HEB 6:5 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 Group 6:4–8

In the second (6:4–6) and third (6:7–8) paragraphs in this chapter the author gave the third warning in Hebrews (as indicated in the Outline). In 6:4–6 he warned that if people “fall away” from their faith, they bring disgrace to God’s Son. It is impossible to make them repent again. In 6:7–8 he compared faithful and unfaithful believers to fruitful and unfruitful land. Land that produces only thorns must be burned.

6:5a–b

Most scholars indicate that 6:5a–b adds two experiences to the list in 6:4:

The people experienced for themselves the goodness of God’s word (5a).
They also experienced the powers of the coming age (5b).

In 6:5b the author did not imply that people were able to visit the future. He indicated that some people were already able to experience miracles that will be common in the age to come.

who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age: The verb tasted is the same verb that was used in the phrase “tasted the heavenly gift” 6:4b. As in 6:4b, the word tasted means “to actually experience” something. It does not imply that the experience is limited like a little taste of food.

Languages have different ways to speak of experiencing something. They may use verbs that mean “see” or “feel.” There may also be different ways to speak of different types of experiences. In some languages it is necessary to translate tasted in two different ways in 6:5a and 6:5b. For example:

They found out how good God’s word is, and they received the powers of his new world. (NCV)

they knew from experience that God’s word is good, and they had felt the powers of the coming age (GNT)

Translate the verb in a natural way in your language for this context.

6:5a

who have tasted the goodness of the word of God

They experienced/discovered for themselves that God’s word is good,
They realized/accepted that God’s words to them were good,

the goodness of the word of God: The phrase the goodness of the word of God indicates that God’s message is good. The word of God probably refers specifically here to the good message that God saves us through Christ. Some other ways to translate it are:

the good message of God (CEV)

that God’s word is good

6:5b

and the powers of the coming age—

and they experienced the mighty works of the time that is coming.
and they felt/saw the power that he will reveal more fully in the future.

the powers of the coming age: This phrase implies that in the future God will show his power in special ways. Miracles will be common. God will give his people special power to do great things. The word powers does not imply that the power will come from any spirit or “god” except the Creator.

Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

the power of God that he will make clear in the future

the powerful miracles that will be common in the coming age

what can be done through the power which God will reveal in the future at the last daysWestern Bukidnon Manobo back translation on TW.

powers: In this context the word powers refers to actions that require God’s power to accomplish. These actions will be miraculous and extraordinary. The word is plural because the author referred to more than one event or miracle. It also occurs with the words “wonders” and “signs” in Acts 2:12 and 2 Corinthians 12:12. See the preceding note for translation examples.

the coming age: The coming age refers to a new period of time that will begin in the future.Most scholars believe that this new age will begin at Christ’s second coming. However, some scholars believe that it began with Christ’s first coming and will be consummated at his second coming. The former is the preferred meaning. The text does not specify exactly which future time that will be.

Some other ways to translate this meaning are:

the future world (CEV)

in the coming timeTagbanwa back translation on TW.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

γευσαμένους

˓having˒_tasted

The author again uses the word tasted figuratively. Express the meaning the same way you did in the previous verse ([6:4](../06/04.md)). Alternate translation: [who had experience of] or [who participated in]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

δυνάμεις & μέλλοντος αἰῶνος

˓the˒_powers & ˱of˲_˓the˒_coming age

The author uses the possessive form to indicate that the powers will be fully experienced in the age to come. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that makes the idea clear. Alternate translation: [the powers that belong to the age to come] or [the powers that will be experienced in the age to come]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

δυνάμεις & μέλλοντος αἰῶνος

˓the˒_powers & ˱of˲_˓the˒_coming age

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of powers, you could express the idea in another way. The powers could refer to: (1) what God will do, sometimes through other people, for those who believe. Alternate translation: [what God will do powerfully in the age to come] (2) how people can do “powerful” things. Alternate translation: [the powerful things that people will do in the age to come]

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.