Hebrews 12:1 - Forerunner Commentary

Hebrews 12:1

The Race of Faith

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, ^alet us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and ^blet us run ^cwith endurance the race that is set before us,

2 looking unto Jesus, the¹ author and finisher of our faith, ^awho for the joy that was set before Him ^bendured the cross, despising the shame, and ^chas sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Discipline of God

3 ^aFor consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, ^blest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

4 ^aYou have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
^a“My son, do not despise the¹ chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6 For ^awhom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”

7 ^aIf¹ you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what ^bson is there whom a father does not chasten?

8 But if you are without chastening, ^aof which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to ^athe Father of spirits and live?

10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, ^athat we may be partakers of His holiness.

11 Now no¹ chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields ^athe peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Renew Your Spiritual Vitality

12 Therefore ^astrengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,

13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

14 ^aPursue peace with all people, and holiness, ^bwithout which no one will see the Lord:

15 looking carefully lest anyone ^afall short of the grace of God; lest any ^broot of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

16 lest there be any ^afornicator or profane person like Esau, ^bwho for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was ^arejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

The Glorious Company

18 For you have not come¹ to ^athe mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and² darkness and tempest,

19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it ^abegged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.

20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: ^a“And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned¹ or shot with an arrow.”

21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ^a“I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,

23 to the¹ general assembly and church of ^athe firstborn ^bwho are registered in heaven, to God ^cthe Judge of all, to the spirits of just men ^dmade perfect,

24 to Jesus ^athe Mediator of the new covenant, and to ^bthe blood of sprinkling that speaks better things ^cthan that of Abel.

Hear the Heavenly Voice

25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For ^aif they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,

26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ^a“Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”

27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the ^aremoval of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we¹ may ^aserve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

29 For ^aour God is a consuming fire.

Verse Comparison: Hebrews 12:1

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Hebrews 12:2 >>

American Standard Version
Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, 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,

Amplified® Bible
THEREFORE THEN, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off {and} throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to {and} entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance {and} steady {and} active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us,

Contemporary English Version
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us.

Darby English Version
Let *us* also therefore, having so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, laying aside every weight, and sin which so easily entangles us, run with endurance the race that lies before us,

Good News Bible
As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us.

International Standard Version
Therefore, having so vast a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, and throwing off everything that hinders us and especially the sin that so easily entangles us, let us keep running with endurance the race set before us,

King James Version
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,

New American Standard Bible
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

New International Version
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 with perseverance the race marked out for us.

New King James Version
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race set before us,

Young's Literal Translation
Therefore, we also having so great a cloud of witnesses set around us, every weight having put off, and the closely besetting sin, through endurance may we run the contest that is set before us,

New English Translation
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,¹ we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us,

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