1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, andwSee Eph. 4:22 sin which clings so closely, andxSee 1 Cor. 9:24 let us runySee ch. 10:36 with endurance the race that iszch. 6:18 set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,aLuke 24:26; Phil. 2:8; [Isa. 53:11] who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despisingbPs. 22:6, 7; 69:19; Isa. 53:3 the shame, andcch. 1:3 is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 d[Matt. 10:24; Rev. 2:3] Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary oreGal. 6:9 fainthearted.
4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
fCited from Prov. 3:11, 12 “My son,gJob 5:17 do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
6 ForhPs. 94:12; 119:67, 75; Rev. 3:19 the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives. ”
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure.iDeut. 8:5; 2 Sam. 7:14; [Prov. 13:24; 19:18; 23:13] God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline,j[1 Pet. 5:9] in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject tokSee Num. 16:22 the Father of spiritsl[Isa. 38:16] and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good,m[2 Pet. 1:4]; See Lev. 11:44 that we may share his holiness. 11 n[1 Pet. 1:6] For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yieldsoJames 3:17, 18 the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
12 ThereforepCited from Isa. 35:3; [Job 4:3, 4] lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 andqProv. 4:26, 27 make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of jointrJames 5:16; [Gal. 6:1] but rather be healed. 14 sSee Rom. 14:19 Strive for peace with everyone, and for thet1 Thess. 4:7 holinessuMatt. 5:8; [2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 21:27; 22:4] without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no onevch. 4:1; [2 Cor. 6:1; Gal. 5:4] fails to obtain the grace of God; that nowDeut. 29:18 “root of bitterness ” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one isxch. 13:4; Gen. 25:33 sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know thatyGen. 27:34, 36, 38 afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
18 For you have not come tozEx. 19:18; 20:18; Deut. 4:11; 5:22; [2 Cor. 3:9] what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 andaEx. 19:16, 19 the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose wordsbEx. 20:19; Deut. 5:5; 18:16 made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given,cCited from Ex. 19:12, 13 “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned. ” 21 Indeed,d[Ex. 19:16; Deut. 9:19] so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear. ” 22 But you have come toeRev. 14:1 Mount Zion and to the city of the living God,fSee Gal. 4:26 the heavenly Jerusalem, and togJude 14 innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and toh[Ex. 4:22] the assembly1Or church of the firstborn who areiLuke 10:20 enrolled in heaven, and tojGen. 18:25 God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus,kch. 8:6; 9:15 the mediator of a new covenant, and tolSee ch. 10:22 the sprinkled bloodmch. 11:4; Gen. 4:10 that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. FornSee ch. 2:3 if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that timeoEx. 19:18 his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised,pCited from Hag. 2:6; [Hag. 2:21] “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. ” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more, ” indicatesqSee Ps. 102:26 the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receivingrDan. 2:44 a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thussch. 13:15 let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for ourtCited from Deut. 4:24; See 2 Thess. 1:8 God is a consuming fire.