HEBREWS 12 [†]Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and  w sin which clings so closely, and  x let us run  y with endurance the race that is  z set before us, 2[†]looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,  a who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising  b the shame, and  c is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

3[†] d Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or  e 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?

 f “My son,  g do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

6 For  h the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives.”

7It is for discipline that you have to endure.  i God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8If you are left without discipline,  j 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 to  k the Father of spirits  l and live? 10For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good,  m that we may share his holiness. 11 n For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields  o the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

12[†]Therefore  p lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13and  q make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint  r but rather be healed. 14[†] s Strive for peace with everyone, and for the  t holiness  u without which no one will see the Lord. 15[†]See to it that no one  v fails to obtain the grace of God; that no  w “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16[†]that no one is  x sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17For you know that  y 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 to  z what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19and  a the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words  b made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20For they could not endure the order that was given,  c “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21Indeed,  d so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22[†]But you have come to  e Mount Zion and to the city of the living God,  f the heavenly Jerusalem, and to  g innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23[†]and to  h the assembly [1] of the firstborn who are  i enrolled in heaven, and to  j God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24[†]and to Jesus,  k the mediator of a new covenant, and to  l the sprinkled blood  m that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25[†]See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For  n 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 time  o his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised,  p “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates  q 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 receiving  r a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus  s let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29for our  t God is a consuming fire.