This verse consists of three short statements: Endure … your suffering shows … Was there ever…? The second statement expands part of the meaning of the first, and the third draws a conclusion from the second. Earlier editions of Good News Translation had “because your suffering…,” understanding the second statement as giving a reason for the first, but this is not necessary. The third statement has the form of a rhetorical question, which Phillips turns into a strong negative statement: “No true son ever grows up uncorrected by his father.” Good News Translation fourth edition, which changed “punishes” into corrects in verses 5 and 6a, did not do the same in verses 7-10, where the same Greek words are used.

On Endure, see verses 1-3. The indicative “You endure” is a possible but unlikely translation.

What you suffer is implied. Endure what you suffer as being a father’s punishment is stronger than Bible en français courant‘s “bear your sufferings as if they were the punishment of a father.” Both the discipline and God’s fatherhood are real, as the next part of the verse shows. Other common language translations bring out the same meaning in different words: Bijbel in Gewone Taal “That is part of your upbringing: bear it in that way. God treats you as his children” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “Bear the blows (patiently). God is treating you as his sons.” King James Version‘s “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons”” is based on inferior manuscripts.

A father’s is not in the Greek text but is added in order to soften punishment and to bring out the wider idea of upbringing by a parent.

The statement Endure what you suffer as being a father’s punishment leaves implicit the son’s reaction to the father’s action, or his understanding of its nature and purpose. Therefore it may be necessary to translate the first part of verse 7 as “Consider the suffering that you endure as being like the way in which a son suffers because of the way his father punishes him” or “… like the way in which a father punishes his son to show him that he has done wrong.”

In the statement your suffering shows that God is treating you as his sons, it is implied that the readers should draw a certain conclusion from the way in which God is treating them. The statement may therefore be translated as “if you suffer, then you know that God is treating you as his sons.” But it would be more satisfactory to translate “the fact that you are suffering shows that God is treating you as his sons” or “… is dealing with you just as though you are his sons.”

The connection between the two sentences of verse 7 in Good News Translation is shown by the repetition sons … son; Revised Standard Version‘s “for” is therefore omitted. Was there ever a son…? may also be translated “Who, having the status of a son…?” The difference of meaning is slight. In either case, the rhetorical question is equivalent to a strong double negative statement, “There is no son whose father does not punish him,” which Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente simplifies to the positive: “In fact, it is normal that a son be corrected by his father.” Other possible forms of the statement are “There never was a son who was not punished by his father” or “There never were sons who were not corrected by their fathers.”

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 .

Compare Leviticus 16.27 and, for the significance of being outside the camp, see Numbers 12.14-15. It is clear from the above summary that the Old Testament “sacrifice” for sin is partly contrasted and partly compared with the “sacrifice” of Christ. In verses 11-12 the two are compared rather than contrasted. On High Priest, see 2.17.

The Greek verbs in this verse, like the verb for serve in verse 10, are in the present. This is probably not because the writer thinks of the Old Testament sacrifices as still being offered in Jerusalem, but because the Old Testament itself is still available. In order to make clear the meaning of the present tenses brings and are burned, it may be necessary in some languages to specify that the action of bringing the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place was a yearly event. Therefore the first part of the verse may have “The Jewish High Priest each year brought the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place in order to offer it as a sacrifice for people’s sins.”

Most is implied; see comment on 8.2.

Bodies here clearly implies “dead bodies.” The use of the word for camp takes the readers back to the time of the exodus from Egypt (for example, Exo 29.14; Lev 4.12).

The bodies are burned in this case to destroy impurity, not as part of the sacrifice. Outside the camp may be rendered as “outside the area where people lived” or “away from the dwellings of the people.” There is no suggestion of a military camp.

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 .

Since verse 11 may begin a new paragraph, it may be useful to introduce the subject as “Jesus”; for example, “Jesus purifies people from their sins.”

There is nothing in the Greek corresponding to He purifies people from their sins, and no CLT other than Good News Translation sees the need to add this clause. Good News Bible does so in order to make a rather sudden transition more smooth. The transition is from God to Jesus as the subject and the central person in the sentence, and from the language of salvation or rescue to the language of sanctification. However, the change is not completely unprepared. Both make … perfect in verse 10 and purifies here refer to the work of a priest.

Purifies people from their sins must in a number of languages be expressed as a causative; for example, “causes people to no longer have sin” or “… guilt.” In some instances it may be necessary to express in figurative language the means by which sins are removed; for example, “causes people’s sins to be blotted out” or “… wiped away.” In other instances it may be the attribution of guilt which is involved; for example, “causes people no longer to be guilty.”

The rendering of those who are made pure will depend on the manner in which the first clause has been translated, namely, He purifies people from their sins.

Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch follows a different interpretation which may fit the context better. It notes (a) that sins are not mentioned in this section until verse 17 (compare 1.3), and (b) that the basic meaning of “to make holy” or “sanctify” is “to claim as God’s possession.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch therefore continues the thought of verse 11 by translating “The one who leads men to God and those who are led by him to God are all descended from the same Father.” This has the additional advantage of making a general statement such as is perhaps more natural at the beginning of a new paragraph. Barclay has “For the consecrating priest and the consecrated people have one Father” (similarly New English Bible).

Have the same Father is literally “(are) all from one,” and “one” may be either masculine or neuter. (a) If it is neuter, the meaning will be “one origin,” as in Revised Standard Version, Bible de Jérusalem, and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible. (b) If it is masculine, the most likely meaning is that given by Good News Translation, other common language translations and Translator’s New Testament. (c) Some translations give the masculine a more general meaning, such as “one stock” (New English Bible) or “common humanity” (Phillips). (d) Older translations (King James Version, Segond [Segond], [Luther 1984], Zürcher Bibel) translate ambiguously, unclearly, and unnaturally “from one.” Meaning (b) fits much better than (a) in the wider context, which speaks of personal relationships between Father (1.5), Son (1.5, 8), brothers (2.11-12), and children (2.13). However, (c) is possible and would fit in well with verse 14.

The mere use of capitalization with the term Father may not be satisfactory in some languages for showing that God is meant, especially since many more people hear the Scriptures read than read them for themselves. Therefore it may be appropriate to translate have the same Father as “have God as their Father” or “have the same one, namely, God, as their Father.”

Ashamed is often used to describe the “loss of face” felt by someone who is treated without respect for his position or status. The meaning is that although Jesus is supreme, he nevertheless has so much in common with men that he can call them his brothers without any risk of losing his status. In some languages it may be necessary to replace is not ashamed by a positive expression. If so, “is happy” or “is content” may be used; “is proud” would be too strong.

Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers may be expressed as “Jesus does not feel bad when he calls them his brothers.” But it is often better to render this statement as “Jesus does not hesitate to call them his brothers” or even “Jesus is ready to call them his brothers.” Sometimes shame is expressed as a reaction to ridicule; for example, “Jesus is not worried if he is laughed at, when he calls them his brothers.”

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 .

“Jesus” is the same name in Greek as the Hebrew name “Joshua.” In this verse King James Version‘s “Jesus” is corrected by all modern translations to Joshua. The meaning is clear if this is done. There is no need to add a note saying that “Joshua” and “Jesus” are the same in Greek.

If Joshua had given the people the rest may be expressed as “If Joshua had been able to cause the people to rest.” If the noun rest is rendered as a verb, “to rest,” then that God had promised may be translated as “in the way in which God had promised them.”

The people is implicit here in the Greek, but it is expressed in verse 9. God is also implicit, but is more probable here than “David,” especially if “David” in verse 7 is taken to mean the book of Psalms. In any case, God is the speaker in at least the later verses of this quotation (see introductory discussion on 3.7-11).

The verse clearly implies that Joshua did not give the people a place of rest. In some languages it is unnatural or impossible to speak in this way of conditions contrary to fact. If so, the condition in this sentence may be restructured as “Joshua was not able to cause people to rest as God had promised; therefore God had to speak later about another day.”

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 .

On lazy, see 5.11, where Good News Translation has slow to understand. Lazy fits better here, where the context deals more with behavior than with thought, but the two ideas are not sharply separated.

The Greek term rendered lazy in Good News Translation is in bold contrast with the Greek term rendered eagerness in verse 11. There the emphasis is upon the author’s great desire for the people to be eager, and this is expressed negatively at the beginning of verse 12 as We do not want you to become lazy or “I do not want you to become lazy.” The term lazy may be expressed as “not wanting to do anything” or “not wanting to work.”

On “faith” (Revised Standard Version) or believe, see 4.2-3.

But to be like those who believe involves the kind of contrast that may require the repetition of a verb meaning want; for example, “but I do want you to be like those who believe” or “… trust Christ.”

Patient is similar in meaning to a word which Good News Bible in 12.1 translates determination (where Jerusalem Bible and Barclay have “perseverance”). The main idea is that of holding on to the end, but chapter 12 shows that resistance to persecution is also involved. The emphasis here of “holding on to the end” refers to the nature of what is hoped for, and therefore patient may be expressed as “patient (or, steady) in continuing to hope.” On the other hand, patient may be expressed negatively as “they do not give up.”

The key concept of this verse is receive. In Greek the word is less common than in English. Most translations use either a present tense, such as receive, “are now taking possession” (Translator’s New Testament), or a future tense, “will receive what God has promised” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch; similarly Knox). If a present tense is used, the meaning must be “imitate those who are showing great faith and patience, because that is how they are receiving what God promised,” but this does not seem very natural (see comments on 1.4). The meaning is probably “those who have entered and are still in possession of what God promised,” or more simply, “those who have received what God promised” (Phillips “came to possess the promises”). This fits in very well with the following statement on Abraham’s faith and its reward, and it prepares the way for a fuller treatment of the same theme in chapter 11.

And so receive may be expressed as “and in this way they receive” or “and by doing this they receive.” Or one may use a perfective tense, “and by means of this they have received.”

The traditional translation, “inherit the promises” (Revised Standard Version), may be criticized from three points of view: (a) There is no suggestion in this context of inheriting property by the will of someone who has died. (b) What is “received” is not here the promise itself, but the thing promised. (c) The text implies that God is the one who promises, and this needs to be made clear. See comments on 1.2.

What God has promised may be amplified as “what God has promised to give to them.”

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 .

For High Priest, see comments on 2.17.

Most translations adopt a translation similar to the High Priest that (or, who) meets our needs. This phrase develops the meaning of It was only right (2.10). Expressions suggesting that Christ “meets our claims” or “our demands” should be avoided. New English Bible gives the meaning in literary language: “Such a high priest does indeed fit our condition.” “Indeed” corresponds to “and” in the Greek text, which Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version omit. The idea is, we not only have in Jesus the kind of high priest described in verses 24-25; we also need him.

That meets our needs may be expressed as “that does for us all that is necessary” or “who helps us in every way possible.”

Holy is not the common Greek word used elsewhere (for example, in 3.1) which means “set apart to belong to God.” Here the meaning is “pleasing to God,” like an unblemished sacrifice; elsewhere it can mean “pious, saintly.” The meaning “pleasing to God” is reinforced by the two negative adjectives which follow: “innocent” (has no fault; literally “free of sin”), which is used in the Greek translation of Jeremiah 11.19 to describe a sacrificial lamb; and “unstained” (has no … sin), which is used in 2 Maccabees 14.36 to describe the Temple; New English Bible says “undefiled.”

He is holy may be rendered as “He is the one with whom God is pleased.” But in some languages it may be better to use an expression such as “He is good in God’s eyes” or “God looks on him as good.”

He has no fault or sin in him may be expressed as “he has done nothing wrong nor has he any guilt.” It may be wrong to render the expression no … sin in him as literally “unstained” (Revised Standard Version), since this might suggest only some physical imperfection or accidental blemish.

Set apart from sinners and raised above the heavens: Good News Translation is right to link these expressions closely together, since they represent negative and positive aspects of the same event. On earth, Jesus shared human life to the full (2.18), but now in heaven he is no longer in daily contact with sinners. He has been set apart from sinners may be expressed in the active as “God has set him apart from sinners” or “… from those on earth who sin.”

Above the heavens is what the text says (see 2 Cor 12.2), but some translations modify this in order to avoid stressing details of the writer’s picture of the universe which may be strange to a modern reader; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “raised up into heaven,” and Bijbel in Gewone Taal has “someone who lives untouchable by sin and close to God.” A literal rendering of raised above the heavens might be understood to mean that Christ was himself exalted above God. If so, some such translation as “God raised him up into heaven” is more satisfactory.

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 reverses the two halves of this verse, putting the negative statement first. This is natural in English, but in some languages it may be better to keep the order of the Greek and Revised Standard Version.

A literal translation of a will means nothing may be misleading. What is important in some languages is a statement to the effect that “a will has no power while the person who made it is alive” or “a will doesn’t cause anything to be given to anybody while the person who wrote the will is still alive.”

The adjective translated goes into effect is used by the writer in various senses. In this legal context it means “valid.” Elsewhere it means “to be relied upon.” It is used in 2.2 of the “word spoken by angels,” in 6.19 of the “secure anchor,” and in 3.14 (and some manuscripts of 3.6) of holding on “firmly” to the confidence which is one aspect of Christian faith. The related verb means “confirm, prove to be true” (2.3) or “make strong” (13.9). A related noun is used in 6.16, in a similar context to 9.17, of an oath “confirming” what someone says. add possible footnote text here It may be better to omit only, which is not expressed in the Greek. This strengthens the positive statement and prepares for verse 18.

It goes into effect only after his death: his is understood; New English Bible has “a testament is operative only after a death.” Another model is “it causes a person’s possessions to be distributed only after that person has died.”

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 .

There is no longer any sacrifice, that is, “for us.” The writer does not mean that there was once such a sacrifice, but that it exists no longer. This possible misunderstanding occurs because Good News Translation reverses the two halves of the sentence. One solution would be to translate “If deliberately [emphasized] we go on sinning after we have come to know the truth, there is no other sacrifice left which can deal with our sin.” Verse 27 would then begin as a new sentence, “As it is, however….”

“Sin-offerings” are the sacrifices to take away sins mentioned in 10.6.

In place of the English construction with an anticipatory particle such as there, one may use a somewhat shorter initial clause such as “No sacrifice can any longer take away our sins” or “… cause our sins to be forgiven.”

The keyword of this passage is purposely, which is the first word in the Greek sentence; Knox has “wilfully”; Barclay and Translator’s New Testament use “deliberately.” On the distinction between deliberate and accidental breaking of the Law, see Numbers 15.25-31. The “sinning” is not only deliberate but repeated or continued, as go on sinning shows; similarly New English Bible “if we persist in sin.” If we purposely go on sinning may be rendered as “if we decide we want to go on sinning,” “if we make our plans so that we can go on sinning,” or “… continue to sin.”

After the truth has been made known to us: Good News Translation is right to emphasize that “the receiving of the truth” is an event, probably associated with baptism; compare 6.4-5 and 10.22. The truth indicates Christian teaching, not “truth” in any general philosophical sense. Phillips‘ “after we have known and accepted the truth” seems on first reading rather more than the text says, but “accepted” may be implied by the fact that knowledge in the Bible includes experience. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “after we have gotten to know the truth.”

The passive expression has been made known in the clause after the truth has been made known to us may seem rather weak in some languages, since it might suggest merely “after the truth has been told to us.” A more satisfactory expression may be “after we have known what the truth really is” or even “after we have known what the truth of the Good News is.”

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 .