New Living Translation
Hebrews 6:8
8But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.
Hebrews 6:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
- New International Version (NIV)But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
- New King James Version (NKJV)but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
Context of Hebrews 6:8
6and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame. 7When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing. But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it. 9Dear friends, even though we are talking this way, we really don’t believe it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation. 10For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.
Read all of Hebrews 6Hebrews 6:8 word by word
ἐκφέρουσα δὲ ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἀδόκιμος καὶ κατάρας ἐγγύς, ἧς τὸ τέλος εἰς καῦσιν.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Butδέde · thenG1161
- that which bearethἐκφέρωekpherō · to bring/carry outG1627
- thornsἄκανθαakantha · a thornG173
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- briersτρίβολοςtribolos · thistleG5146
- rejectedἀδόκιμοςadokimos · failingG96
- nigh untoἐγγύςeggus · nearG1451
- cursingκατάραkatara · curseG2671
- whoseὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- endὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- endτέλοςtelos · goal/taxG5056
- toεἰςeis · towardG1519
- be burnedκαῦσιςkausis · burningG2740
Cross-references for Hebrews 6:8
- Hebrews 12:17You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.
- Genesis 3:17And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
- Genesis 4:11Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has swallowed your brother’s blood.
- Genesis 5:29Lamech named his son Noah, for he said, “May he bring us relief from our work and the painful labor of farming this ground that the Lord has cursed.”
- Deuteronomy 29:28In great anger and fury the Lord uprooted his people from their land and banished them to another land, where they still live today!’
- Job 31:40then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley.” Job’s words are ended.
- Psalms 107:34He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands, because of the wickedness of those who live there.
- Isaiah 5:1Now I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill.
- Jeremiah 17:6They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.
- Jeremiah 44:22It was because the Lord could no longer bear all the disgusting things you were doing that he made your land an object of cursing—a desolate ruin without inhabitants—as it is today.
- Mark 11:14Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it.
- Luke 13:7Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’
- Hebrews 10:27There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.
- Isaiah 27:10The fortified towns will be silent and empty, the houses abandoned, the streets overgrown with weeds. Calves will graze there, chewing on twigs and branches.
- Ezekiel 15:2“Son of man, how does a grapevine compare to a tree? Is a vine’s wood as useful as the wood of a tree?
- Ezekiel 20:47Tell the southern wilderness, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Hear the word of the Lord! I will set you on fire, and every tree, both green and dry, will be burned. The terrible flames will not be quenched and will scorch everything from south to north.
Commentaries on Hebrews 6:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8That which beareth thorns and briers is rejected - That is: The land which, notwithstanding the most careful cultivation, receiving also in due times the early and latter rain, produces nothing but thorns and briers, or noxious weeds of different kinds, is rejected, , is given up as unimprovable; its briers, thorns, and brushwood burnt down; and then left to be pastured on by the beasts of the field. This seems to be the custom in husbandry to which the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8But that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected - That is, by the farmer or owner. It is abandoned as worthless. The force of the comparison here is, that God would thus deal with those who professed to be renewed if they should be like such a worthless field. And is nigh unto cursing - Is given over to execration, or is abandoned as useless. The word “cursing” means devoting to destruction. The sense is not that the owner would curse it “in words,”…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8land: Fertile land symbolizes blessing, while barren land with thorns and thistles represents a curse. Burning such a field symbolizes judgment (2 Samuel 23:4–7; Isaiah 10:17; 33:12; Ezekiel 19:12–13; Matthew 3:10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. that which--rather as Greek (no article), "But if it (the 'land,' He 6:7) bear"; not so favorable a word as "bringeth forth," He 6:7, said of the good soil. briers--Greek, "thistles." rejected--after having been tested; so the Greek implies. Reprobate ... rejected by the Lord. nigh unto cursing--on the verge of being given up to its own barrenness by the just curse of God. This "nigh" softens the severity of the previous "It is impossible," &c. (He…Read the comment
Topics related to Hebrews 6:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Hebrews 6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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