Paragraph Group 6:4–8
In the second (6:4–6) and third (6:7–8) paragraphs in this chapter the author gave the third warning in Hebrews (as indicated in the Outline). In 6:4–6 he warned that if people “fall away” from their faith, they bring disgrace to God’s Son. It is impossible to make them repent again. In 6:7–8 he compared faithful and unfaithful believers to fruitful and unfruitful land. Land that produces only thorns must be burned.
Paragraph 6:4–6
Paragraph 6:4–6 is one complex sentence in Greek. It indicates that people who “fall away” cannot be restored to repentance. The phrase “having fallen away, to again restore to repentance” does not occur in Greek until 6:6. In many languages, it is necessary to change the order of words and repeat certain phrases to make the meaning clear. Some ways to do this are:
• Repeat “fall away.” For example:
6 For if people…retreat from their faith, 4 they can no longer 6 be helped to repent from their sin. 4–5 At one time, they were enlightened…. 6 Yet after that, they retreated from their faith. Doing that is like crucifying the Son of God again and openly disgracing him.
• Repeat “it is impossible” in both 6:4 and 6:6. For example:
4 Some people cannot 6 be brought back again to a changed life. 4–5 They found out…6 But they fell away from Christ. 4 It is impossible to bring them back to a changed life again, 6 because they are nailing the Son of God to a cross again and are shaming him…. (New Century Version)
• Shift “it is impossible” from 6:4 to 6:6. For example:
4 Some people once had God’s light. They experienced the heavenly gift and shared in the Holy Spirit. 5 They experienced…6 Yet, they…deserted [Christ]. They are crucifying the Son of God again and publicly disgracing him. Therefore, they cannot be led a second time to God. (God’s Word)
In some languages it may be necessary to repeat a different phrase or to make changes in the order of phrases. It is fine to number the verses to fit well with the sentence structure of your language.
6:4a
The Greek begins this verse with a conjunction that is usually translated as “for” or “because.” In some versions, a conjunction introduces a warning. It is based on what the author said in 6:1–3 about becoming mature. In 6:4–6 he warned his listeners that if we do not become mature, we may “fall away” from our faith (6:6). When that happens, it is impossible to be brought back to repentance.
Notice that here a conjunction connects paragraphs (1–3 and 4–6), rather than sentences. In some languages a conjunction is not needed. It is often helpful to translate the two paragraphs before deciding how to connect them.
It is impossible for those: The phrase It is impossible for those describes an action that no one can do. No one can help certain people to repent a second time. Some other ways to translate this meaning are:
It is not possible to help certain people
-or-
as for people who deliberately retreat from their faith, they can no longer be led back to repent from their sin
Notice that the second example supplied a phrase from 6:6 (“who deliberately retreat from their faith”).
who have once been enlightened: The verb have…been enlightened is passive, and it is used as a figure of speech here. It indicates that God caused the people to know the truth. In this context it especially implies knowing the truth of the Gospel that God revealed through his Son.
Some ways to translate the figure of speech are:
• Use a figure of speech in your language that has the same meaning. For example:
their minds have already been illuminated
-or-
Some people once had God’s light. (God’s Word)
-or-
their minds/eyes had been opened
• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:
they understood the truth
once: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as once refers here to the time in the past when the people understood the gospel. Some other ways to translate it are:
at one time
-or-
at one point
6:4b
who have tasted the heavenly gift: The clause who have tasted the heavenly gift means “and have experienced what God gave.” The word tasted is a figure of speech that implies a full experience. It does not imply that the experience is limited. It implies that the person has not only been told about the gift—he has actually experienced it. The meaning is similar to its meaning in 2:9, where the phrase “tasted death” indicates that Jesus experienced death fully.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
enjoyed heaven’s gift (New Century Version)
-or-
they have benefited from what God has given
-or-
experienced the gift from God
the heavenly gift: The word heavenly here is an indirect way to say “from God.” The word gift probably refers here to the gift of new life through Christ. God sent Jesus to save us from sin and to bring us into fellowship with God. In some languages it is more natural to translate the noun gift with a verb phrase or clause. For example:
what God gave
-or-
the ⌊new life⌋ that God gives
6:4c
who have shared in the Holy Spirit: The phrase have shared in the Holy Spirit indicates that they were among those who experienced the Holy Spirit’s presence and power. Some other ways to translate this meaning are:
have shared in experiencing the Holy Spirit
-or-
among those who were blessed with the Holy Spirit
the Holy Spirit: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Holy Spirit refers to the Spirit of God. Translate the term the Holy Spirit in the same way as you did in 2:4 and 3:7.
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