1 A ll these many people who have had faith in God are around us like a cloud. Let us put every thing out of our lives that keeps us from doing what we should. Let us keep running in the race that God has planned for us.

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 L et us keep looking to Jesus. Our faith comes from Him and He is the One Who makes it perfect. He did not give up when He had to suffer shame and die on a cross. He knew of the joy that would be His later. Now He is sitting at the right side of God.

looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 S inful men spoke words of hate against Christ. He was willing to take such shame from sinners. Think of this so you will not get tired and give up.

For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

4 I n your fight against sin, you have not yet had to stand against sin with your blood.

Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

5 D o you remember what God said to you when He called you His sons? “My son, listen when the Lord punishes you. Do not give up when He tells you what you must do.

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

6 T he Lord punishes everyone He loves. He whips every son He receives.”

for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

7 D o not give up when you are punished by God. Be willing to take it, knowing that God is teaching you as a son. Is there a father who does not punish his son sometimes?

If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

8 I f you are not punished as all sons are, it means that you are not a true son of God. You are not a part of His family and He is not your Father.

But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

9 R emember that our fathers on earth punished us. We had respect for them. How much more should we obey our Father in heaven and live?

Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

10 F or a little while our fathers on earth punished us when they thought they should. But God punishes us for our good so we will be holy as He is holy.

For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

11 T here is no joy while we are being punished. It is hard to take, but later we can see that good came from it. And it gives us the peace of being right with God.

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

12 S o lift up your hands that have been weak. Stand up on your weak legs.

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

13 W alk straight ahead so the weak leg will not be turned aside, but will be healed.

and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

14 B e at peace with all men. Live a holy life. No one will see the Lord without having that kind of life.

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

15 S ee that no one misses God’s loving-favor. Do not let wrong thoughts about others get started among you. If you do, many people will be turned to a life of sin.

looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

16 N one of you should fall into sex sins or forget God like Esau did. He had a right to get all Isaac had because he was the oldest son. But for one plate of food he sold this right to his brother.

lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

17 Y ou know that later he would have received everything. But he did not get it even when he asked for it with tears. It was too late to make right the wrong he had done.

For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

18 F or you have not come close to a mountain that you can touch. You have not come to worship where there is burning fire and darkness and storm and wind.

For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

19 T he sound of a horn was heard and God’s voice spoke. The people cried out to Moses to have God stop speaking to them.

and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:

20 T hey could not stand to listen to His strong words, “Even if an animal comes to the mountain, it must be killed.”

(for they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:

21 W hat Moses saw was so hard to look at that he said, “I am full of fear and am shaking.”

and so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)

22 B ut instead, you have come to the mountain of Jerusalem. It is the city of the living God. It is the Jerusalem of heaven with its thousands of angels.

but ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

23 Y ou have gathered there with God’s children who were born long ago. They are citizens of heaven. God is there. He will judge all men. The spirits of all those right with God are there. They have been made perfect.

to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

24 J esus is there. He has made a way for man to go to God. He gave His blood that men might worship God the New Way. The blood of Jesus tells of better things than that which Abel used.

and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

25 B e sure you listen to the One Who is speaking to you. The Jews did not obey when God’s Law was given to them on earth. They did not go free. They were punished. We will be punished more if we do not listen to God as He speaks from heaven.

See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

26 O n Mount Sinai, God’s voice shook the earth. But now He has promised, saying, “Once more I will shake the earth and the heavens.”

whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

27 W hen God says, “Once more,” He means He will take away everything of this world that can be shaken so the things that cannot be shaken will be left.

And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

28 S ince we have received a holy nation that cannot be moved, let us be thankful. Let us please God and worship Him with honor and fear.

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

29 F or our God is a fire that destroys everything.

for our God is a consuming fire.