Hebrews 12
12
The Chastening of the Lord
1Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5#Job 5.17; Prov 3.11,12. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children,
My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord,
nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Warning against Rejecting God's Grace
12 #
Isa 35.3. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13#Prov 4.26. and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. 14Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 15#Deut 29.18. looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 16#Gen 25.29-34. lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17#Gen 27.30-40. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
18 #
Exod 19.16-22; 20.18-21; Deut 4.11,12; 5.22-27. For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, 19and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: 20#Exod 19.12,13. (for they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:#12.20 or thrust through with a dart not found in best early manuscripts. 21#Deut 9.19. and so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) 22but ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24#Gen 4.10. and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
25 #
Exod 20.19. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh: for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 26#Hag 2.6. whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 27And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29#Deut 4.24. for our God is a consuming fire.
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Hebrews 12: KJVAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Hebrews 12
12
The Lord’s Discipline
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,#tn Grk “having such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.” we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, 2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.#sn An allusion to Ps 110:1. 3 Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed#tn Grk “until blood.” in your struggle against sin. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons?
“My son, do not scorn#tn Or “disregard,” “think little of.” the Lord’s discipline
or give up when he corrects#tn Or “reproves,” “rebukes.” The Greek verb ἐλέγχω (elencw) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction. you.
6 “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts.”#sn A quotation from Prov 3:11-12.
7 Endure your suffering#tn Grk “endure,” with the object (“your suffering”) understood from the context. as discipline;#tn Or “in order to become disciplined.” God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? 8 But if you do not experience discipline,#tn Grk “you are without discipline.” something all sons#tn Grk “all”; “sons” is implied by the context. have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons. 9 Besides, we have experienced discipline from#tn Grk “we had our earthly fathers as discipliners.” our earthly fathers#tn Grk “the fathers of our flesh.” In Hebrews, “flesh” is a characteristic way of speaking about outward, physical, earthly life (cf. Heb 5:7; 9:10, 13), as opposed to the inward or spiritual dimensions of life. and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life?#tn Grk “and live.” sn Submit ourselves…to the Father of spirits and receive life. This idea is drawn from Proverbs, where the Lord’s discipline brings life, while resistance to it leads to death (cf. Prov 4:13; 6:23; 10:17; 16:17). 10 For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness. 11 Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful.#tn Grk “all discipline at the time does not seem to be of joy, but of sorrow.” But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness#tn Grk “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” for those trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen#tn Or “straighten.” your listless hands and your weak knees,#sn A quotation from Isa 35:3. Strengthen your listless hands and your weak knees refers to the readers’ need for renewed resolve and fresh strength in their struggles (cf. Heb 10:36-39; 12:1-3). 13 and make straight paths for your feet,#sn A quotation from Prov 4:26. The phrase make straight paths for your feet is figurative for “stay on God’s paths.” so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.
Do Not Reject God’s Warning
14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness,#sn The references to peace and holiness show the close connection between this paragraph and the previous one. The pathway toward “holiness” and the need for it is cited in Heb 12:10 and 14. More importantly Prov 4:26-27 sets up the transition from one paragraph to the next: It urges people to stay on godly paths (Prov 4:26, quoted here in v. 13) and promises that God will lead them in peace if they do so (Prov 4:27 [LXX], quoted in v. 14). for without it no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no one be like a bitter root springing up#tn Grk “that there not be any root of bitterness,” but referring figuratively to a person who causes trouble (as in Deut 29:17 [LXX] from which this is quoted).sn An allusion to Deut 29:18. and causing trouble, and through him many become defiled. 16 And see to it that no one becomes#tn Grk “that there not be any,” continuing from v. 15. an immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.#sn An allusion to Gen 27:34-41. 17 For you know that#tn Or a command: “for understand that.” later when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no opportunity for repentance, although he sought the blessing#tn Grk “it,” referring either to the repentance or the blessing. But the account in Gen 27:34-41 (which the author appeals to here) makes it clear that the blessing is what Esau sought. Thus in the translation the referent (the blessing) is specified for clarity. with tears. 18 For you have not come to something that can be touched,#tn This describes the nation of Israel approaching God on Mt. Sinai (Exod 19). There is a clear contrast with the reference to Mount Zion in v. 22, so this could be translated “a mountain that can be touched.” But the word “mountain” does not occur here and the more vague description seems to be deliberate. to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind 19 and the blast of a trumpet and a voice uttering words#tn Grk “a voice of words.” such that those who heard begged to hear no more.#tn Grk “a voice…from which those who heard begged that a word not be added to them.” 20 For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”#sn A quotation from Exod 19:12-13. 21 In fact, the scene#tn Grk “that which appeared.” was so terrifying that Moses said, “I shudder with fear.”#tn Grk “I am terrified and trembling.”sn A quotation from Deut 9:19. 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, the city#tn Grk “and the city”; the conjunction is omitted in translation since it seems to be functioning epexegetically – that is, explaining further what is meant by “Mount Zion.” of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly 23 and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator#tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesith", “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms. of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does.#sn Abel’s shed blood cried out to the Lord for justice and judgment, but Jesus’ blood speaks of redemption and forgiveness, something better than Abel’s does (Gen 4:10; Heb 9:11-14; 11:4).
25 Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven? 26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.”#sn A quotation from Hag 2:6. 27 Now this phrase “once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain. 28 So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe. 29 For our God is indeed a devouring fire.#sn A quotation from Deut 4:24; 9:3.
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