Hebrews 12
Having so great a cloud of witnesses lying about us, let us lay aside every encumbrance and the easily encircling sin and run with endurance the contest lying before us, looking off to Jesus, the originator and completer of faith, who for the joy lying before him endured a cross, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such contradiction from sinners — you have not yet held out to the point of blood. And you have completely forgotten the exhortation that reasons with you as with sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline; for whom the Lord loves he disciplines, and he flogs every son whom he welcomes.” Endure for discipline. What son is there whom a father does not discipline? If you are without the discipline all have shared, you are illegitimate and not sons. If we respected the fathers of our flesh, how much more shall we be subject to the Father of spirits. They disciplined for a few days as seemed good to them; he does it for what is profitable, that we may share his holiness. All discipline seems for the present to be sorrow, but afterwards it gives back the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those trained by it. So make straight the drooping hands and enfeebled knees, and make straight tracks for your feet, that what is lame may not be swerved aside but healed. Pursue peace and sanctification. See to it that no one falls short of God’s grace, that no root of bitterness grows up and defiles many, that no one is profane like Esau, who sold his birthright for one meal and afterward, seeking the blessing with tears, found no place of repentance. What you have come to is not what is touched, and fire and gloom and murk and tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice of words — those who heard begged that no more be said, they could not bear the order that even a beast touching the mountain be stoned, and so fearful was the sight that Moses said, “I am terrified and trembling.” What you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, tens of thousands of angels in festal gathering, the assembly of the firstborn registered in heaven, God the judge of all, the spirits of the righteous brought to completion, Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than Abel. Do not refuse him who speaks — those who refused him who instructed them on earth did not escape. His voice shook the earth then; now he has promised, “Yet once more I will quake not only the earth but also heaven.” That word makes clear the carrying over of what is shaken, so that what is not shaken may remain. Receiving an unshakable kingdom, then, let us have grace, and by it serve God in a well-pleasing way with devoutness and awe; for our God is a fire that consumes utterly.
Why this rendering
Heb.12.4 Observation
Syntactic observation
Τοιγαροῦν καὶ ἡμεῖς, τοσοῦτον ἔχοντες περικείμενον ἡμῖν νέφος μαρτύρων … τοιγαροῦν ‘therefore’ stands only here and at 1 Thess 4:8, and it takes up the whole of chapter 11 · the same prefix comes twice in one verse (περικείμενον, εὐπερίστατον) — the cloud lies around us and the sin encircles easily · ὄγκος ‘encumbrance’, εὐπερίστατος ‘easily encircling’ and τελειωτής ‘completer’ all stand once in the New Testament · νέφος is a different word from νεφέλη at Matt 24:30, yet both locales render it ‘cloud’ · ἀρχηγός ‘originator’ (as fixed at Acts 3:15) faces τελειωτής — the pairing of ἀρχηγός with τελειόω in one sentence at 2:10 hardens here into two nouns · ἀφοράω ‘look off to’ — at Phil 2:23 the ἀπο- was lost, but here, where the eyes turn away from the cloud, it is kept · σταυρὸν αἰσχύνης stands without the article · κεκάθικεν, perfect, ‘has sat down’, comes a third time after 1:3 and 10:12 · ἀναλογίζομαι, ἀντικαθίστημι and ἀνταγωνίζομαι also stand once in the New Testament, and all three are words of standing against.
Rendering options · 3
Basis The pairing of ἀρχηγός with τελειόω at 2:10 hardens here — ‘author and finisher’ would hide the link.
Basis Here the eyes turn away from the cloud to one figure — at Phil 2:23 the ἀπο- does no work and was left out; here it does.
Basis Two Greek words, but neither language has two — recorded as a loss rather than coined (the precedent of ἀστήρ/ἄστρον).
Lost in translation
περικείμενον · εὐπερίστατον (v.1) — the same prefix twice in one verse. ‘Lying around · encircling’ keeps the echo.
νέφος (v.1) — a different word from νεφέλη at Matt 24:30. Both come out ‘cloud’.
ἀρχηγός / τελειωτής (v.2) — the frame of 2:10 hardened into two nouns. Both use the words of 2:10.
σταυρὸν αἰσχύνης (v.2) — no article. English must choose ‘a’ or ‘the’.
ἀφοράω (v.2) — at Phil 2:23 the ἀπο- was lost. The two places take different words.
ἀντικαθίστημι · ἀνταγωνίζομαι (v.4) — two words of standing against in one verse. Both are kept apart.
Why this rendering
Heb.12.11 Observation
Syntactic observation
καὶ ἐκλέλησθε τῆς παρακλήσεως, ἥτις ὑμῖν ὡς υἱοῖς διαλέγεται … παιδεία, παιδεύω and παιδευτής, one root, come eight times in this passage (vv.5 · 6 · 7 twice · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11), and both locales keep the root · the quotation is Prov 3:11-12, yet the writer calls it an ‘exhortation’ and says that the exhortation ‘reasons’ with them (διαλέγεται, present) · ὀλιγωρέω ‘make light of’, νόθος ‘illegitimate’ and ἐκλανθάνω ‘forget completely’ all stand once in the New Testament · ἐκλύομαι ‘faint’ (as fixed at Matt 15:32) comes twice, at vv.3 and 5 · μαστιγόω ‘flog’ (as fixed at Matt 10:17) is used of God · at v.7 προσφέρεται is the verb this book uses for ‘offer’, here in the middle · μέτοχος ‘partaker’ (the word of 1:9, 3:1, 3:14 and 6:4) · πατὴρ τῶν πνευμάτων ‘the Father of spirits’ — which spirits the text does not say · ἁγιότης ‘holiness’ (with 2 Cor 1:12) · μεταλαμβάνω ‘receive a share of’ (as fixed at 2 Tim 2:6) · v.11 closes on ‘joy … sorrow … peaceable fruit’.
Rendering options · 3
Basis One root eight times frames the passage — splitting into ‘chastening’ and ‘training’ would dissolve it.
Basis The writer calls Proverbs an ‘exhortation’ and says it ‘reasons’ — ‘word’ would lose the word he chose.
Basis The text does not say — ‘Father of our spirits’ would narrow the contrast with ‘the fathers of our flesh’ to the inner life.
Lost in translation
The three discipline-words eight times (vv.5-11) — one root framing the passage. ‘Discipline’ joins the eight.
προσφέρεται (v.7) — the verb this book uses for ‘offer’, here middle. ‘Deal with’ does not carry the link.
πατὴρ τῶν πνευμάτων (v.9) — which spirits is not said. Both leave it unfilled.
ἐκλύομαι (vv.3 · 5) — one verb twice. ‘Faint’ joins the two.
μέτοχοι (v.8) — the word of 1:9, 3:1, 3:14 and 6:4. Five places, one word.
ἁγιότης (v.10) — the noun of ἅγιος. ‘Holiness’ keeps the root.
Why this rendering
Heb.12.17 Observation
Syntactic observation
Διὸ τὰς παρειμένας χεῖρας καὶ τὰ παραλελυμένα γόνατα ἀνορθώσατε … Isa 35:3 and Prov 4:26 are joined here, and neither is named as a quotation · παρίημι ‘droop’, τροχιά ‘track’, μετέπειτα ‘afterward’ and πρωτοτόκια ‘birthright’ all stand once in the New Testament · ὀρθός ‘straight’ at v.13 shares a root with ἀνορθόω ‘set straight’ at v.12 · ἐκτρέπομαι ‘swerve’ (as fixed at 1 Tim 1:6) is used of a lame foot · ῥίζα πικρίας ‘a root of bitterness’ is the phrase of Deut 29:18, and ⸂δι’ αὐτῆς⸃ refers back to the root · βέβηλος ‘profane’ (as fixed at 1 Tim 1:9) · ἀντὶ βρώσεως μιᾶς ‘for one meal’ uses the same preposition as ἀντί in v.2 · μετανοίας τόπον οὐχ εὗρεν ‘he found no place of repentance’ — whose repentance the text does not say · ἐκζητέω ‘seek out’ (as fixed at Rom 3:11) is a different verb from the εὑρίσκω just before it · ἀποδοκιμάζω ‘be rejected’ (as fixed at Mark 8:31).
Rendering options · 3
Basis The writer joins Isaiah and Proverbs without saying so — adding ‘as it is written’ would do what he did not.
Basis ἀνορθόω at v.12 and ὀρθός at v.13 share a root — ‘lift up’ would cut the link.
Basis Whether Esau’s own repentance or a change in his father’s mind, the text does not say — either filling would choose for it.
Lost in translation
ἀνορθόω / ὀρθός (vv.12-13) — one root across two verses. ‘Make straight / straight’ keeps it.
ῥίζα πικρίας (v.15) — the phrase of Deut 29:18. Both render it as it stands.
μετανοίας τόπον (v.17) — whose repentance is not said. Both leave it open.
ἀντί (vv.2 · 16) — ‘for the joy’ and ‘for one meal’ use one preposition. Both stand alike.
πρωτοτόκια (v.16) — one root with πρωτότοκος at 1:6 and 12:23. ‘Birthright’ does not carry it.
εὗρεν / ἐκζητήσας (v.17) — the finding and the seeking are different verbs. Both come out with one word.
Why this rendering
Heb.12.21 Observation
Syntactic observation
Οὐ γὰρ προσεληλύθατε ⸀ψηλαφωμένῳ καὶ κεκαυμένῳ πυρὶ καὶ γνόφῳ καὶ ⸀ζόφῳ καὶ θυέλλῃ … προσέρχομαι, perfect, comes once at v.18 and once at v.22 — what they have not come to and what they have come to stand on one verb · ⸀ψηλαφωμένῳ has no noun (the Textus Receptus supplies ‘mountain’) — left empty as the base text has it · γνόφος ‘gloom’ and ζόφος ‘murk’ stand side by side in one verse · γνόφος, θύελλα, φαντάζομαι and ἔκφοβος all stand once in the New Testament · ἦχος ‘sound’ (as fixed at Luke 21:25) is used of a trumpet · παραιτέομαι ‘refuse’ (as fixed at 2 Tim 2:23) comes twice, at vv.19 and 25 · διαστέλλομαι ‘strictly order’ (as fixed at Mark 5:43) · θηρίον ‘beast’ and θίγῃ ‘touch’ (as fixed at Col 2:21) · λιθοβολέω ‘stone’ (as fixed at Acts 14:5, sharing one rendering with λιθάζω) · Moses’ words ‘I am terrified and trembling’ are not the phrase of Deut 9:19, so the writer joins them from memory · ἔντρομος ‘trembling’ (as fixed at Acts 7:32) comes to Moses a second time.
Rendering options · 3
Basis The base text has no noun and only the Textus Receptus supplies ‘mountain’ — supplying it would render another text.
Basis Two words for darkness stand in one verse, and English has room for two that σκότος and σκοτία have not taken.
Basis Deut 9:19 does not have this phrase — adding ‘as it is written’ or a citation would do what the writer did not.
Lost in translation
προσεληλύθατε (vv.18 · 22) — what they have not and have come to, on one verb. ‘Come to’ joins them.
⸀ψηλαφωμένῳ (v.18) — no noun. Both leave it unfilled.
γνόφος / ζόφος (v.18) — two words for darkness in one verse. Both are kept apart.
λιθοβολέω (v.20) — a different verb from λιθάζω at Acts 14:19. Both come out with one word.
Moses’ words (v.21) — a phrase not in Deut 9:19. Neither locale supplies a citation.
ἔντρομος (v.21) — the word of Moses’ trembling at Acts 7:32. Both stand alike.
Why this rendering
Heb.12.24 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἀλλὰ προσεληλύθατε Σιὼν ὄρει καὶ πόλει θεοῦ ζῶντος … Seven datives run in a row — mountain, city, tens of thousands, assembly, judge, spirits, mediator, and then the blood · πανήγυρις ‘festal gathering’ is once in the New Testament, and whether it attaches to the angels or to the assembly the text does not say · πρωτότοκος, plural, ‘the firstborn’ — the word used of the Son at 1:6 is here of many · ἀπογράφω ‘be registered’ (a site-bound rendering beside ‘be registered’ at Luke 2:1) · ἐκκλησία ‘assembly’ (as fixed at 2 Thess 1:1) comes a second time in this book after 2:12 · κριτὴς θεὸς πάντων — the order is ‘judge, God, of all’ · τετελειωμένων, perfect passive, ‘brought to completion’, is the verb of 11:40 · διαθήκη νέα ‘a new covenant’, where 8:8, 8:13 and 9:15 have καινή — the base text uses a different adjective only here · ῥαντισμός ‘sprinkling’ shares a root with ῥαντίζω at 9:13 and stands with 1 Pet 1:2 · at 11:4 Abel’s blood ‘still speaks’; here the blood of Jesus ‘speaks better’.
Rendering options · 3
Basis The base text uses a different adjective only here, and neither language has two words for ‘new’ — recorded as a loss rather than coined.
Basis Whether it goes with the angels or the assembly the text does not say — where the comma falls is the choice, so the order is kept.
Basis The ‘sprinkle’ of 9:13, 9:19, 9:21 and 10:22 returns as this noun — ‘sprinkled blood’ would lose the noun.
Lost in translation
Seven datives (vv.22-24) — running in one row. Both keep the order.
πανηγύρει (v.22) — the attachment is not said. Both keep the order as it stands.
διαθήκη νέα (v.24) — a different adjective from καινή at 8:8. Both come out with one word.
ῥαντισμός (v.24) — one root with ‘sprinkle’ at 9:13. ‘Sprinkling’ keeps the root.
πρωτοτόκων (v.23) — the word used of the Son at 1:6, here of many. Both stand alike.
λαλοῦντι (v.24) — the ‘still speaks’ of 11:4 returns as ‘speaks better’. Both use one verb.
Why this rendering
Heb.12.29 Observation
Syntactic observation
Βλέπετε μὴ παραιτήσησθε τὸν λαλοῦντα … σαλεύω ‘shake’ comes three times at vv.26-27 and ἀσάλευτος ‘unshaken’ once at v.28 — one root four times closing the passage · σείω ‘quake’ is a different verb from σαλεύω, the word of Matthew’s earthquake thread (27:51 · 28:4) — the quotation is Hag 2:6 · ἅπαξ ‘once’ comes twice at vv.26-27, the word of 9:26-28 · μετάθεσις ‘a change’ comes a third time after 7:12 and 11:5, and stands only in Hebrews · ἀσάλευτος ‘unshaken’ stands with Acts 27:41 · χρηματίζω ‘instruct’ (as fixed at Matt 2:12) comes again after 11:7 · ἔχωμεν χάριν ‘let us have grace’ — the phrase also reads ‘let us give thanks’, and the text does not settle it · λατρεύω ‘serve’ (as fixed at Luke 4:8) comes after 8:5, 9:9, 9:14 and 10:2 · εὐαρέστως ‘in a well-pleasing way’ is once in the New Testament, sharing a root with εὐαρεστέω at 11:5-6 and 13:16 · δέος ‘awe’ and καταναλίσκω ‘consume utterly’ are also once in the New Testament, the latter being the phrase of Deut 4:24.
Rendering options · 3
Basis Three of σαλεύω and one ἀσάλευτος close the passage — splitting them would lose the closing.
Basis The base text changes the verb inside the quotation — one rendering for both would lose the change at v.26.
Basis ἔχειν χάριν is also a set phrase for ‘give thanks’ — the word ‘grace’ threads this book, so the word is kept and the other reading recorded.
Lost in translation
σαλεύω three times, ἀσάλευτος once (vv.26-28) — one root four times. ‘Shaken / unshaken’ keeps it.
σείω (v.26) — the verb changes inside the quotation. ‘Quake’ shows the change.
ἔχωμεν χάριν (v.28) — it also reads ‘let us give thanks’. Both keep the word and lose the other reading.
μετάθεσις (v.27) — the word of 7:12 and 11:5. Three places, one word.
εὐαρέστως (v.28) — one root with ‘be well pleasing’ at 11:5-6. Both keep the root.
καταναλίσκον (v.29) — ἀναλίσκω of Luke 9:54 with κατα-. ‘Consume utterly’ carries the prefix in part.