12 So we have learned about many people who trusted God long ago. They are like a very big crowd all round us and we should copy their example. We must be like people who run in a race. [ a ] We must throw away everything that stops us from running well. The sins that we do make us fall down very easily. We must not let those sins rule us. God has prepared the way that is in front of us. We must continue to be strong while we run along that way. We must choose to run that race well. 2 As we run, we must always look towards Jesus. He is the one who trusted God completely. Our faith starts with him, and he will help us to trust God all the way to the end. Jesus accepted punishment on the cross. He chose to receive much pain. He did not think about being ashamed to die like that. He knew that God had prepared something very good for him that would make him happy. Now he has sat down at the right side of God to rule with him in heaven.
3 So think carefully about how Jesus lived on earth. Bad people did very bad things against him, but he continued to be strong. Think about him, and then you will not become weak as Christians. You will not stop trusting God.
4 You have been fighting against sin in your lives. But you have not yet had to fight like that until someone killed you. 5 God speaks to you as his children. Do not ever forget these words in the Bible that will make you strong: [ b ]
‘My son, when the Lord shows you what is right,
do not easily forget it.
Do not be upset when he punishes you.
6 The Lord does that to everyone that he loves.
He punishes everyone that he accepts as a son.’
7 When you have troubles in your life, you must be patient and strong. Remember that God is teaching you what is right because you are his children. There has never been any son whose father did not punish him. 8 God teaches all his children not to do wrong things. So if he does not punish you, it shows that you are not really his children. Instead, you are like children who do not really belong to him. 9 Also, we have all had human fathers who punished us. As a result, we respected them. So think about our Father that our spirits belong to. We must surely obey him, and then he will give us true life.
10 Our human fathers punished us for a few years. They did this in a way that they thought was good. But God punishes us in a way that will really help us. As a result, we can become completely good, like he is. 11 Punishment never makes us happy at the time when we receive it. No, the pain makes us sad. But later we know that the punishment has taught us good things. It helps us to live in a right way that gives us peace in our minds.
12 So be strong as servants of God! If your hands feel weak, lift them up! If your knees are not strong, stand up straight! 13 Walk straight in front of you, step by step! Your example will help other Christians to serve God well. People who cannot walk well will not become worse and fall down. Instead, their legs will become strong again. [ c ]
14 Do everything that you can to live in peace with other people. Make yourself separate from bad things. Nobody will see the Lord unless their life is good and clean. 15 Remember that God is very kind. Nobody should refuse to let God help them. Make sure that nobody among you causes trouble so that people turn against God. A person who is angry against God is like poison. He spoils many other people's lives so that God does not accept them.
16 Make sure that nobody among you has sex in a wrong way. Be careful that nobody is careless about God's rules, like Esau was long ago. [ d ] He gave away everything that he would have received as his father's first son. He gave it all away so that he could get only one meal. 17 As you know, after that, he still wanted to receive those good things from his father. He wanted his father to ask God to bless him. But his father refused to do that. Esau cried very much when he asked his father to give him those good things. But there was no way that Esau could change what he had done.
18 You have come near to God. But you have not come to a place that you can touch, like Sinai mountain. [ e ] That mountain burned with fire. But where the people stood, it was completely dark. They could not see at all. There was also a very strong wind and a storm. 19 There was the loud sound of a trumpet. There was a powerful voice that spoke to them. When the people heard that voice, they were very afraid. So they asked that the voice would not speak to them any more. 20 They were very afraid of what God had told them. God had said, ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, you must kill it with stones.’ 21 Even Moses was very afraid when he saw God's great power. He said, ‘I am full of fear!’
22 But as believers in Christ, you have not come to God in that way. You have come to Mount Zion. [ f ] You have come to the city of the true God who lives. You have come to the city of Jerusalem that is in heaven. There are many thousands of happy angels all together in that place. 23 All God's people meet together there. They are like his most important sons. They belong in heaven because God has written down their names. You have come to God himself, who will judge all people. You have come to the place where the spirits of God's people are. Those people have become right with God. God has now finished his work in them. 24 You have come to Jesus, who brought the new agreement from God to his people. In that agreement, the blood of Jesus' death makes us clean from our sins. It tells us that God has forgiven us. When Cain killed his brother Abel, Abel's blood brought God's punishment. So we see that Jesus' blood brought us something much better than that. [ g ]
25 So be careful! Always be ready to listen when God speaks. God used Moses as his servant on the earth to speak to Israel's people. When they refused to obey, God punished them. They could not get away. As for us, God speaks to us from heaven. So we will certainly not get away from God's punishment if we turn away from him. 26 At Sinai mountain many years ago, God's voice caused the earth to shake. But now God has promised this: ‘Once again I will cause the earth to shake. But this time I will also cause heaven to shake.’ 27 These words, ‘once again,’ show us that God will take away the things that he has made. All things on the earth that he causes to shake will finish. After that, everything that nobody can shake will continue to be there. [ h ]
28 But we are receiving a place where we will rule with God. We belong to God's kingdom, and nobody can ever shake that! So we should thank God. We should worship him in a way that makes him happy. He is great, and we should serve him well and respect him. 29 Remember that our God is like a fire. He destroys everything that is not good.
12 We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what faith means. So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall. 2 We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. 3 Think about Jesus. He patiently endured the angry insults that sinful people were shouting at him. Think about him so that you won’t get discouraged and stop trying.
4 You are struggling against sin, but you have not had to give up your life for the cause. 5 You are children of God, and he speaks words of comfort to you. You have forgotten these words:
“My child, don’t think the Lord’s discipline is worth nothing,
and don’t stop trying when he corrects you.
6 The Lord disciplines everyone he loves;
he punishes everyone he accepts as a child.” ( A )
7 So accept sufferings like a father’s discipline. God does these things to you like a father correcting his children. You know that all children are disciplined by their fathers. 8 So, if you never receive the discipline that every child must have, you are not true children and don’t really belong to God. 9 We have all had fathers here on earth who corrected us with discipline. And we respected them. So it is even more important that we accept discipline from the Father of our spirits. If we do this, we will have life. 10 Our fathers on earth disciplined us for a short time in the way they thought was best. But God disciplines us to help us so that we can be holy like him. 11 We don’t enjoy discipline when we get it. It is painful. But later, after we have learned our lesson from it, we will enjoy the peace that comes from doing what is right.
12 You have become weak, so make yourselves strong again. 13 Live in the right way so that you will be saved and your weakness will not cause you to be lost.
14 Try to live in peace with everyone. And try to keep your lives free from sin. Anyone whose life is not holy will never see the Lord. 15 Be careful that no one fails to get God’s grace. Be careful that no one loses their faith and becomes like a bitter weed growing among you. Someone like that can ruin your whole group. 16 Be careful that no one commits sexual sin. And be careful that no one is like Esau and never thinks about God. As the oldest son, Esau would have inherited everything from his father. But he sold all that for a single meal. 17 You remember that after Esau did this, he wanted to get his father’s blessing. He wanted that blessing so much that he cried. But his father refused to give him the blessing, because Esau could find no way to change what he had done.
18 You have not come to a place that can be seen and touched, like the mountain the people of Israel saw, which was burning with fire and covered with darkness, gloom, and storms. 19 There is no sound of a trumpet or a voice speaking words like those they heard. When they heard the voice, they begged never to hear another word. 20 They did not want to hear the command: “If anything, even an animal, touches the mountain, it must be killed with stones.” [ a ] 21 What they saw was so terrible that Moses said, “I am shaking with fear.” [ b ] [ c ]
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. [ d ] You have come to a place where thousands of angels have gathered to celebrate. 23 You have come to the meeting of God’s firstborn [ e ] children. Their names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all people. And you have come to the spirits of good people who have been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus—the one who brought the new agreement from God to his people. You have come to the sprinkled blood [ f ] that tells us about better things than the blood of Abel.
25 Be careful and don’t refuse to listen when God speaks. Those people refused to listen to him when he warned them on earth. And they did not escape. Now God is speaking from heaven. So now it will be worse for those who refuse to listen to him. 26 When he spoke before, his voice shook the earth. But now he has promised, “Once again I will shake the earth, but I will also shake heaven.” [ g ] 27 The words “once again” clearly show us that everything that was created will be destroyed—that is, the things that can be shaken. And only what cannot be shaken will remain.
28 So we should be thankful because we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And because we are thankful, we should worship God in a way that will please him. We should do this with respect and fear, 29 because our God is like a fire that can destroy us.
12 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
12 Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s ( A ) rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s ( B ) run with ( C ) endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking only at Jesus, the [ a ] ( D ) originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him ( E ) endured the cross, ( F ) despising the shame, and has ( G ) sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For ( H ) consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary [ b ] ( I ) and lose heart.
4 ( J ) You have not yet resisted [ c ] ( K ) to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
“ ( L ) My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord ,
Nor ( M ) faint when you are punished by Him ;
6 ( N ) For ( O ) whom the Lord loves He disciplines ,
And He punishes every son whom He accepts .”
7 It is for discipline that you endure; ( P ) God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, ( Q ) of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had [ d ] earthly fathers to discipline us, and we ( R ) respected them ; shall we not much more be subject to ( S ) the Father of [ e ] spirits, and ( T ) live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, ( U ) so that we may share His holiness. 11 ( V ) For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the ( W ) peaceful fruit of righteousness.
12 Therefore, [ f ] ( X ) strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and ( Y ) make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is impaired may not be dislocated, but rather ( Z ) be healed.
14 ( AA ) Pursue peace with all people, and the ( AB ) holiness without which no one will ( AC ) see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one ( AD ) comes short of the grace of God; that no ( AE ) root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many become ( AF ) defiled; 16 that there be no ( AG ) sexually immoral or ( AH ) godless person like Esau, ( AI ) who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterward, ( AJ ) when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.
18 ( AK ) For you have not come to ( AL ) a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, 19 and to the ( AM ) blast of a trumpet and the ( AN ) sound of words, which sound was such that those who heard ( AO ) begged that no further word be spoken to them. 20 For they could not [ g ] cope with the command, “ ( AP ) If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “ ( AQ ) I am terrified and trembling.” 22 But ( AR ) you have come to Mount Zion and to ( AS ) the city of ( AT ) the living God, ( AU ) the heavenly Jerusalem, and to ( AV ) myriads of [ h ] angels, 23 to the general assembly and ( AW ) church of the firstborn who ( AX ) are enrolled in heaven, and to God, ( AY ) the Judge of all, and to the ( AZ ) spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the ( BA ) mediator of a new covenant, and to the ( BB ) sprinkled blood, which speaks better than ( BC ) the blood of Abel.
25 ( BD ) See to it that you do not refuse Him who is ( BE ) speaking. For ( BF ) if those did not escape when they ( BG ) refused him who ( BH ) warned them on earth, [ i ] much less will we escape who turn away from Him who ( BI ) warns us from heaven. 26 And ( BJ ) His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “ ( BK ) Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven .” 27 This expression , “Yet once more,” denotes ( BL ) the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we receive a ( BM ) kingdom which cannot be shaken, let’s [ j ] show gratitude, by which we may ( BN ) offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for ( BO ) our God is a consuming fire.
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.
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 )
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.
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 )
