Hebrews 12
1 Therefore seeing we also are surrounded 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,
For 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.
2 Looking to 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.
We 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.
3 For consider him that endured such hostility by sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Think about Jesus who endured such hostility from sinful people so you don't grow tired and become discouraged.
4 Ye have not yet resisted to blood, striving against sin.
Your resistance so far hasn't cost you blood as you fight against sin.
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh to you as to children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked by him:
Have you 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.
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
The Lord disciplines everyone he loves, and he punishes everyone he welcomes as his child.”
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Be patient as you experience God's discipline because he is treating you as his children. What child doesn't experience a father's discipline?
8 But if ye are without chastisement, of which all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
If you are not disciplined, (which everyone has experienced), then you are illegitimate and not true children.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live?
For 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?
10 For 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.
They 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.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them who are exercised by it.
When 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.
12 Therefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
So strengthen your feeble hands, and your weak knees!
13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
Make straight paths to walk on, so that those who are crippled won't lose their way, but will be healed.
14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Do your best to live in peace with everybody, and look for holiness—if you don't have this you won't see the Lord.
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and by it many be defiled;
Make sure that none of you lack God's grace, in case some cause of bitterness arises to give trouble and end up corrupting many of you.
16 Lest there be any immoral, or profane person, as Esau, who for one meal sold his birthright.
Make sure there's nobody who is sexually immoral, or irreligious, like Esau was. He sold his birthright for a single meal.
17 For ye know 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.
You 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.
18 For ye are not come to the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor to blackness, and to darkness, and tempest,
You haven't arrived at a physical mountain that can be touched, that burned with fire, to a stormy place of black darkness,
19 And 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:
where 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.
20 ( 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 an arrow:
For 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.”
21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and tremble: )
The sight was so terrifying that Moses himself said, “I'm so scared I'm shaking!”
22 But ye are come to mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
But you have arrived at Mount Zion, the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, with its thousands and thousands of angels.
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, who are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
You 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.
24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
You have come to Jesus, who shares with us the new agreed relationship, to the sprinkled blood that means more than that of Abel.
25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spoke on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
Make 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!
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
Back 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.”
27 And 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.
This expression, “one more time,” indicates that all creation that is shaken is removed so that everything that is not shaken may remain.
28 Therefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Since 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.
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
For “our God is a fire that consumes.”
