12:14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, 13 for without it no one will see the Lord.
1 tn Or “And again when he brings.” The translation adopted in the text looks forward to Christ’s second coming to earth. Some take “again” to introduce the quotation (as in 1:5) and understand this as Christ’s first coming, but this view does not fit well with Heb 2:7. Others understand it as his exaltation/ascension to heaven, but this takes the phrase “into the world” in an unlikely way.
2 sn A quotation combining themes from Deut 32:43 and Ps 97:7.
3 tn Grk “sent for service for the sake of those.”
5 sn The message spoken through angels refers to the OT law, which according to Jewish tradition was mediated to Moses through angels (cf. Deut 33:2; Ps 68:17-18; Acts 7:38, 53; Gal 3:19; and Jub. 1:27, 29; Josephus, Ant. 15.5.3 [15.136]).
6 tn Grk “through angels became valid and every violation.”
7 tn Grk “through Moses.”
9 tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, and is thus translated “people.”
10 tn Grk “by something greater”; the rest of the comparison (“than themselves”) is implied.
11 tn Grk “the oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute.”
11 tn Grk “the first tent.”
13 tn Grk “you are without discipline.”
14 tn Grk “all”; “sons” is implied by the context.
15 sn The references to peace and holiness show the close connection between this paragraph and the previous one. The pathway toward “holiness” and the need for it is cited in Heb 12:10 and 14. More importantly Prov 4:26-27 sets up the transition from one paragraph to the next: It urges people to stay on godly paths (Prov 4:26, quoted here in v. 13) and promises that God will lead them in peace if they do so (Prov 4:27 [LXX], quoted in v. 14).