Hebrews 3:6

3:6 But Christ ¹  is faithful as a son over God’s ²  house. We are of his house, ³  if in fact we hold firmly ⁴  to our confidence and the hope we take pride in. ⁵ 

Hebrews 6:1

6:1 Therefore we must progress beyond ⁶  the elementary ⁷  instructions about Christ ⁸  and move on ⁹  to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,

Hebrews 9:14

9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our ¹⁰  consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

Hebrews 13:21

13:21 equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us ¹¹  what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. ¹²  Amen.

[3:6]  ¹ sn The Greek makes the contrast between v. 5 and v. 6a more emphatic and explicit than is easily done in English.

[3:6]  ² tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:6]  ³ tn Grk “whose house we are,” continuing the previous sentence.

[3:6]  ⁴ tc The reading adopted by the translation is found in Ì^13,46 B sa, while the vast majority of mss (א A C D Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï latt) add μέχρι τέλους βεβαίαν (mecri telou" bebaian, “secure until the end”). The external evidence for the omission, though minimal, has excellent credentials. Considering the internal factors, B. M. Metzger (TCGNT 595) finds it surprising that the feminine adjective βεβαίαν should modify the neuter noun καύχημα (kauchma, here translated “we take pride”), a fact that suggests that even the form of the word was borrowed from another place. Since the same phrase occurs at Heb 3:14, it is likely that later scribes added it here at Heb 3:6 in anticipation of Heb 3:14. While these words belong at 3:14, they seem foreign to 3:6.

[3:6]  ⁵ tn Grk “the pride of our hope.”

[6:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “Therefore leaving behind.” The implication is not of abandoning this elementary information, but of building on it.

[6:1]  ⁷ tn Or “basic.”

[6:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “the message of the beginning of Christ.”

[6:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “leaving behind…let us move on.”

[9:14]  ¹¹ tc The reading adopted by the translation is attested by many authorities (A D* K P 365 1739* al). But many others (א D² 0278 33 1739^c 1881 Ï lat sa) read “your” instead of “our.” The diversity of evidence makes this a difficult case to decide from external evidence alone. The first and second person pronouns differ by only one letter in Greek, as in English, also making this problem difficult to decide based on internal evidence and transcriptional probability. In the context, the author’s description of sacrificial activities seems to invite the reader to compare his own possible participation in OT liturgy as over against the completed work of Christ, so the second person pronoun “your” might make more sense. On the other hand, TCGNT 599 argues that “our” is preferable because the author of Hebrews uses direct address (i.e., the second person) only in the hortatory sections. What is more, the author seems to prefer the first person in explanatory remarks or when giving the logical grounds for an assertion (cf. Heb 4:15; 7:14). It is hard to reach a definitive conclusion in this case, but the data lean slightly in favor of the first person pronoun.

[13:21]  ¹⁶ tc Some mss (C P Ψ 6 629* 630 1505 pm latt sy^h) read ὑμῖν (Jumin, “in you”) here, but ἡμῖν (Jhmin) has stronger external support (Ì⁴⁶ א A D^vid K 0243 0285 33 81 104 326 365 629^c 1175 1739 1881 pm sy^p co). It is also more likely that ἡμῖν would have been changed to ὑμῖν in light of the “you” which occurs at the beginning of the verse than vice versa.

[13:21]  ¹⁷ tc ‡ Most mss (א A [C*] 0243 0285 33 1739 1881 Ï latt) include the words “and ever” here, but the shorter reading (supported by Ì⁴⁶ C³ D Ψ 6 104 365 1505 al) is preferred on internal grounds. It seemed more likely that scribes would assimilate the wording to the common NT doxological expression “for ever and ever,” found especially in the Apocalypse (cf., e.g., 1 Tim 1:17; 2 Tim 4:18; Rev 4:9; 22:5) than to the “forever” of Heb 13:8. Nevertheless, a decision is difficult here. NA²⁷ places the phrase in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.