So it will be worse for us if we refuse to listen to God who warns us from heaven. 26When he spoke before, his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once again I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27The words “once again” clearly show us that everything that was made—things that can be shaken—will be destroyed. Only the things that cannot be shaken will remain.
28So let us be thankful, because we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We should worship God in a way that pleases him with respect and fear, 29because our God is like a fire that burns things up.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.