Revised Standard Version‘s “But” marks the contrast between warning (verses 26-31) and encouragement. The imperative Remember suggests that the readers are being asked to make some effort to recall earlier times. Many translations have “recall” ( Revised Standard Version) or some equivalent; Barclay says “Cast your minds back.” The closest equivalent of Remember in this type of context may be simply “think about.” But how it was with you may be “what happened to you.” “Former” (Revised Standard Version) simply means “earlier than the present,” hence in the past. In the past may be expressed as “before” or “before now.”

In those days is added in Good News Translation to link the two sentences; it is literally “in which,” implying “days.” A literal rendering of In those days may be too specific; “Then” or “At that time” may be better.

After God’s light had shone on you translates a single word for “having been enlightened.” The passive indicates the action of God, and “enlightened” (Revised Standard Version) refers here, as in 6.4, to a single act, probably becoming a Christian and being baptized. The writer certainly does not mean that the readers were “enlightened” in the past but are now in “darkness.” The meaning in nonfigurative terms is “when you first became Christians,” “when you first came to understand the Good News,” or “when you first believed the Good News.”

The meaning of the last part of the verse is very compressed. Good News Translation uses eleven English words to translate four Greek ones, which are literally “you-endured much struggle of-sufferings.” The picture is that of an athlete engaged in some kind of hard competition, perhaps a race (compare 12.1), or possibly a wrestling match. Who the other competitors are is not stated; the main idea is that of struggle and hardship. This struggle is made necessary by what the readers suffered. Yet despite their suffering, the readers had not given up the struggle or abandoned their faith. You suffered many things may be translated “you suffered much.”

Not defeated expresses negatively what the Greek, followed by Revised Standard Version, states positively by “endured.” The meaning is not simply that the readers suffered without complaint, but as Good News Translation makes clear, that they still survived as Christians when the sufferings had done their worst. 12.4 states that martyrdom had not been involved, so suffered here does not mean “died,” as it does for example in 2.18.

Yet were not defeated by the struggle may be expressed as “but the struggle did not defeat you,” “but even though you struggled, you did not give up,” or “… you continued strong.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .