Hebrews 12
12
1Let us also therefore, having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, laying aside every weight, and sin which so easily entangles us, run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2looking stedfastly on Jesus the leader and completer of faith: who, in view of the joy lying before him, endured the cross, having despised the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3For consider well him who endured so great contradiction from sinners against himself, that ye be not weary, fainting in your minds.
4Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, wrestling against sin. 5And ye have quite forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when reproved by him; 6for whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives. 7Ye endure for chastening, God conducts himself towards you as towards sons; for who is the son that the father chastens not? 8But if ye are without chastening, of which all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9Moreover we have had the fathers of our flesh as chasteners, and we reverenced them; shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live? 10For they indeed chastened for a few days, as seemed good to them; but he for profit, in order to the partaking of his holiness. 11But no chastening at the time seems to be matter of joy, but of grief; but afterwards yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those exercised by it. 12Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the failing knees; 13and make straight paths for your feet, that that which is lame be not turned aside; but that rather it may be healed. 14Pursue peace with all, and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord: 15watching lest there be any one who lacks the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and many be defiled by it; 16lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one meal sold his birthright; 17for ye know that also afterwards, desiring to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, (for he found no place for repentance) although he sought it earnestly with tears.
18For ye have not come to the mount that might be touched and was all on fire, and to obscurity, and darkness, and tempest, 19and trumpet's sound, and voice of words; which they that heard, excusing themselves, declined the word being addressed to them any more: 20(for they were not able to bear what was enjoined: And if a beast should touch the mountain, it shall be stoned; 21and, so fearful was the sight, Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and full of trembling;) 22but ye have come to mount Zion; and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem; and to myriads of angels, 23the universal gathering; and to the assembly of the firstborn who are registered in heaven; and to God, judge of all; and to the spirits of just men made perfect; 24and to Jesus, mediator of a new covenant; and to the blood of sprinkling, speaking better than Abel. 25See that ye refuse not him that speaks. For if those did not escape who had refused him who uttered the oracles on earth, much more we who turn away from him who does so from heaven: 26whose voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, saying, Yet once will I shake not only the earth, but also the heaven. 27But this Yet once, signifies the removing of what is shaken, as being made, that what is not shaken may remain. 28Wherefore let us, receiving a kingdom not to be shaken, have grace, by which let us serve God acceptably with reverence and fear. 29For also our God is a consuming fire.
Currently Selected:
Hebrews 12: DARBY
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Hebrews 12
12
1For that reason, since we are surrounded by such a great crowd of people who gave evidence of their trust in God, let's get rid of everything that holds us back, the seductive sins that trip us up, and let's keep on running the race placed before us. 2We should keep on looking to Jesus, the one who begins and completes our trust in God. Because of the joy ahead of him Jesus endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God's throne. 3Think about Jesus who endured such hostility from sinful people so you don't grow tired and become discouraged.
4Your resistance so far hasn't cost you blood as you fight against sin. 5Have you forgotten#12:5. Or “You have forgotten.” God's appeal to you when he reasons with you as his children? He says, “My child, don't treat the Lord's discipline lightly, and don't give up when he corrects you either. 6The Lord disciplines everyone he loves, and he punishes everyone he welcomes as his child.” 7Be patient as you experience God's discipline because he is treating you as his children. What child doesn't experience a father's discipline? 8If you are not disciplined (which everyone has experienced), then you are illegitimate and not true children. 9For if we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn't we even more be subject to the discipline of our spiritual Father which leads to life? 10They disciplined us for a short while as they thought appropriate, but God does so for our benefit in order that we can share his holy character. 11When it happens, all discipline seems painful and not something to be happy about. But later on it produces peace in those who have been trained in this way so that they do what is good and right.
12So strengthen your feeble hands, and your weak knees!#12:12. Quoting Isaiah 35:3. 13Make straight paths to walk on,#12:13. Quoting Proverbs 4:26. so that those who are crippled won't lose their way, but will be healed. 14Do your best to live in peace with everybody, and look for holiness—if you don't have this you won't see the Lord. 15Make sure that none of you lack God's grace, in case some cause of bitterness#12:15. See Deuteronomy 29:18. arises to give trouble and end up corrupting many of you. 16Make sure there's nobody who is sexually immoral, or irreligious, like Esau was. He sold his birthright for a single meal. 17You remember that even when he wanted to receive the blessing later on he was refused. Even though he really tried, and cried hard, Esau couldn't change what he had done.
18You haven't arrived at a physical mountain#12:18. Clearly the reference in context is to Mount Sinai. that can be touched, that burned with fire, to a stormy place of black darkness, 19where the sound of a trumpet and a voice speaking was heard—and those who heard the voice begged never to hear it speak to them again. 20For they couldn't take what they were told to do, such as, “Even if a farm animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”#12:20. Quoting Exodus 19:12-13 21The sight was so terrifying that Moses himself said, “I'm so scared I'm shaking!”#12:21. Quoting Deuteronomy 9:19.
22But you have arrived at Mount Zion, the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, with its thousands and thousands of angels. 23You have come to the church of the firstborn whose names are written down in heaven, to God, the judge of everyone, and to those good people whose lives are complete. 24You have come to Jesus, who shares with us the new agreed relationship, to the sprinkled blood that means more than that of Abel.#12:24. Probably meaning that Jesus shed his blood in a spirit of forgiveness, while in the context of the first murder God references Abel's blood as calling out for vengeance. 25Make sure you don't reject the one who is speaking! If they didn't escape when they rejected God on earth, it is even more certain that we won't escape if we turn away from God who warns us from heaven! 26Back then God's voice shook the earth, but his promise is now: “One more time I'm going to shake not only the earth, but heaven too.”#12:26. Quoting Haggai 2:6. 27This expression, “one more time,” indicates that all creation that is shaken is removed so that everything that is not shaken may remain.
28Since we're receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have a gracious attitude, so we can serve God in a way that pleases him, with reverence and respect. 29For “our God is a fire that consumes.”#12:29. Quoting Deuteronomy 4:24.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com