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Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

A reading plan that walks through the entire New Testament in 24 weeks of daily readings.

Duration: 168 days

Hebrews 12-13

The Lord’s Discipline

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,^[a] we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, ²keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For^[b] 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.^[c] ³Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. ⁴You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed^[d] in your struggle against sin. ⁵And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons?

“My son, do not scorn^[e] the Lord’s discipline
or give up when he corrects^[f] you.
⁶“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts.”^[g]

⁷Endure your suffering^[h] as discipline;^[i] God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? ⁸But if you do not experience discipline,^[j] something all sons^[k] have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons. ⁹Besides, we have experienced discipline from^[l] our earthly fathers^[m] and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life?^[n] ¹⁰For 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. ¹¹Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful.^[o] But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness^[p] for those trained by it. ¹²Therefore, strengthen^[q] your listless hands and your weak knees,^[r] ¹³and make straight paths for your feet,^[s] so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.

Do Not Reject God’s Warning

¹⁴Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness,^[t] for without it no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no one be like a bitter root springing up^[u] and causing trouble, and through it many become defiled. ¹⁶And see to it that no one becomes^[v] an immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.^[w] ¹⁷For you know that^[x] later when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no opportunity for repentance, although he sought the blessing^[y] with tears. ¹⁸For you have not come to something that can be touched,^[z] to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind ¹⁹and the blast of a trumpet and a voice uttering words^[aa] such that those who heard begged to hear no more.^[ab] ²⁰For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”^[ac] ²¹In fact, the scene^[ad] was so terrifying that Moses said, “I shudder with fear.”^[ae] ²²But you have come to Mount Zion, the city^[af] of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly ²³and 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, ²⁴and to Jesus, the mediator^[ag] of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does.^[ah]

²⁵Take 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? ²⁶Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.”^[ai] ²⁷Now this phrase “once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain. ²⁸So 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. ²⁹For our God is indeed a devouring fire.^[aj]

Final Exhortations

13 Brotherly love must continue. ²Do not neglect hospitality, because through it some have entertained angels without knowing it.^[ak] ³Remember those in prison as though you were in prison with them,^[al] and those ill-treated as though you too felt their torment.^[am] ⁴Marriage must be honored among all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers. ⁵Your conduct must be free from the love of money and you must be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.”^[an] ⁶So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, and^[ao] I will not be afraid. What can people do to me?”^[ap] ⁷Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever! ⁹Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings.^[aq] For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals,^[ar] which have never benefited those who participated in them. ¹⁰We have an altar that those who serve in the tabernacle have no right to eat from. ¹¹For the bodies of those animals whose blood the high priest brings^[as] into the sanctuary as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp. ¹²Therefore, to sanctify the people by his own blood, Jesus also suffered outside the camp. ¹³We must go out to him, then, outside the camp, bearing the abuse he experienced.^[at] ¹⁴For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. ¹⁵Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name. ¹⁶And do not neglect to do good and to share what you have,^[au] for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

¹⁷Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work.^[av] Let them do this^[aw] with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you. ¹⁸Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to conduct ourselves rightly in every respect. ¹⁹I especially ask you to pray^[ax] that I may be restored to you very soon.

Benediction and Conclusion

²⁰Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, ²¹equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us^[ay] what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever.^[az] Amen.

²²Now I urge you, brothers and sisters,^[ba] bear with my message of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you briefly. ²³You should know that^[bb] our brother Timothy has been released. If he comes soon, he will be with me when I see you.^[bc] ²⁴Greetings to all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy send you greetings. ²⁵Grace be with you all.^[bd]

Footnotes

Hebrews 12:1 tn Grk “having such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.”
Hebrews 12:2 tn Or “Because of”; or “Instead of.” The Greek prepostion can be understood either way. For discussion and sources see Wallace, ExSyn 367-68; cf. also BDAG 88 s.v. 1, “instead of, in place of” and s.v. 3 “(in exchange) for.”
Hebrews 12:2 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.
Hebrews 12:4 tn Grk “until blood.”
Hebrews 12:5 tn Or “disregard,” “think little of.”
Hebrews 12:5 tn Or “reproves,” “rebukes.” The Greek verb ἐλέγχω (elenchō) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.
Hebrews 12:6 sn A quotation from Prov 3:11-12.
Hebrews 12:7 tn Grk “endure,” with the object (“your suffering”) understood from the context.
Hebrews 12:7 tn Or “in order to become disciplined.”
Hebrews 12:8 tn Grk “you are without discipline.”
Hebrews 12:8 tn Grk “all”; “sons” is implied by the context.
Hebrews 12:9 tn Grk “we had our earthly fathers as discipliners.”
Hebrews 12:9 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.
Hebrews 12:9 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).
Hebrews 12:11 tn Grk “all discipline at the time does not seem to be of joy, but of sorrow.”
Hebrews 12:11 tn Grk “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
Hebrews 12:12 tn Or “straighten.”
Hebrews 12:12 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).
Hebrews 12:13 sn A quotation from Prov 4:26. The phrase make straight paths for your feet is figurative for “stay on God’s paths.”
Hebrews 12:14 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).
Hebrews 12:15 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.
Hebrews 12:16 tn Grk “that there not be any,” continuing from v. 15.
Hebrews 12:16 sn An allusion to Gen 27:34-41.
Hebrews 12:17 tn Or a command: “for understand that.”
Hebrews 12:17 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.
Hebrews 12:18 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.
Hebrews 12:19 tn Grk “a voice of words.”
Hebrews 12:19 tn Grk “a voice…from which those who heard begged that a word not be added to them.”
Hebrews 12:20 sn A quotation from Exod 19:12-13.
Hebrews 12:21 tn Grk “that which appeared.”
Hebrews 12:21 tn Grk “I am terrified and trembling.”sn A quotation from Deut 9:19.
Hebrews 12:22 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.”
Hebrews 12:24 tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesitēs, “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.
Hebrews 12:24 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).
Hebrews 12:26 sn A quotation from Hag 2:6.
Hebrews 12:29 sn A quotation from Deut 4:24; 9:3.
Hebrews 13:2 sn This is a vague allusion to people described in scripture and extra-biblical literature and may include Abraham and Sarah (Gen 18:2-15), Lot (Gen 19:1-14), Gideon (Judg 6:11-18), Manoah (Judg 13:3-22), and possibly Tobit (Tob 12:1-20).
Hebrews 13:3 tn Grk “as being imprisoned together.”
Hebrews 13:3 tn Or “since you too are vulnerable”; Grk “you also being in the body.”
Hebrews 13:5 sn A quotation from Deut 31:6, 8.
Hebrews 13:6 tc Some significant mss (א* C* P 0285^vid 33 1175 1739 lat) lack καί (kai), but because the omission conforms to the wording of Ps 118:6 (117:6 LXX), it is suspect.
Hebrews 13:6 sn A quotation from Ps 118:6.
Hebrews 13:9 tn Grk “by diverse and strange teachings.”
Hebrews 13:9 tn Grk “foods,” referring to the meals associated with the OT sacrifices (see the contrast with the next verse; also 9:9-10; 10:1, 4, 11).
Hebrews 13:11 tn Grk “whose blood is brought by the high priest.”
Hebrews 13:13 tn Grk “his abuse.”
Hebrews 13:16 tn Grk “neglect doing good and fellowship.”
Hebrews 13:17 tn Or “as ones who will give an account”; Grk “as giving an account.”
Hebrews 13:17 tn Grk “that they may do this.”
Hebrews 13:19 tn Grk “I urge you to do this all the more.”
Hebrews 13:21 tc Some mss (C P Ψ 6 629* 630 1505 pm latt sy^h) read ὑμῖν (humin, “in you”) here, but ἡμῖν (hēmin) has stronger external support (P⁴⁶ א A D^vid K 0243 0285 33 81 104 326 365 629^c 1175 1739 1881 pm sy^p co). It is also more likely that ἡμῖν would have been changed to ὑμῖν in light of the “you” which occurs at the beginning of the verse than vice versa.
Hebrews 13:21 tc ‡ Most mss (א A [C*] 0243 0285 33 1739 1881 M latt) include the words “and ever” here, but the shorter reading (supported by P⁴⁶ C³ D Ψ 6 104 365 1505 al) is preferred on internal grounds. It seemed more likely that scribes would assimilate the wording to the common NT doxological expression “for ever and ever,” found especially in the Apocalypse (cf., e.g., 1 Tim 1:17; 2 Tim 4:18; Rev 4:9; 22:5) than to the “forever” of Heb 13:8. Nevertheless, a decision is difficult here. NA²⁸ places the phrase in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
Hebrews 13:22 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.
Hebrews 13:23 tn Grk “Know that” (an imperative).
Hebrews 13:23 tn Grk “has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you.”
Hebrews 13:25 tc Most witnesses, including several significant ones (א² A C D H Ψ 0243 1739 1881 M lat sy bo), conclude the letter with ἀμήν (amēn, “amen”). Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, there is sufficient testimony (P⁴⁶ א* I^vid 6 33 sa) for the lack of the particle, rendering its omission the preferred reading.

New English Translation (NET)