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Hebrews 12
Expanded Bible

Follow Jesus’ Example

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by a great cloud of ·people whose lives tell us what faith means [L witnesses], let us run the race that is before us ·and never give up [with endurance/perseverance]. ·We should [Let us] ·remove from our lives [get rid of; cast aside] anything that ·would get in the way [impedes/hinders us] and the sin that so easily ·holds us back [entangles/clings to us]. 2 Let us ·look only to [keep our eyes on] Jesus, the ·One who began [Pioneer/Founder of; or Leader/Prince of] our faith and who ·makes it perfect [completes it]. He ·suffered death on [L endured] the cross, ·accepting the shame as if it were nothing [L disregarding/despising the shame] because of the joy that ·God put before [lay ahead for] him. And now he is sitting at the right ·side [L hand] of God’s throne [1:3; 13; Ps. 110:1]. 3 Think about Jesus, who endured such ·hostility [opposition] from sinful people, so that you will not ·get tired [grow weary; get discouraged] and ·stop trying [give up].

God Is like a Father

4 You are struggling against sin, but your ·struggles [resistance; opposition] have not yet ·caused you to be killed [resulted in bloodshed/L blood]. 5 ·You have forgotten [or Have you forgotten…?] the ·encouraging words [exhortation] that ·call you his [or address you as] ·children [or sons]:

“My ·child [or son], don’t ·think the Lord’s discipline is worth nothing [scorn/treat lightly/make light of the Lord’s discipline],
    and don’t ·stop trying [get discouraged] when he ·corrects [rebukes] you.
  6 [L For; Because] The Lord disciplines those he loves,
    and he ·punishes [chastises; severely disciplines] everyone he accepts as his child [Prov. 3:11–12].”

7 ·So hold on through your sufferings, because they are like a father’s discipline [L Persevere in discipline]. God is treating you as ·children [or sons]. ·All children are [L For what child/son is not…?] disciplined by their fathers. 8 If you are never disciplined (and every ·child [or son] must be disciplined), you are ·not true children [L illegitimate and not (true) children/sons]. 9 [Furthermore; Moreover] We have all had ·fathers [or parents] 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 [or our spiritual Father; or the Father of all spirit beings; 12:23; Num. 16:22] so we will have [C eternal or true spiritual] life. 10 ·Our fathers on earth [L They] disciplined us for a short time in the way they thought was best. But God disciplines us ·to help us [for our good/benefit], so we can ·become holy as he is [L share in his holiness]. 11 We do not enjoy being disciplined. It is painful at the time, but later, after we have ·learned from [been trained by] it, ·we have peace [L it produces/bears the fruit of peace], ·because we start living in the right way [or …and righteousness].

Be Careful How You Live

12 ·You have become weak, so make yourselves strong again [L Therefore, strengthen your drooping arms/hands and your weak/disabled knees; Is. 35:3]. 13 ·Keep on the right path [L Make straight/clear paths for your feet; Prov. 4:27], so the ·weak [lame] will not ·stumble [be disabled; put out of joint] but rather be ·strengthened [healed].

14 ·Try to live in [L Pursue] peace with all people, and ·try to live free from sin [L pursue holiness/sanctification]. [L For] Anyone whose life is not ·holy [sanctified] will never see the Lord. 15 ·Be careful [See to it; Take heed] that no one ·fails to receive [falls short of] God’s grace and ·begins to cause trouble among you [L that no bitter root/plant grows up to cause trouble]. ·A person like that [Such a root/plant] can ·ruin [defile; pollute; corrupt] many of you. 16 ·Be careful [See to it; Take heed] that no one takes part in sexual sin or is like Esau and ·never thinks about God [is godless/profane/worldly-minded]. ·As the oldest son, Esau would have received everything from his father, but he sold all that for a single meal [L …who sold his own birthright for one meal; Gen. 25:29–34]. 17 You remember that after Esau did this, he wanted to ·get [L inherit] his father’s blessing, but ·his father refused [L he was rejected]. Esau could find no way to ·change [or repent of] what he had done, even though he ·wanted [pleaded for; sought] the blessing so much that he cried [Gen. 27:34–41].

18 You have not come to ·a mountain [L something] that can be touched and that is burning with fire [C a description of Mount Sinai when Israel received the Law; Ex. 19:18; Deut. 4:11]. You have not come to darkness, gloom, and ·storms [a whirlwind]. 19 You have not come to the noise of a trumpet [Ex. 19:16, 19] or to the sound of ·a voice [L words] like the one the people of Israel heard and begged not to hear another word [C fearing God’s wrath, Israel asked Moses to mediate God’s message; Ex. 20:19; Deut. 5:5; 18:16]. 20 [L  For] They ·did not want to hear [could not bear/endure] the command: “If anything, even an animal, touches the mountain, it must be put to death with stones [Ex. 19:12–13].” 21 [Indeed,] What they saw was so ·terrible [terrifying] that Moses said, “I am ·shaking [trembling] with fear [Deut. 9:19].”

22 But you have come to Mount Zion [C another name for Jerusalem, here meaning the spiritual city of God’s people; Gal. 4:26; Rev. 21:2], to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem [11:10]. You have come to ·thousands of [tens of thousands/myriads of; countless] angels ·gathered together with joy [in joyful assembly; Deut. 33:2]. 23 You have come to the ·meeting [assembly; congregation; or church] of God’s firstborn [C the first son in a Jewish family received special privileges and a greater share of the inheritance; all God’s people are “firstborn”] children ·whose names are written [who are registered as citizens; Luke 10:20; Rev. 21:27] in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of ·all people [everything; all], and to the spirits of ·good [righteous] people who have been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the ·One who brought [mediator of] the new ·agreement from God to his people [covenant; contract; 8:1–13; Jer. 31:31–34], and you have come to the sprinkled blood [C Jesus’ blood shed on the cross; Heb. 9:19–22] that ·has a better message [speaks of something better; or pleads more insistently] than the blood of Abel [C murdered by his brother Cain; Abel’s “blood cried out” to God for vengeance (Gen. 4:10), but Jesus’ blood cries out with a message of forgiveness and reconciliation].

25 So ·be careful and [see that you] do not refuse to listen when God speaks. If those who refused to listen to him when he warned them on earth did not escape, how much worse will it be for us if we refuse to listen to God who warns us from heaven? 26 When he spoke ·before [then], his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once again I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens [Hag. 2:6, 21].” 27 The words “once again” clearly show us that everything that was made—things that can be shaken—will be ·destroyed [removed]. [So that] Only the things that cannot be shaken will remain.

28 So let us be thankful, because we ·have [are receiving] a kingdom that cannot be shaken. [As a result; or In this way] We should worship God in a way that pleases him with ·respect [reverence; devotion] and ·fear [awe], 29 because our God is ·like a fire that burns things up [L a consuming/devouring fire; Deut. 4:24; 9:3].

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Hebrews 12
Lexham English Bible

The Example of Jesus’ Suffering

12 Therefore, since[a] we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, putting aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us[b], let us run with patient endurance the race that has been set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the originator and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider the one who endured such hostility by sinners against himself,[c] so that you will not grow weary in your souls and give up. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your[d] blood as you[e] struggle against sin. 5 And have you completely forgotten the exhortation which instructs you as sons?

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    or give up when you are corrected by him.
6 For the Lord disciplines the one whom he loves,
    and punishes every son whom he accepts.”[f]

7 Endure it for discipline. God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there whom a father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, in which all legitimate sons[g] have become participants, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had our earthly fathers[h] who disciplined us, and we respected them. Will we not much rather subject ourselves to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a few days according to what seemed appropriate to them, but he does so for our benefit, in order that we can have a share in his holiness. 11 Now all discipline seems for the moment not to be joyful but painful, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who are trained by it.

A Serious Warning Against Refusing God

12 Therefore strengthen your slackened hands and your weakened knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame will not be dislocated, but rather be healed. 14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. 15 Take care that no one falls short of the grace of God; that no one growing up like a root of bitterness causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one be a sexually immoral or totally worldly person like Esau, who for one meal traded his own birthright. 17 For you know that also afterwards, when he[i] wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, because he did not find an occasion for repentance, although he sought it with tears.

18 For you have not come to something that can be touched, and to a burning fire, and to darkness, and to gloom, and to a whirlwind, 19 and to the noise of a trumpet, and to the sound of words which those who heard begged that not another word be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”[j] 21 And the spectacle was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am terrified and trembling.”[k] 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to tens of thousands of angels, to the festal gathering 23 and assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood[l] that speaks better than Abel’s does.

25 Watch out that you do not refuse the one who is speaking! For if those did not escape when they[m] refused the one who warned them on earth, much less will we escape,[n] if we[o] reject the one who warns from heaven, 26 whose voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, saying,

“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven.”[p]

27 Now the phrase “yet once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, namely, things that have been created, in order that the things that are not shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we[q] are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be thankful, through which let us serve God acceptably, with awe and reverence. 29 For indeed our God is a consuming fire.

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 12:1 Here “since” is supplied as a component of the participle (“have”) which is understood as causal
  2. Hebrews 12:1 Literally “the easily ensnaring sin”
  3. Hebrews 12:3 *The plural reflexive pronoun can still be translated as singular; see Louw-Nida 92.25
  4. Hebrews 12:4 The words “shedding your” are not in the Greek text but are supplied for clarity
  5. Hebrews 12:4 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal participle (“struggle”)
  6. Hebrews 12:6 A quotation from Prov 3:11–12
  7. Hebrews 12:8 The phrase “legitimate sons” is not in the Greek text but is implied
  8. Hebrews 12:9 Literally “the flesh of our fathers”
  9. Hebrews 12:17 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal participle (“wanted”)
  10. Hebrews 12:20 A quotation from Exod 19:12–13
  11. Hebrews 12:21 A quotation from Deut 9:19
  12. Hebrews 12:24 Literally “to the blood of sprinkling”
  13. Hebrews 12:25 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal participle (“refused”)
  14. Hebrews 12:25 *Here the verb “will … escape” is an understood repetition from the previous clause
  15. Hebrews 12:25 Here “if” is supplied as a component of the participle (“reject”) which is understood as conditional
  16. Hebrews 12:26 A quotation from Hag 2:6
  17. Hebrews 12:28 Here “since” is supplied as a component of the participle (“are receiving”) which is understood as causal
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Hebrews 12
New International Version

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run(A) with perseverance(B) the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus,(C) the pioneer(D) and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,(E) scorning its shame,(F) and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.(G) 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary(H) and lose heart.

God Disciplines His Children

4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.(I) 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not lose heart(J) when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,(K)
    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[a](L)

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children.(M) For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline(N)—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits(O) and live!(P) 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.(Q) 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace(R) for those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.(S) 13 “Make level paths for your feet,”[b](T) so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.(U)

Warning and Encouragement

14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone(V) and to be holy;(W) without holiness no one will see the Lord.(X) 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God(Y) and that no bitter root(Z) grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral,(AA) or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.(AB) 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears,(AC) he could not change what he had done.

The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy

18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm;(AD) 19 to a trumpet blast(AE) or to such a voice speaking words(AF) that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them,(AG) 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”[c](AH) 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”[d](AI)

22 But you have come to Mount Zion,(AJ) to the city(AK) of the living God,(AL) the heavenly Jerusalem.(AM) You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn,(AN) whose names are written in heaven.(AO) You have come to God, the Judge of all,(AP) to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,(AQ) 24 to Jesus the mediator(AR) of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood(AS) that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.(AT)

25 See to it that you do not refuse(AU) him who speaks.(AV) If they did not escape when they refused him who warned(AW) them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?(AX) 26 At that time his voice shook the earth,(AY) but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”[e](AZ) 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken(BA)—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,(BB) let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,(BC) 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”[f](BD)

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 12:6 Prov. 3:11,12 (see Septuagint)
  2. Hebrews 12:13 Prov. 4:26
  3. Hebrews 12:20 Exodus 19:12,13
  4. Hebrews 12:21 See Deut. 9:19.
  5. Hebrews 12:26 Haggai 2:6
  6. Hebrews 12:29 Deut. 4:24
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