Hebrews 12
1 Seeing, therefore, that there is on every side of us such a throng of witnesses, let us also lay aside everything that hinders us, and the sin that clings about us, and run with patient endurance the race that lies before us,
Since, then, we have so great a cloud of witnesses placed before us, laying aside every incumbrance, and the sin which easily entangles us, let us run, with perseverance, the race set before us;
2 our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfect example of our faith, who, for the joy that lay before him, endured the cross, heedless of its shame, and now ‘has taken his seat at the right hand’ of the throne of God.
looking to Jesus, the leader and perfecter of the faith; who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Weigh well the example of him who had to endure such opposition from ‘people who were sinning against themselves,’ so that you should not grow weary or faint-hearted.
Consider him who, from sinners, endured such opposition against himself, lest, becoming discouraged in your minds, you grow weary;
4 You have not yet, in your struggle with sin, resisted to the death;
you have not yet resisted to blood, struggling against this sin.
5 and you have forgotten the encouraging words which are addressed to you as God’s children – ‘My child, think not lightly of the Lord’s discipline, do not despond when he rebukes you;
Besides, have you forgotten the exhortation which reasons with you as with children, "My son, do not think lightly of the Lord's chastisement, neither faint when you are rebuked by him:
6 For it is him whom he loves that he disciplines, and he chastises every child whom he acknowledges.’
for whom the Lord loves he chastises, and scourges every son whom he receives."
7 It is for your discipline that you have to endure all this. God is dealing with you as his children. For where is there a child whom his father does not discipline?
If you endure chastisement, God deals with you as his children. For what son is there whom his father does not chastise?
8 If you are left without that discipline, in which all children share, it shows that you are bastards, and not true children.
But if you be without chastisement, of which all sons are partakers, certainly you are bastards, and not sons.
9 Further, when our earthly fathers disciplined us, we respected them. Should we not, then, much rather yield submission to the Father of souls, and live?
Farther, we have had fathers of our flesh, who chastised us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of our spirits, and live?
10 Our fathers disciplined us for only a short time and as seemed best to them; but God disciplines us for our true good, to enable us to share his holiness.
For they, indeed, during a very few days, chastised us according to their pleasure; but he, for our advantage, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 No discipline is pleasant at the time; on the contrary, it is painful. But afterward its fruit is seen in the peacefulness of a righteous life which is the lot of those who have been trained under it.
Now, no chastisement, indeed, for the present, seems to be matter of joy, but of sorrow. Nevertheless, afterward it returns the peaceful fruit of righteousness to them who are trained by it.
12 Therefore ‘lift again the down-dropped hands and straighten the weakened knees;
Wherefore, bring to their right position, the arms that hang down, and the weakened knees.
13 make straight paths for your feet,’ so that the lame limb may not be put out of joint, but rather be cured.
And make smooth paths for your feet, that that which is lame, may not be put out of joint, but that it may rather be healed.
14 Try earnestly to live at peace with everyone, and to attain to that purity without which no one will see the Lord.
Pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which, no one shall see the Lord:
15 Take care that no one fails to use the loving help of God, ‘that no bitterness is allowed to take root and spring up, and cause trouble,’ and so poison the whole community.
carefully observing, lest any one come short of the favor of God; lest some bitter root springing up, trouble you, and by it many be polluted;
16 Take care that no one becomes immoral, or irreligious like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.
lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau; who, for one meal, gave away his birthrights.
17 For you know that even afterward, when he wished to claim his father’s blessing, he was rejected – for he never found an opportunity to repair his error – though he begged for the blessing with tears.
And you know, that although afterward he wished to inherit the blessing, he was reprobated: for he found no scope for effecting a change, though he earnestly sought it with tears.
18 It is not to tangible ‘flaming fire’ that you have drawn near, nor to ‘gloom, and darkness, and storm,
Now you are not come to a tangible mountain, which burned with fire; and to blackness, and to darkness, and to tempest,
19 and the blast of a trumpet, and an audible voice.’ Those who heard that voice entreated that they might hear no more,
and to the sound of a trumpet, and to the voice of words, the hearers of which earnestly entreated that a word more might not be addressed to them:
20 for they could not bear to think of the command – ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it is to be stoned to death;’
for they could not bear this threat, "Even if a beast touch the mountain, it shall shall be stoned."
21 and so fearful was the sight that Moses said – ‘I tremble with fear.’
And so terrible was the appearance, that Moses said, "I exceedingly fear and tremble."
22 No, but it is to Mount Zion that you have drawn near, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to countless hosts of angels,
But you are come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of messengers,
23 to the festal gathering and assemblage of God’s firstborn whose names are enrolled in heaven, to God the judge of all people, to the spirits of the righteous who have attained perfection,
to the general assembly and congregation of the first-born, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 to Jesus, the intermediary of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that tells of better things than the blood of Abel.
and to Jesus the mediator of the new institution, and to the blood of sprinkling, which speaks better things than that of Abel.
25 Beware how you refuse to hear him who is speaking. For, if the Israelites did not escape punishment, when they refused to listen to him who taught them on earth the divine will, far worse will it be for us, if we turn away from him who is teaching us from heaven.
Take care that you refuse not him who speaks: for if they did not escape, who refused him who spoke on earth, much more we shall not escape, who turn away from him that speaks from heaven:
26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now his declaration is – ‘Still once more I will cause not only the earth to tremble, but also the heavens.’
whose voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, saying, "Yet once I shake not the earth only, but also the heavens."
27 And those words ‘still once more’ indicate the passing away of all that is shaken – that is, of all created things – in order that only what is unshaken may remain.
Now this speech, "YET ONCE," signifies the removing of the things shaken, as of things which were constituted, that the things not shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, let us, who have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken, be thankful, and so offer acceptable worship to God, with awe and the deepest respect.
Wherefore, we having received a kingdom not shaken, let us have gratitude, by which we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and religious fear.
29 For our God is ‘a consuming fire.’
For truly our God is a consuming fire.
