Hebrews 13
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Be Loving, Pure, and Content
13 Let brotherly-love continue. 2 Do not be forgetting hospitality, for through this some having entertained[a] angels did not know it. 3 Remember[b] the prisoners, as-though having been imprisoned-with them; the ones being mistreated, as-though[c] also yourselves being in their body. 4 Let marriage be[d] honored[e] by all[f], and the bed undefiled. For God will judge the sexually-immoral-ones and adulterers. 5 Let character be without-love-of-money, being content with the present things. For He Himself has said [in Deut 31:6] “I will never[g] let you go[h], nor will I by any means forsake[i] you”, 6 so that while being confident we say “The Lord is a helper for me and I will not fear. What[j] will a human do to me?” [Ps 118:6].
Imitate The Faith of Your Leaders. Do Not Be Carried Away By Strange Teachings
7 Remember the ones leading you, who spoke the word of God to you, whose faith[k] be imitating while looking-carefully-at the result[l] of their way-of-life[m]. 8 Jesus[n] Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be carried-away[o] by various[p] and strange[q] teachings. For it is good for the heart to be established[r] by grace, not by foods in-connection-with[s] which the ones walking were not profited.
We Have a Spiritual Altar. Let Us Go Out And Offer Sacrifices of Praise
10 We have an altar[t] from which the ones serving[u] in the tabernacle have no right[v] to eat. 11 For of animals from which the blood is brought into the Holies by the high priest for sin— the bodies of these are burned-up[w] outside of the camp. 12 Therefore[x] Jesus also, in order that He might make the people holy with His own blood, suffered outside[y] of the gate. 13 So-indeed[z], let us go-out[aa] to Him outside of the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we do not have an abiding city, but we are seeking-for the one coming. 15 Therefore through Him let us be continually offering a sacrifice of [ab] praise to God— that is, the fruit of lips praising[ac] His name. 16 And do not be forgetting good-doing and sharing. For with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Yield To Your Leaders
17 Be obeying[ad] the ones leading you and be yielding[ae], for they are keeping-watch for your souls as ones who will render an account— in order that they may be doing this with joy, and not while groaning, for this would be unprofitable for you.
Pray For Us
18 Be praying for us. For we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, wanting to conduct-ourselves well[af] in all[ag] things. 19 And I especially appeal-to you to do this in order that I may be restored to you sooner.
May God Prepare You To Do His Will
20 Now may the God of peace— the One having brought-up from the dead the Great Shepherd of the sheep in-connection-with[ah] the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus— 21 prepare[ai] you in every good thing so that you may do His will, while doing in us the pleasing thing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to Whom be the glory forever and ever, amen.
22 Now I exhort you, brothers, bear-with the word of exhortation. For indeed I wrote-to you with a few[aj] words. 23 Take-notice-of [ak] our brother Timothy having been released[al], with whom if he comes quicker[am], I will see you. 24 Greet all the ones leading you and all the saints. The ones from Italy greet you. 25 Grace be with you all.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 13:2 Or, lodged, received as guests. This is referring to Abraham in Gen 18-19.
- Hebrews 13:3 That is, keep in mind.
- Hebrews 13:3 Or, as also yourselves being in a body.
- Hebrews 13:4 In this list of ten commands, note that this one has the same grammar as the next one (v 5).
- Hebrews 13:4 Or, respected.
- Hebrews 13:4 Or, among all; or, in all respects.
- Hebrews 13:5 Or, by no means.
- Hebrews 13:5 Or, turn you loose, give you up.
- Hebrews 13:5 Or, desert, abandon.
- Hebrews 13:6 Or, fear what a human will do to me.
- Hebrews 13:7 Or, faithfulness.
- Hebrews 13:7 Or, end, outcome.
- Hebrews 13:7 Or, behavior, conduct.
- Hebrews 13:8 This may end the thought of v 7, or begin the thought of v 9.
- Hebrews 13:9 Or, taken-away.
- Hebrews 13:9 Or, diverse. Or, intricate, riddling, ambiguous.
- Hebrews 13:9 Or, foreign.
- Hebrews 13:9 Or, strengthened, confirmed.
- Hebrews 13:9 Or, by-means-of.
- Hebrews 13:10 That is, a spiritual altar.
- Hebrews 13:10 That is, Jewish priests.
- Hebrews 13:10 The reason this is the case is explained in v 11-12.
- Hebrews 13:11 No one had the right to eat any of the sacrifice made on the Day of Atonement.
- Hebrews 13:12 That is, because Jesus is the fulfillment of that sacrifice.
- Hebrews 13:12 As the fulfillment of that sacrifice, there is no sacrificial body remaining. There is no physical eating associated with the sacrifice of Jesus. We are established by grace, not by any connection with foods or eating. So do not be carried away by teachings linking physical eating to spiritual benefits.
- Hebrews 13:13 The writer makes another application of Jesus being outside the gate.
- Hebrews 13:13 The readers must identify themselves with Jesus where He was sacrificed for sin, outside the earthly Jewish system. Worship there is spiritual, not physical.
- Hebrews 13:15 That is, consisting of.
- Hebrews 13:15 Or, confessing.
- Hebrews 13:17 That is, be persuaded by, and thus, obeying, following.
- Hebrews 13:17 Or, deferring, giving way.
- Hebrews 13:18 Or, rightly, honorably, commendably.
- Hebrews 13:18 Or, among all people.
- Hebrews 13:20 Or, by-means-of.
- Hebrews 13:21 Or, equip, furnish, complete.
- Hebrews 13:22 That is, compared to what the writer could have said about these subjects; or, this may be an understatement, meaning he wrote at length.
- Hebrews 13:23 Or, You know of.
- Hebrews 13:23 Or, having departed.
- Hebrews 13:23 Or, sooner, as in v 19. That is, quicker than Timothy’s progress so far would indicate; or, sooner that the writer himself intends to depart. Or, soon, quickly.
Hebrews 13
Common English Bible
Our acts of service and sacrifice
13 Keep loving each other like family. 2 Don’t neglect to open up your homes to guests, because by doing this some have been hosts to angels without knowing it. 3 Remember prisoners as if you were in prison with them, and people who are mistreated as if you were in their place. 4 Marriage must be honored in every respect, with no cheating on the relationship, because God will judge the sexually immoral person and the person who commits adultery. 5 Your way of life should be free from the love of money, and you should be content with what you have. After all, he has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.[a] 6 This is why we can confidently say,
The Lord is my helper,
and I won’t be afraid.
What can people do to me?[b]
7 Remember your leaders who spoke God’s word to you. Imitate their faith as you consider the way their lives turned out. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
9 Don’t be misled by the many strange teachings out there. It’s a good thing for the heart to be strengthened by grace rather than by food. Food doesn’t help those who live in this context. 10 We have an altar, and those who serve as priests in the meeting tent don’t have the right to eat from it. 11 The blood of the animals is carried into the holy of holies by the high priest as an offering for sin, and their bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy with his own blood.
13 So now, let’s go to him outside the camp, bearing his shame. 14 We don’t have a permanent city here, but rather we are looking for the city that is still to come.
15 So let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise through him, which is the fruit from our lips that confess his name. 16 Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have because God is pleased with these kinds of sacrifices.
Closing greeting and blessing
17 Rely on your leaders and defer to them, because they watch over your whole being as people who are going to be held responsible for you. They need to be able to do this with pleasure and not with complaints about you, because that wouldn’t help you. 18 Pray for us. We’re sure that we have a good conscience, and we want to do the right thing in every way. 19 I’m particularly asking you to do this so that I can be returned to you quickly.
20 May the God of peace,
who brought back the great shepherd of the sheep,
our Lord Jesus,
from the dead by the blood of the eternal covenant,
21 equip you with every good thing to do his will,
by developing in us what pleases him through Jesus Christ.
To him be the glory forever and always. Amen.
22 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to put up with this message of encouragement, since I’ve only written a short letter to you! 23 You should know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he comes soon, we will travel together to see you.
24 Greet your leaders and all of God’s holy people. The group from Italy greets you.
25 May grace be with all of you.
Footnotes
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible