HEB 6:12 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:11–6:12: Grow up in your faith, and do not give up

In Section 5:11–6:12 the author interrupted his teaching about God appointing Christ as the high priest in order to tell his listeners to mature in their faith and to warn them not to stop believing in Christ. After this warning (6:4–12), he will continue to teach them in 6:13–7:28 about the priesthood of Jesus and Melchizedek.

Remember to translate the section before choosing a heading for it. Some other possible headings are:

Warning about abandoning Christ

Do not be lazy but become mature followers of Christ

Paragraph 6:9–12

This paragraph is an obvious contrast to 6:7–8. In 6:7–8 the author sternly warned his readers that they must not give up their faith in Christ. Here in 6:9–12 he assured them that he believed better things about them. He encouraged them not to become lazy but to keep trusting Christ so that they will obtain all that Christ promised.

6:12a

Then you will not be sluggish,

Be^(plur) careful not to become dull/lazy,
We^(excl) urge you^(plur) not to be lazy.

Then you will not be sluggish: This clause tells the result of the listeners being diligent to care for other believers. When they do that, they will not become lazy so that they stop listening to God and serving him. Instead, they will be eager to learn more about him and to serve his people.

Some other ways to translate this result are:

Then you will not become spiritually dull (NLT)

Because if you do that, you will not become lazyKankanaey back translation on TW.

you: The pronoun you is plural and refers to all the people who listened to what the author said in Hebrews.

sluggish: The Greek word that the author used here was also used in the first verse of this section (5:11). There the BSB translated it as “dull.” In Hebrews this word refers to being lazy, dull, and sluggish, especially about faith in Christ. In this context it implies that the people may become lazy. Then they may not try hard to understand what God said and obey him.

Translate this word in the same way (or a similar way) as you did in 5:11.

6:12b

but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

but imitate people who trust in God and are patient. Then they receive all that he has promised.
Instead, we want you to be like those people who inherit God’s promises because they patiently believe him.

but will imitate those: The word but introduces a contrast with 6:12a. In 6:12a the author told the Hebrews not to be sluggish. Here in 6:12b he tells them what they should do instead. They should imitate faithful believers by following their example.

Some other ways to introduce this contrast are:

Instead, you will follow the example of those… (NLT)

but to be like those… (GNT)

In some languages the contrast connection is implied by the context and a conjunction is not needed. For example:

Be like those who… (NCV)

What you should copy is the people who…Tagbanwa back translation on TW.

who…inherit what has been promised: This phrase describes the people whom the Hebrews should imitate. They should imitate the people who inherit what has been promised. The word inherit is used in a figurative way here to mean “receive.”

Some other ways to translate the phrase who…inherit what has been promised are:

those who receive what was promised

people who obtain what God promised

inherit what has been promised: The word inherit refers here to people receiving what God promised them. It implies that God made the promises for all the people who will faithfully believe what he said. The promises were not only for the first people to whom God spoke them. The phrase does not imply that someone died and other people inherited the promises from him.

Some other ways to translate inherit what has been promised are:

receive what God has promised (GNT)

are given what God promised

obtain what he has promised to themUma back translation on TW.

This phrase is similar to the phrase “inherit salvation” in 1:14. You can probably translate the word inherit in a similar way here.

what has been promised: The phrase what has been promised refers to the good things that God promised to do for his people and to what he promised to give them. God made the promises because of his grace and goodness, not because his people did something to deserve them.

The word “promise” was also used in 4:1, and you should translate a plural form of the word here. Remember that a promise tells a person’s intention to do something. The person is obligated to do what he has said or he will be disgraced. A promise is different from an oath, so you should use different ways to translate these two words.

through faith and patience: The phrase through faith and patience tells how the people obtained what God promised. They patiently believed what God said, and as a result, God did fulfill his promises to them. Notice that the words faith and patience are used here to describe one action. The people patiently had faith in God. Because of their patient faith, they received what he promised.

Some other ways to translate the phrase “those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” are:

people who believe God and who patiently wait until they obtain what he has promised to themUma back translation on TW.

those who receive what God has promised because of their persevering faith and patienceKankanaey back translation on TW.

the ones who are patient and continue to trust in God and so they receive what he promised them

faith and patience: The words faith and patience are closely related here. Together the two words describe the people’s attitude toward God. They patiently had faith in him. They continued to faithfully believe in him until he did what he promised.

In some languages it is more natural to translate the two words as one action and the manner in which the action is done. For example:

people who patiently believe in God, for because of this, they will receive…Western Bukidnon Manobo back translation on TW.

faith: The word faith refers to trusting God and believing that what he says is true. It implies here that the people have confidence in God and in what God says. In some languages it is more natural to translate the word faith as a verb here. For example:

because they trust/believe God

See the other examples in the preceding notes on 6:12b. For more information, see believe, sense C, in KBT.

patience: The Greek word that the BSB translates as patience refers to being calm and steadfast while waiting for something to happen. In this context where patience is used along with “faith” and “promises” the word patience refers to steadfastly continuing to wait and expect God to fulfill his promises.

Some other ways to translate patience here are:

patiently waitUma back translation on TW.

who really persevereYakan back translation on TW.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

μὴ νωθροὶ γένησθε

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἵνα μή νωθροί γένησθε μιμηταί δέ τῶν διά πίστεως καί μακροθυμίας κληρονομούντων τάς ἐπαγγελίας)

The author speaks as if the audience could become dull, just as if they were sharp tools that become dull and no longer cut things well. He speaks in this way to exhort them not to become ineffective and slow in their behavior. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable idiom or express the idea plainly. See how you translated the similar phrase in [5:11](../05/11.md). Alternate translation: [you might not become slow] or [you might not become people who avoid doing what you should]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

μιμηταὶ δὲ

The author is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply these words from the first half of the sentence. Alternate translation: [but so that you might become imitators] or [but become imitators]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τῶν διὰ πίστεως καὶ μακροθυμίας, κληρονομούντων

˱of˲_the_‹ones› (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἵνα μή νωθροί γένησθε μιμηταί δέ τῶν διά πίστεως καί μακροθυμίας κληρονομούντων τάς ἐπαγγελίας)

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of faith and patience, you could express the idea by using verbs or adverbs. Alternate translation: [of those who, by means of how they believed and were patient, are inheriting]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

τῶν διὰ πίστεως καὶ μακροθυμίας, κληρονομούντων τὰς ἐπαγγελίας

The author speaks as if believers were children who would receive property that a parent passes on to their child when the parent dies. He speaks in this way to indicate that believers receive the promises from God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [of those to whom, because of their faith and patience, God is giving the promises] or [of those who by faith and patience are obtaining the promises]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

τὰς ἐπαγγελίας

The word promises refers to the contents of the promises, or what God has “promised” to give. If it would be helpful in your language, you could clarify that the author is referring to the contents of these promises. Alternate translation: [the things from God’s promises] or [the things that God has promised]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear HEB 6:12

SR Greek word order

Section 5:11–6:12: Grow up in your faith, and do not give up

Paragraph 6:9–12

6:12a

6:12b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)