This verse is more closely related to verses 8-16 than to verse 7, which speaks of former leaders. The present leaders of the Christian community are those especially responsible for seeing that its members are not “led astray” (verse 9). However, most translations, like the UBS Greek text, begin a new paragraph here.

Obey your leaders and follow their orders is not a statement of two different activities but of closely related ones, the first being general and the second more specific. Therefore it may be better in some languages to translate the first sentence of verse 17 as “Obey your leaders by following their orders” or “… by doing what they tell you to do.”

On souls, see 4.12; Barclay “Their care for you”; Bijbel in Gewone Taal and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “they watch over you.” A strictly literal translation of They watch over your souls without resting may be misunderstood as being the activity of a sorcerer on the lookout for people’s souls which he can control. It may therefore be better to translate They watch over your souls without resting as “They constantly care for you” or “They never rest in their concern to take care of you.”

To God and of their service are implied. Since they must give to God an account of their service may be rendered as “because they must explain to God how they have carried out their responsibility” or “… how they have done their work,” or even “… how they have cared for you.”

Translations of the rest of the verse differ more in style and language than in meaning. Revised Standard Version (see also New English Bible) would have been improved by omitting “and” before “not sadly,” since the second phrase does not add any new information.

The elliptical clause if not may require some expansion; for example, “but if you do not obey them.”

They will do it with sadness does not mean that they will go about their task with sad faces, but “they will do what they must do, but it will make them sad.”

And that would be of no help to you may be expressed as “and that will not help you” or “and you will not benefit from that.”

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 .