Hebrews 6
The rebuke of the last chapter turns into exhortation: leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be carried on to completeness. Repentance and faith, teaching about washings and laying on of hands, resurrection and eternal judgement — six items in three pairs, whose foundation is not to be laid again. Then comes the heaviest warning in the book: those once given light, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then fell away, cannot be renewed again to repentance — they are crucifying the Son of God again for themselves and holding him up as an example. One land yields two ways: drinking the rain and bearing useful plants, it receives a share of blessing; bearing thorns and thistles, it is unapproved and near a curse, and its end is for burning. Yet at once comes “beloved” — the one such address in this book. We are persuaded of better things concerning you, things that belong to salvation; God is not unrighteous to forget your work and love. Do not become dull, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. When God promised Abraham, having no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself, in the doubled verbs of Genesis: “Blessing I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you.” As an oath ends all dispute among men, so God stepped in between with an oath to show the unchangeableness of his purpose. Through two unchangeable things we who have fled for refuge have strong consolation. That hope is an anchor of the life, secure and sure, entering the inner side of the curtain, where Jesus entered as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest to the age according to the order of Melchizedek.
Why this rendering
Heb.6.2 Observation
Syntactic observation
Διὸ ἀφέντες τὸν τῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ λόγον ἐπὶ τὴν τελειότητα φερώμεθα … The ‘first elements’ of 5:12 and ‘the complete’ of 5:14 return here as ‘the word of the beginning’ and ‘completeness’ — the rebuke of the last chapter becomes the exhortation of this one · τελειότης ‘completeness’ stands only here and at Col 3:14, sharing a root with τελειόω at 5:9 and τέλειος at 5:14 · φερώμεθα is passive in form, closer to ‘let us be carried’ — who carries, the text does not say · θεμέλιον καταβαλλόμενοι ‘laying a foundation’ — καταβάλλω was ‘be thrown down’ at 2 Cor 4:9; here it is the laying down · six items stand in three pairs — repentance and faith, teaching and laying on of hands, resurrection and judgement · ⸀διδαχήν is accusative, so ‘teaching about washings’ hangs on ‘foundation’ (the Received Text reads a genitive and sets all six side by side) · βαπτισμός ‘washings’ is the word of Mark 7:4, plural and distinct from baptism · ἐπίθεσις χειρῶν ‘laying on of hands’ (as fixed at 1 Tim 4:14) · the future ⸀ποιήσομεν in v.3 differs from the Received Text’s subjunctive.
Rendering options · 3
Basis One root with ‘brought to completion’ at 5:9 and ‘the complete’ at 5:14 — ‘maturity’ would cut the thread.
Basis The word of Mark 7:4, and plural · a different entry from βάπτισμα ‘baptism’, so the two are not merged.
Basis The familiar reading.
Rejected Takes the rendering of another entry.
Lost in translation
ἀρχή / τελειότης (v.1) — beginning and completeness face each other. The roots of 5:12-14 carry over.
φερώμεθα (v.1) — passive in form, a being-carried. ‘Be carried on’ keeps it.
Six in three pairs (vv.1-2) — two words to a line. Both keep the pairing.
βαπτισμῶν (v.2) — plural and not the word for baptism. ‘Washings’ keeps it apart.
καταβάλλω (v.1) — at 2 Cor 4:9 it was being thrown down. The two places take different words.
διδαχήν accusative (v.2) — the case settles what it hangs on. Both follow it.
Why this rendering
Heb.6.6 Observation
Syntactic observation
Ἀδύνατον γὰρ τοὺς ἅπαξ φωτισθέντας … καὶ παραπεσόντας, πάλιν ἀνακαινίζειν εἰς μετάνοιαν, ἀνασταυροῦντας ἑαυτοῖς τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ παραδειγματίζοντας — Ἀδύνατον stands first and the infinitive it governs (ἀνακαινίζειν) comes six clauses later — the text piles up five participles to build the weight · all five are aorist, and ἅπαξ ‘once’ stands at the head · γεύομαι ‘taste’ comes twice (vv.4 · 5), once with a genitive and once with an accusative — the text changes the case · μέτοχοι πνεύματος ἁγίου ‘companions of the Holy Spirit’ (the word of 1:9 and 3:1·14) · καλὸν … θεοῦ ῥῆμα ‘the good word of God’, with the adjective pulled forward · παραπίπτω · ἀνακαινίζω · ἀνασταυρόω · παραδειγματίζω all four occur once in the New Testament · the ἀνα- of ἀνασταυρόω may mean ‘again’ or ‘up’, so ‘crucify again’ and ‘crucify up’ both stand open · ἑαυτοῖς ‘for themselves’ is dative and may also be ‘to their own hurt’ · παραδειγματίζω is to set up as a public spectacle · who it is that cannot do this the text does not say — God or man is left open.
Rendering options · 3
Basis The πάλιν ‘again’ just before doubles the same grain, so ‘again’ is taken · the reading ‘crucify up’ is not blocked by the text and is kept here.
Basis The text names no agent — neither ‘even God cannot’ nor ‘no one can’ is supplied.
Basis The word is to set up where all can see · ‘put to open shame’ keeps the shame and loses the setting up.
Lost in translation
Ἀδύνατον … ἀνακαινίζειν (vv.4 · 6) — the head word and its infinitive stand six clauses apart. Both bring them closer.
γευσαμένους twice (vv.4 · 5) — genitive then accusative. Neither rendering shows the change.
ἀνασταυροῦντας (v.6) — ἀνα- is both ‘again’ and ‘up’. Closed as ‘again’.
Ἀδύνατον (v.4) — no agent is named. Neither supplies one.
μετόχους (v.4) — the word of 1:9 and 3:1. ‘Companions’ joins them.
καλὸν … θεοῦ ῥῆμα (v.5) — the adjective is pulled away from its noun. Both put it back.
Why this rendering
Heb.6.8 Observation
Syntactic observation
γῆ γὰρ ἡ πιοῦσα τὸν ἐπ’ αὐτῆς ⸂ἐρχόμενον πολλάκις⸃ ὑετόν … ἀδόκιμος καὶ κατάρας ἐγγύς, ἧς τὸ τέλος εἰς καῦσιν — One land yields two ways — a single subject with the participles dividing · τίκτω ‘bear’ is the verb of childbirth, used here of the land — that is the word the text uses · βοτάνη ‘plants’ and γεωργέω ‘till’ both occur once in the New Testament, and γεωργέω is the verb of what a γεωργός ‘farmer’ does · εὔθετος ‘fit’ (as fixed at Luke 9:62 and 14:35) · ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ‘thorns and thistles’ are the two words of Gen 3:18, paired again at Matt 7:16 · ἀδόκιμος ‘unapproved’ (as fixed at Rom 1:28, the negation of δοκιμάζω) · κατάρας ἐγγύς ‘near a curse’ — it does not say cursed, only near · καῦσις ‘burning’ is once in the New Testament, and whether ἧς picks up the land or the curse the text does not say · μεταλαμβάνω ‘receive a share of’ (as fixed at 2 Tim 2:6).
Rendering options · 3
Basis The text uses the birth-verb of the land · ‘produce’ would erase the choice · it must also stay apart from ἐκφέρω ‘bear out’ in v.8.
Basis The text says ἐγγύς ‘near’ and does not say cursed — that one step is kept.
Basis Matt 7:16 uses the same pair, and Gen 3:18 in the Greek Old Testament is its source — the two are not merged.
Lost in translation
τίκτουσα (v.7) — the birth-verb used of land. ‘Bears’ carries half the grain.
γεωργεῖται (v.7) — the verb of what a farmer does. ‘Tilled’ does not show the root.
ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους (v.8) — the two words of Genesis. ‘Thorns and thistles’ keeps the pair.
ἀδόκιμος (v.8) — the negation of ‘approve’. ‘Unapproved’ keeps the root.
ἧς (v.8) — the land or the curse is not named. ‘Its end’ leaves it open.
κατάρας ἐγγύς (v.8) — it does not say cursed. ‘Near a curse’ keeps the step.
Why this rendering
Heb.6.12 Observation
Syntactic observation
Πεπείσμεθα δὲ περὶ ὑμῶν, ἀγαπητοί, τὰ κρείσσονα καὶ ἐχόμενα σωτηρίας … ἀγαπητοί ‘beloved’ stands only here in this book, and it comes immediately after the heaviest warning · Πεπείσμεθα, perfect, ‘we are persuaded’ (as fixed at Phil 1:14) · κρείσσονα ‘better things’ — the book’s signature word turned on the hearers · ἐχόμενα σωτηρίας ‘things that belong to salvation’ — the middle of ἔχω means ‘to be attached to’ · διακονήσαντες … καὶ διακονοῦντες are aorist and present participles, one verb carrying what was done and what is being done · οὐ … ἄδικος ‘not unrighteous’ — said by way of negation · ἐνδείκνυμι ‘show’ (as fixed at Rom 2:15) comes twice, in vv.10 and 11 · σπουδή ‘diligence’ (as fixed at Rom 12:8) · πληροφορία ‘full assurance’ (as fixed at Col 2:2) · νωθρός ‘dull’ returns from 5:11 — the rebuke turns into exhortation · μιμηταί ‘imitators’ (as fixed at 1 Cor 4:16) · the ‘through faith’ of chapter 11 already sounds here.
Rendering options · 3
Basis Aorist and present stand side by side; one form would erase the two times the text deliberately stacks.
Basis The text does not say ‘righteous’ but says it by negation — ‘is righteous’ would flatten the indirection.
Basis The middle means ‘to hold onto, be attached to’ · ‘belonging to salvation’ keeps the sense, with the holding faded.
Lost in translation
διακονήσαντες / διακονοῦντες (v.10) — aorist and present. ‘Having served … still serving’ shows both.
ἀγαπητοί (v.9) — the one vocative of its kind in this book. ‘Beloved’ stands as it is.
κρείσσονα (v.9) — the book’s signature word. ‘Better things’ joins it to the other places.
ἐχόμενα (v.9) — the holding of the middle voice. ‘Belong to’ keeps half the picture.
νωθροί (5:11 · 6:12) — the same word turns from rebuke to exhortation. ‘Dull’ twice keeps it.
οὐ … ἄδικος (v.10) — said by negation. ‘Not unrighteous’ keeps the indirection.
Why this rendering
Heb.6.20 Observation
Syntactic observation
Τῷ γὰρ Ἀβραὰμ ἐπαγγειλάμενος ὁ θεός … ⸀Εἰ μὴν εὐλογῶν εὐλογήσω σε καὶ πληθύνων πληθυνῶ σε … ἣν ὡς ἄγκυραν ἔχομεν τῆς ψυχῆς … The quotation of Gen 22:17 keeps the Semitic doubled verb — εὐλογῶν εὐλογήσω ‘blessing I will bless you’ · πληθύνων πληθυνῶ ‘multiplying I will multiply you’ · ⸀Εἰ μήν is the oath formula of the Greek Old Testament, where the Received Text reads another form · μεσιτεύω ‘step in between’ is once in the New Testament and shares the root of μεσίτης ‘mediator’ (Gal 3:19) · ἀμετάθετος ‘unchangeable’ stands twice in Hebrews (vv.17 · 18) and attaches to both the purpose and the things · what the ‘two unchangeable things’ are the text does not say — promise and oath is one open reading · καταφυγόντες ‘fled’ (as fixed at Acts 14:6) · ἄγκυρα τῆς ψυχῆς ‘an anchor of the life’ — ψυχή is ‘life’ in this edition · ἀσφαλής and βέβαιος stand side by side in one verse, so two words must be found · πρόδρομος ‘forerunner’ is once in the New Testament, one who runs ahead of the body · τὸ ἐσώτερον τοῦ καταπετάσματος ‘the inner side of the curtain’ (with Acts 16:24) · v.20 takes up the words of 5:10 whole and opens chapter 7.
Rendering options · 3
Basis The Greek Old Testament renders the Hebrew infinitive absolute with participle plus finite verb, and this book quotes it as it stands — ‘I will surely bless’ would flatten the doubling.
Basis One root with ‘mediator’ at Gal 3:19, the picture of stepping into the middle · ‘guaranteed’ would erase it.
Basis βέβαιος ‘sure’ was fixed at Rom 4:16 and ἀσφαλής was ‘certain’ at Acts 21:34 — standing side by side here, they must be split · the ‘not slipping’ grain of the root is kept by ‘secure’.
Lost in translation
εὐλογῶν εὐλογήσω · πληθύνων πληθυνῶ (v.14) — the Semitic doubled verb. ‘Blessing I will bless’ keeps the doubling.
μεσιτεύω (v.17) — one root with ‘mediator’. ‘Step in between’ keeps the middle.
ἀσφαλής / βέβαιος (v.19) — two adjectives in one verse. Split here, but cut from the other place of ἀσφαλής.
πρόδρομος (v.20) — one who runs ahead of the body. ‘Forerunner’ keeps the running.
δύο πραγμάτων ἀμεταθέτων (v.18) — what they are is unsaid. ‘Two things’ adds nothing.
κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Μελχισέδεκ (5:10 · 6:20) — the same words return across a chapter. Both stand alike.