This verse confirms that the writer is more concerned with the continuity between the first Christians and his readers than with any contrast between them. How did God add his witness to those of earlier Christians? Verse 4 gives four answers (although Good News Translation combines the first two into one): (a) by signs, (b) by wonders, (c) by all kinds of powerful acts, and (d) by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When the first three terms are used separately, (a) emphasizes the significance of the events, (b) their effect in astonishing those who see them, and (c) the power behind them. However, in this verse, as often in the New Testament (for example, Mark 13.22; John 4.48; Acts 4.30; 15.12), (a) and (b) are closely connected and similar in meaning, and so Good News Translation is right to combine them and even link all kinds of with (a) and (b), as well as with (c).

At the same time may be expressed by a clause, “While this was happening.”

Added his witness translates a Greek present participle implying continuous action: “went on adding his witness.” The translation of added his witness to theirs must be rendered in such a way as to reflect the previous rendering of proved to us. For example, if proved to us is rendered “showed to us” or “made it clear to us,” then added his witness may be expressed as “also made it clear to us” or “also showed clearly to us.”

By performing all kinds of miracles and wonders may be expressed as “by doing all kinds of miracles and wonders.” In some languages miracles are spoken of simply as “great deeds” or “unusual deeds,” but sometimes more idiomatic expressions are used, for example, “open-mouth things” (something which is so astonishing that people open their mouths in wonder) or even “long-necked things” (events that are so marvelous that people stretch their necks in order to see). In order to suggest something of the meaning of the Greek, which clearly indicates the power which is necessary in the performing of such unusual deeds, one may speak of “powerful deeds” or “deeds which show God’s power.”

It is not clear whether according to his will is linked only with distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit or with the whole of (a)-(d). 1 Corinthians 12.11 similarly speaks of the one Holy Spirit “distributing” different gifts as he wishes, suggesting that according to his will may relate to (d) alone. The parallel with 1 Corinthians 12.11 also suggests that his will may mean “the Holy Spirit’s” rather than “God’s” will, but this is not certain. Many cases will be noted in this Handbook where the writer of Hebrews does not clearly state whether “his” and similar pronouns refer to God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit.

Most translations, like Good News Translation, refer to gifts of the Holy Spirit although gifts is implicit; the text is literally “distributions of the Holy Spirit” (compare Moffatt “distributing the Holy Spirit as it pleased him,” Bijbel in Gewone Taal “Moreover he dealt out the Holy Spirit as he wished,” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “by means of the Holy Spirit which he has given us in different ways, according to his will”). Stress is on the origin of the gifts (the Spirit) rather than on the individual gifts themselves.

By distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit may be expressed as a type of causative, since the distribution is basically causative while the gifts are that which comes from the Holy Spirit. Therefore by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit may be expressed as “by causing people to have what the Holy Spirit gives.”

Will implies a settled purpose rather than a series of separate decisions. It is generally impossible to preserve the ambiguity in the phrase according to his will, and the translator will have to specify whether this is a reference to the will of the Holy Spirit or to the will of God. In the first case one may translate the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his will as “what the Holy Spirit gives as he wants to.” In the second case the translation would be “the gifts which the Holy Spirit gives according to what God desires.” If, however, one wishes to emphasize that it is not the gifts which come from the Holy Spirit but the Holy Spirit who is the gift, it may be necessary to translate “by God distributing or giving to people the Holy Spirit according as he wanted to.”

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 .

The adverb Now does not translate a specific word in the Greek text, but contrasts the past failure of the Jewish people to enter into God’s rest (3.19) with the fact that such a rest is still promised to those who believe in Christ.

God has offered us the promise: the word us in Good News Translation identifies the people to whom God makes the promise. The Greek does not state this explicitly until at least verse 3. God has offered us the promise must be expressed in some languages as “God has promised us” or “God has said that we could.” In some languages the equivalent of promise is “to say strongly.”

In a number of languages it is impossible to say that we may receive that rest, since rest is not something which is received in the sense of receiving some object as a gift. In fact, receive that rest is essentially a kind of substitute passive, and therefore in many languages it is best translated as “that we may rest” or “that we may be permitted to rest.”

Then, here and in verse 11, translates a Greek word meaning “therefore.” In these two cases, then is not an expression of time. Possible equivalents of then are “as a result of this” or “because of all this.”

Let us take care includes both the writer and his readers, but probably no one else, as you later in the verse shows. It may be difficult to state clearly the relationship between Let us take care and that none of you will be found to have failed. In reality, the phrase Let us take care is directed to the persons who are admonished not to fail. One might translate “We should all be concerned that not one of you will be found to have failed,” in which case the form “We” should be inclusive. But it may be more appropriate to say “All of you must be watchful in order that not one of you will be found to have failed.”

Will be found to have failed presents two problems. The first problem is whether will be found implies a judgment by God. The Greek term may mean (a) “be judged,” though it is not the most common term for “judge,” (b) “think,” or (c) “seem.” Meaning (a) is more likely to imply a judgment by God. Compare the English expression “he was found guilty,” that is, by a judge or jury. This meaning is chosen by Revised Standard Version, “be judged,” and by Good News Translation, be found. Meaning (b) is chosen by Jerusalem Bible and Translator’s New Testament, “think.” Phillips adopts (c), “that none of us even looks like failing…,” as do other common language translations and Bible de Jérusalem. A comparison with 3.12 suggests the first meaning: the writer is not concerned with what seems to be, or with what people think, but with their real condition (their heart, 3.12), and with what will really happen to them, as the following verses show.

A literal translation of that none of you will be found to have failed can be misleading, since found might suggest “to have been discovered accidentally.” The passive construction can also be misleading, if an active form is more natural or even required. Therefore it may be better to introduce God as the ultimate agent; for example, “so that God will not judge any of you to have failed.”

The second problem, which is linked with the first, concerns the meaning of the words translated to have failed. Greek dictionaries give “to come too late” as the so-called root meaning of this verb. This produces the translation “none of you must think that he has come too late for it,” that is, for what God promised (Jerusalem Bible), or “be convinced of being left behind” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible; similarly Bijbel in Gewone Taal). This meaning fits the context well here, and there are parallels outside the New Testament, but it is difficult to find this meaning in any other New Testament passage. Segond “let us fear then…, lest anyone among you seem to have come too late” is almost the opposite of what the writer means, since the readers cannot control the time of their birth, and the writer means to encourage them. A more common meaning of the Greek verb translated failed is “to miss,” “to fail to reach a goal,” and this meaning is given by common language translations and most other modern translations.

To have failed to receive is equivalent in many languages to “to not receive,” so that the clause that none of you will be found to have failed to receive may be expressed as “so that God will not judge any of you as not having received.” However, it is usually better to keep explicit the idea of failure on the part of the people. In some instances it may be better to express the concept of “receiving” by direct discourse; for example, “so that God will not judge any of you by saying, ‘You have failed to receive the promised rest.’ ” If direct discourse is used, the phrase that promised rest may be translated as “that rest that I have promised” or “the fact that I have promised to cause you to rest.”

For rest, see comments on 3.11. Jerusalem Bible, Bijbel in Gewone Taal translate correctly “place of rest.”

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 .

Good News Translation finds “tasted God’s good word” a less natural metaphor than “tasting God’s gift” in verse 4 and replaces it, as do some other translations, by the nonfigurative knew from experience that God’s word is good. “Taste” in English can have the weak meaning “eat only a small amount of,” but this is not the meaning of the Greek, either here or in 2.9, where the same verb is used (see Revised Standard Version). The meaning is rather that of Psalm 34.8, Find out for yourself.

Word is not the same Greek term as either of those used in 5.12 and 5.13. The term used here usually means a spoken word, but may have been chosen simply for variety. The context shows that it means, not the Old Testament, but Christian teaching, which at this time would be handed on largely, though not entirely, by word of mouth. God’s word is here “the message from God” rather than “the message about God.” However, God’s word is closely linked with the powers of the coming age. “Word,” especially God’s word, is commonly thought of in the Bible as active and powerful (compare 4.12). The writer may be remembering what Jesus said about the kingdom or kingly rule of God, as in Mark 1.15, or the power of the Holy Spirit just mentioned, or both.

It is rare that one can preserve the biblical figurative language of “tasting God’s good word,” and therefore some other expression is usually required. They knew from experience that God’s word is good is one possibility, or more idiomatically “they felt in their hearts that God’s word is good.” Similarly, God’s word is good may be rendered as “what God has said is good.”

The translator should avoid any expression for the coming age which would suggest a time wholly in the future, for this would contradict the meaning of the past tense in “tasted” or knew from experience. King James Version‘s “world to come” is misleading because the “kingdom” is a period of time, not a place.

A literal translation of they had felt the powers of the coming age is in danger of being radically misinterpreted or utterly obscure. Without any further qualification, powers of the coming age could very well be interpreted as “demonic powers” or “powers associated with evil spirits,” especially if this is related directly to a verb of sensory feeling.

There is an additional difficulty involved in rendering the coming age, since in most languages a period of time does not “come”; it simply “happens.” A literal rendering of the coming age or even “the age that is happening” could still be exceedingly obscure, since it would have no relationship to the rule of God. It may therefore be wise to translate they had felt the powers of the coming age as “they had experienced the power of the time when God is beginning to rule” or “… the power associated with the time when God rules.”

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 .

The pronoun they must refer clearly to the offerings and animal sacrifices. It may be important to repeat at least some aspects of the previous statement, for example, “the things offered to God,” to make the meaning clear.

Food and drink are plural in the text: “things to eat and drink,” referring to Old Testament regulations about what might or might not be eaten and drunk. Food, drink may be rendered as “what one should eat and what one should drink” or “what God allows people to eat and drink.”

Various purification ceremonies is literally “baptisms”; see comment on 6.2. Various purification ceremonies may be rendered as “various ways in which people could purify themselves,” “… could become pure,” or “… could get rid of what made them unclean.”

Most translations are based on the same text as the UBS Greek New Testament, in which outward rules includes all the rules to do only with food, drink, and various purification ceremonies. Phillips and Zürcher Bibel follow a less likely text which makes the outward rules another item in the list: “various washings and rules for bodily conduct.” The word for rules is the one used in verse 1. Some translations put outward rules first and give the examples later; for example, Jerusalem Bible “they are rules about the outward life, connected with foods and drinks and washing at various times.” The “rules about the outward life” are contrasted with the heart or “conscience” (verse 9).

The expression outward rules may be almost meaningless if translated literally. It may be possible to speak about “rules about how one performs rituals,” but it may be clearer to translate outward rules as “rules which have nothing to do with one’s heart” or “rules which have nothing to do with the person inside each of us.”

Establish the new order: new order (Revised Standard Version “reformation”) translates a Greek word related to an adjective meaning “straight,” “upright.” In order to give the full meaning of “putting things straight,” Good News Translation fourth edition (like Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Translator’s New Testament) uses the phrase the new order. Jerusalem Bible‘s “until it should be time to reform them,” that is, “the rules about worship,” is too narrow. Barclay‘s “only until the time when by the action of God religion is totally reformed and reconstructed” gives the meaning precisely but is rather long. The text refers to the fulfillment of the Jewish hope for a new world, not a mere improvement of this world.

Good News Bible fourth edition avoids words like “reform” and “reformation” perhaps because in current English they are increasingly used to refer to some superficial improvement in the existing situation. Establish the new order may be expressed in some languages as “make everything new,” “cause everything to be new and different,” or “cause a new way of living to come into existence.”

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 .

The writer begins to apply his teaching in a long sentence which in Greek continues without a break until verse 25. It will usually be necessary to divide this in translation, especially in a common language translation. In the Greek text the three main verbs are “draw near” (verse 22), “hold fast” (verse 23), and “consider” (verse 24). If the sentence is divided, it is necessary to find other means of making the translation as solemn and impressive as the original. This can be done by using some words which are near the upper limits of common language, and by paying particular attention to the style and form of the translation, and to points of special emphasis.

The second word in the Greek is a strong word for “therefore” (underemphasized by Good News Translation‘s then; Bible en français courant has “Thus”). This Greek word is usually used in Hebrews to mark (a) the beginning of a new section, as in 4.14; 9.1, 23; (b) a transition from a statement to an appeal (“let us…” do something), as in 4.1, 11, 16; 10.35; 13.15; or (c) a conclusion drawn from an Old Testament quotation, as in 2.14; 4.6. In this verse “therefore” is both (a) and (b). The transition is also marked by my brothers (that is, “fellow Christians,” as in 3.1, 12; 13.22). Brothers does not exclude “sisters”; but neither does it suggest any blood relationship, and it is important in many languages to avoid an expression which would mean literally my brothers. In many languages an expression for “fellow Christians” is either “relatives” or “those of the same clan,” since the fellowship among Christians suggests the establishment of a new kind of family relationship based upon God being the father of all those who believe.

Complete freedom renders a single word in the Greek. Here, as in 3.6 and 4.16, it means confidence in approaching God, rather than as in 10.35, courage in facing opponents. In Ephesians 3.12 Good News Bible translates boldness. The underlying idea is that of having been given the right or permission to enter God’s presence. Complete freedom to go into may even mean “the right to use the way into,” that is, the path which Christ has opened up by his death. Go into the Most Holy Place recalls 9.7 and also 4.16; all Christians can now approach God as freely and closely as the high priests did under the old covenant. Most is implied, as in 9.25.

In rendering We have … complete freedom to go into the Most Holy Place, it may be important to indicate the symbolic or figurative nature of the expression, or to indicate by a note that this does not refer literally to the right of Christians to go into the Most Holy Place in the Temple. The author is speaking of access to God in a spiritual sense. Some translators have wanted to translate into the Most Holy Place as “into the Most Holy Place in heaven.” But this can be misinterpreted as meaning that “believers have complete freedom to go to heaven when they die.” The figurative meaning may be made clear by translating “we have complete freedom to go, as it were, into the Most Holy Place,” “… into the Most Holy Room,” or “… into the Most Holy part of the sanctuary.”

It is important not to translate either “blood” here, or body in verse 20, as if they were separate objects, distinct from Christ’s whole offering of himself in death. For this reason Good News Translation, in this verse as in 13.20 (sacrificial death), replaces the literal translation “blood” by death. However, this is not done in chapter 9 or in 10.4, 29, where blood has its literal meaning, which is necessary to the argument. Sometimes a verb may be used, that is, where “blood” refers to an event. Good News Bible does this in 12.4: you have not yet had to resist to the point of being killed. Translator’s New Testament chooses this solution in 10.19, “Jesus has died for us”; compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “because Jesus has sacrificed his blood.”

By means of the death of Jesus means the same as through his own body in verse 20 (see comments below), though the Greek is different. By means of the death of Jesus may have to be expressed as a separate clause or sentence; for example, “this is possible because Christ died.”

Jesus by itself is emphatic as usual; see comments on 2.9.

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 .

In faith renders a different wording from “By faith” in the Revised Standard Version of verses 8, 11, and earlier. It would be a mistake to translate It was in faith in the same way as similar expressions in verses 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8. Verse 13 does not involve a causal relation, and one would not want to say “Because they trusted God, all these persons died.” A more satisfactory rendering would be “All of these persons trusted God until the time they died” or “All these persons who trusted God died.” All these persons means the people mentioned by name earlier in this chapter, not the numberless descendants mentioned in the previous verse. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch specifies “Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

In meaning, though not in grammar, They did not receive is more closely linked with in faith than with died. There is a double contrast between (a) in faith, (b) not having received, and (c) they saw and welcomed; both (a) and (c) are contrasted with (b). In order to indicate the relationship between the trust in God and the people not having received the things that God had promised, it is possible to render the first part of the verse as “All these people who trusted God died without having received the things that God promised.”

Good News Translation‘s They did not receive the things God had promised (similarly Revised Standard Version) is clearer than King James Version‘s “not having received the promises,” since Abraham and the others did receive a promise but not its fulfillment. The meaning is similar to receive what God has promised in 6.12, though the Greek is different. In the same way, what the patriarchs saw from a long way off was not the promises themselves, which are in any case invisible, but what God had promised. The picture language is drawn from the story of Moses looking at the Promised Land from a long way off (see Deut 34.1-4). “From a long way off,” in the Greek as in Good News Translation, refers to distance in space, not time, and really refers to such texts as Deuteronomy 32.49, 52 and 34.4. The idea of “greeting” inanimate objects is strange (see Revised Standard Version “greeted it from afar”). The writer means that the patriarchs looked forward with joy and confidence to receiving what God had promised; Phillips says “hailed them as true,” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “rejoiced about it.”

From a long way off they saw them may have to be modified so as to emphasize the temporal aspect and to indicate that saw is used in a figurative sense; for example, “long before what God promised took place, they, as it were, saw it” or “… saw what would happen.” The expression and welcomed them may be rendered as “and were very happy.”

Admitted openly translates a word which can be used to speak of “confession,” either of faith or of sin. Here admitted openly suggests something of which people might be expected to be ashamed. As Genesis 23.4 and 47.9 show, people living outside their own country were often despised. Admitted openly may be rendered as “freely told people” or “did not hesitate to say to people.”

The Greek word for foreigners is harsher than the word used in the Septuagint translation of Genesis 23.4, which means “strangers.” Refugees is a little stronger than the Greek, which does not suggest people who have escaped from trouble in their own country, but simply “resident aliens” (see comment on verse 38).

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 .

This verse contains another contrast. The first part of it was a common saying, almost a proverb, in popular moral teaching of New Testament times.

The structure of this verse emphasizes the contrast between at the time and Later. Later may also mean “Last of all” or “In the end,” as in Matthew 21.37. This sense is suggested by references to the “last times” at the end of this verse and in the wider context.

The phrase rendered sad, not glad sounds a little heavy in the original as well as in translation. The writer is thinking back to the joy mentioned in verse 2 and uses the same Greek word here.

As Revised Standard Version shows, the verse is a contrast between the effect of discipline at the time and Later. Good News Translation expands the first part of the contrast, expressing “all discipline” (Revised Standard Version) as When we are punished. “Whenever we are punished” would have been closer to the meaning of the Greek. If Good News Bible is taken as the base for renderings in other languages, there may be some repetition in the reference to time. If so, the first sentence may be translated as “Whenever we are punished it seems to us to be something to make us sad, not glad,” deleting at the time.

Since the expression it seems to us involves some kind of reasoning or thought, it may be better to restructure the statement as “Whenever we are punished, we regard it as making us sad and certainly not glad” or “… happy.”

The second half of this verse (from Later, however) is written in a particularly impressive Greek literary style. This suggests that it is intended as a summary and conclusion of the section. This is confirmed by “Therefore” in verse 12 (Revised Standard Version) and by the change from argument to direct imperatives. common language translations (but not the UBS Greek New Testament or Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) therefore begin a new section at verse 12 rather than at verse 14.

Disciplined in 5.14 was translated through practice are able (see the comments). The idea of athletic training may be carried over from the beginning of the chapter; several translations have “trained.”

Those who have been disciplined by such punishment may be expressed as “those whom God has punished in order to show them what they have done wrong” or “those who have been corrected by the way in which God has punished them.” It may be essential to indicate that this is punishment which comes from God, especially in view of the explicit reference to God in verse 10.

Revised Standard Version suggests some confusion in this verse between the metaphors of athletic training and harvesting. The Greek for reap is in fact a dead metaphor meaning “to receive something in return” and may be translated in a nonfigurative way.

Peaceful reward is a rather strange expression. Several translations separate “peace” from reward and link it with a righteous life, literally “righteousness,” as in 1.9: Bijbel in Gewone Taal “the peace which comes from a righteous life,” Bible en français courant “peace associated with a just life,” and Translator’s New Testament “lives of peace and goodness.” These translations present a rather static view of the “good life” as one in which relationships with God and other people are what they should be. It is true that “peace” in the Bible implies total well-being (see 7.2; 13.21). However, in biblical thought, “peace,” like “righteousness,” involves action, and this aspect is brought out by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch: “But later it appears, to all who have been brought up by this punishment, that it was good, and that they have become people who do what is right, and spread peace (around them).”

Reward is literally “fruit” (Revised Standard Version), meaning “the effect it produces” (Bible en français courant). It is not the word used for reward in 11.26, but the meaning is the same, that is, the fulfillment in men of God’s purposes (compare 11.40).

The expression a righteous life (in Greek literally “righteousness”) is in apposition to the peaceful reward. In other words this peaceful reward consists of a righteous life. But peaceful is actually a qualification of the life more than it is of the reward itself. Accordingly, one may render reap the peaceful reward of a righteous life as “obtain a reward which is a peaceful and righteous life” or “obtain the reward of living peacefully and righteously.” Righteous may be rendered as “in accordance with what God wants a person to do.”

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 .