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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Heb C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13
Heb 6 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20
OET (OET-LV) For/Because land which having_drunk the on it coming often rain, and bearing vegetation suitable, for_those because_of whom also it_is_being_cultivated, is_partaking of_blessing from the god,
OET (OET-RV) The land that soaks in the frequent rains and grows crops suitable for those who are cultivating it, is receiving a blessing from God,
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
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.
For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it
¶ Some land absorbs the rain that often falls on it.
¶ People are like soil/ground. Some soil/ground soaks up rain water, as often as the rains come.
¶ God blesses land that has rain often falling on it,
For: This verse illustrates two different responses to the blessings of following Christ. Some of these blessings are listed in 6:4–5 (“the heavenly gift, the Holy Spirit, the word of God, the powers of the coming age”). The author introduces the illustration with the Greek word that the BSB translates as For.
Some other ways to introduce the illustration are:
Use a phrase that indicates what the paragraph will illustrate. For example:
Some people are like land that…. (NCV)
An example of this is earth/ground. If it is…Tagbanwa back translation on TW.
Change the order of phrases in the verse so that 6:7c (“receives a blessing from God”) comes at the beginning. For example:
God blesses the land which… (GNT)
The people whom God blesses are like land…
It is good to read 6:4–8 carefully again before you decide how to connect 6:4–6 with 6:7–8. In some languages an introductory word or phrase may not be needed, as in the NRSV. See the General Comment on 6:7–8 at the end of 6:8b for more information.
land that drinks in the rain often falling on it: This phrase describes a farm or garden that often receives rain. The verb drinks in means “absorbs” or “soaks in.” It implies that the farm has a type of soil that absorbs the rain so that the plants can use it. Describe this process in a natural way in your language.
Some ways to translate this phrase are:
the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on it (NET)
Some people are like a farm that receives plenty of rain
land: The word land refers here to land that is farmed. Some other ways to translate it are:
farm
field
ground
and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended
Then it produces a harvest which helps/benefits those who own the land.
Then the seeds that the farmer planted grow well and mature, and the crops/plants are useful to him.
that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended: The Greek word botanē which is translated “crops” only occurs here in the NT. This clause refers to land where useful plants grow. These plants could be food crops or crops that are used for other purposes. In some languages it is not natural to speak of ground or land producing a crop. Some other ways to translate the meaning are:
where plants grow that are useful to the land ownerKankanaey back translation on TW.
the plants are healthy there and this is of great value to the owner of the land
for whom it is tended: The verb it is tended is passive. The phrase implies that people farm the land for themselves or for other owners. In some languages it is more natural to use an active verb. For example:
The land produces a good crop for those who cultivate/dig (NCV)
receives the blessing of God.
That is the kind of land which God blesses.
God is pleased with people who are like that soil/ground, and he continues to do good to them.
receives the blessing of God: The phrase receives the blessing of God indicates that God does good to the land. He continues to cause it to be fruitful. For example:
God blesses well-watered land that produces a crop.
People who are like such land receive God’s favor.
the blessing: The word blessing refers to favor from God. It implies that God is pleased with the person or things that he blesses, and he does good things for them. See blessing, sense C1(a), in KBT.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
γὰρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: γῆ Γάρ ἡ πιοῦσα τόν ἐπʼ αὐτῆς ἐρχόμενον πολλάκις ὑετόν καί τίκτουσα βοτάνην εὔθετον ἐκείνοις διʼ οὕς καί γεωργεῖται μεταλαμβάνει εὐλογίας ἀπό τοῦ Θεοῦ)
The word For introduces an example that uses farming language to illustrate two ways in which a person could respond to the good news. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces an example, or you could leave For untranslated. Alternate translation: [For example,]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / personification
γῆ & ἡ πιοῦσα τὸν ἐπ’ αὐτῆς ἐρχόμενον πολλάκις ὑετόν, καὶ τίκτουσα βοτάνην εὔθετον, ἐκείνοις δι’ οὓς καὶ γεωργεῖται, μεταλαμβάνει εὐλογίας ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ
land & ¬which ˓having˒_drunk (Some words not found in SR-GNT: γῆ Γάρ ἡ πιοῦσα τόν ἐπʼ αὐτῆς ἐρχόμενον πολλάκις ὑετόν καί τίκτουσα βοτάνην εὔθετον ἐκείνοις διʼ οὕς καί γεωργεῖται μεταλαμβάνει εὐλογίας ἀπό τοῦ Θεοῦ)
Throughout this verse, the author speaks of land as if it could “drink,” “produce,” and “share.” This was a natural way to express how land relates to crops and rain in the author’s culture. Use a natural way in your language to refer to how land is involved in the farming process. Alternate translation: [a land that absorbs the rain that often falls on it and on which grows useful vegetation for those for whom it is also cultivated receives a blessing from God]
Note 3 topic: translate-unknown
βοτάνην εὔθετον
vegetation suitable
The phrase useful vegetation refers to plants that grow on the land and that benefit people. They could be plants that people eat, or they could be plants that people use for other purposes. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that refers to plants that people use. Alternate translation: [helpful crops] or [edible plants]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
καὶ γεωργεῖται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: γῆ Γάρ ἡ πιοῦσα τόν ἐπʼ αὐτῆς ἐρχόμενον πολλάκις ὑετόν καί τίκτουσα βοτάνην εὔθετον ἐκείνοις διʼ οὕς καί γεωργεῖται μεταλαμβάνει εὐλογίας ἀπό τοῦ Θεοῦ)
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. The author uses the passive form here to focus on the land that is cultivated rather than on the people doing the cultivating. If you must state who did the action, you could refer to farmers or people in general. Alternate translation: [farmers cultivate it]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
μεταλαμβάνει εὐλογίας ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ
˓is˒_partaking ˱of˲_blessing (Some words not found in SR-GNT: γῆ Γάρ ἡ πιοῦσα τόν ἐπʼ αὐτῆς ἐρχόμενον πολλάκις ὑετόν καί τίκτουσα βοτάνην εὔθετον ἐκείνοις διʼ οὕς καί γεωργεῖται μεταλαμβάνει εὐλογίας ἀπό τοῦ Θεοῦ)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of blessing, you could express the idea by using a verb such as “bless.” Alternate translation: [is blessed by God] or [is one that God blesses]
6:4-8 This passage, one of the most difficult in the New Testament, gives a harsh warning about those who have left the Christian faith. Those who have fallen away from Christ and the church are like those who fell in the wilderness (3:15-19): The lack of faith shown in such apostasy results in devastating judgment (cp. 10:26-31).
OET (OET-LV) For/Because land which having_drunk the on it coming often rain, and bearing vegetation suitable, for_those because_of whom also it_is_being_cultivated, is_partaking of_blessing from the god,
OET (OET-RV) The land that soaks in the frequent rains and grows crops suitable for those who are cultivating it, is receiving a blessing from God,
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.
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