Hebrews 12:5-29

5and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “1My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor 2faint when you are punished by Him;63For 4whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He punishes every son whom He accepts.” 7It is for discipline that you endure; 5God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8But if you are without discipline, 6of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9Furthermore, we had 7earthly fathers to discipline us, and we 8respected them; shall we not much more be subject to 9the Father of 10spirits, and 11live? 10For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, 12so that we may share His holiness. 1113For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the 14peaceful fruit of righteousness.

12Therefore, 1516strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13and 17make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is impaired may not be dislocated, but rather 18be healed.

1419Pursue peace with all people, and the 20holiness without which no one will 21see the Lord. 15See to it that no one 22comes short of the grace of God; that no 23root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many become 24defiled; 16that there be no 25sexually immoral or 26godless person like Esau, 27who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17For you know that even afterward, 28when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

1829For you have not come to 30a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, 19and to the 31blast of a trumpet and the 32sound of words, which sound was such that those who heard 33begged that no further word be spoken to them. 20For they could not 34cope with the command, “35If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “36I am terrified and trembling.” 22But 37you have come to Mount Zion and to 38the city of 39the living God, 40the heavenly Jerusalem, and to 41myriads of 42angels, 23to the general assembly and 43church of the firstborn who 44are enrolled in heaven, and to God, 45the Judge of all, and to the 46spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24and to Jesus, the 47mediator of a new covenant, and to the 48sprinkled blood, which speaks better than 49the blood of Abel.

2550See to it that you do not refuse Him who is 51speaking. For 52if those did not escape when they 53refused him who 54warned them on earth, 55much less will we escape who turn away from Him who 56warns us from heaven. 26And 57His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “58Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” 27This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes 59the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore, since we receive a 60kingdom which cannot be shaken, let’s 61show gratitude, by which we may 62offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29for 63our God is a consuming fire.