Hebrews 5:12-14

5:12 For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, ¹  you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances. ²  You have gone back to needing ³  milk, not ⁴  solid food. 5:13 For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.

Hebrews 5:1

5:1 For every high priest is taken from among the people ⁵  and appointed ⁶  to represent them before God, ⁷  to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Hebrews 2:2

2:2 For if the message spoken through angels ⁸  proved to be so firm that every violation ⁹  or disobedience received its just penalty,

[5:12]  ¹ tn Grk “because of the time.”

[5:12]  ² tn Grk “the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God.”

[5:12]  ³ tn Grk “you have come to have a need for.”

[5:12]  ⁴ tc ‡ Most texts, including some early and important ones (א² A B* D Ψ 0122 0278 1881 Ï sy Cl), have καί (kai, “and”) immediately preceding οὐ (ou, “not”), but other equally significant witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* B² C 33 81 1739 lat Or Did) lack the conjunction. As it was a natural tendency for scribes to add a coordinating conjunction, the καί appears to be a motivated reading. On balance, it is probably best to regard the shorter reading as authentic. NA²⁷ has καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[5:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “from among men,” but since the point in context is shared humanity (rather than shared maleness), the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated “people.”

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “who is taken from among people is appointed.”

[5:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “appointed on behalf of people in reference to things relating to God.”

[2:2]  ⁸ 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]).

[2:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “through angels became valid and every violation.”