| 1 Τοιγαροῦν καὶ ἡμεῖς, τοσοῦτον ἔχοντες περικείμενον ἡμῖν νέφος μαρτύρων, ὄγκον ἀποθέμενοι πάντα καὶ τὴν εὐπερίστατον ἁμαρτίαν, δι' ὑπομονῆς τρέχωμεν τὸν προκείμενον ἡμῖν ἀγῶνα, 2 ἀφορῶντες εἰς τὸν τῆς πίστεως ἀρχηγὸν καὶ τελειωτὴν Ἰησοῦν, ὃς ἀντὶ τῆς προκειμένης αὐτῷ χαρᾶς ὑπέμεινεν σταυρὸν αἰσχύνης καταφρονήσας, ἐν δεξιᾷ τε τοῦ θρόνου τοῦ θεοῦ κεκάθικεν. 3 ἀναλογίσασθε γὰρ τὸν τοιαύτην ὑπομεμενηκότα ὑπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἀντιλογίαν, ἵνα μὴ κάμητε ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν ἐκλυόμενοι. 4 Οὔπω μέχρις αἵματος ἀντικατέστητε πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀνταγωνιζόμενοι, 5 καὶ ἐκλέλησθε τῆς παρακλήσεως, ἥτις ὑμῖν ὡς υἱοῖς διαλέγεται, υἱέ μου, μὴ ὀλιγώρει παιδείας κυρίου, μηδὲ ἐκλύου ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐλεγχόμενος: 6 ὃν γὰρ ἀγαπᾷ κύριος παιδεύει, μαστιγοῖ δὲ πάντα υἱὸν ὃν παραδέχεται. 7 εἰς παιδείαν ὑπομένετε: ὡς υἱοῖς ὑμῖν προσφέρεται ὁ θεός: τίς γὰρ υἱὸς ὃν οὐ παιδεύει πατήρ; 8 εἰ δὲ χωρίς ἐστε παιδείας, ἧς μέτοχοι γεγόνασιν πάντες, ἄρα νόθοι καὶ οὐχ υἱοί ἐστε. 9 εἶτα τοὺς μὲν τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν πατέρας εἴχομεν παιδευτὰς καὶ ἐνετρεπόμεθα: οὐ πολὺ [δὲ] μᾶλλον ὑποταγησόμεθα τῷ πατρὶ τῶν πνευμάτων καὶ ζήσομεν; 10 οἱ μὲν γὰρ πρὸς ὀλίγας ἡμέρας κατὰ τὸ δοκοῦν αὐτοῖς ἐπαίδευον, ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ συμφέρον εἰς τὸ μεταλαβεῖν τῆς ἁγιότητος αὐτοῦ. 11 πᾶσα δὲ παιδεία πρὸς μὲν τὸ παρὸν οὐ δοκεῖ χαρᾶς εἶναι ἀλλὰ λύπης, ὕστερον δὲ καρπὸν εἰρηνικὸν τοῖς δι' αὐτῆς γεγυμνασμένοις ἀποδίδωσιν δικαιοσύνης. 12 Διὸ τὰς παρειμένας χεῖρας καὶ τὰ παραλελυμένα γόνατα ἀνορθώσατε, 13 καὶ τροχιὰς ὀρθὰς ποιεῖτε τοῖς ποσὶν ὑμῶν, ἵνα μὴ τὸ χωλὸν ἐκτραπῇ, ἰαθῇ δὲ μᾶλλον. 14 εἰρήνην διώκετε μετὰ πάντων, καὶ τὸν ἁγιασμόν, οὗ χωρὶς οὐδεὶς ὄψεται τὸν κύριον, 15 ἐπισκοποῦντες μή τις ὑστερῶν ἀπὸ τῆς χάριτος τοῦ θεοῦ, μή τις ῥίζα πικρίας ἄνω φύουσα ἐνοχλῇ καὶ δι' αὐτῆς μιανθῶσιν πολλοί, 16 μή τις πόρνος ἢ βέβηλος ὡς Ἠσαῦ, ὃς ἀντὶ βρώσεως μιᾶς ἀπέδετο τὰ πρωτοτόκια ἑαυτοῦ. 17 ἴστε γὰρ ὅτι καὶ μετέπειτα θέλων κληρονομῆσαι τὴν εὐλογίαν ἀπεδοκιμάσθη, μετανοίας γὰρ τόπον οὐχ εὗρεν, καίπερ μετὰ δακρύων ἐκζητήσας αὐτήν. |
1 Why then, since we are watched from above by such a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of all that weighs us down, of the sinful habit that clings so closely, and run, with all endurance, the race for which we are entered. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the origin and the crown of all faith, who, to win his prize of blessedness, endured the cross and made light of its shame, Jesus, who now sits on the right of God’s throne. 3 Take your standard from him, from his endurance, from the enmity the wicked bore him, and you will not grow faint, you will not find your souls unmanned. 4 Your protest, your battle against sin, has not yet called for bloodshed; 5 yet you have lost sight, already, of those words of comfort in which God addresses you as his sons; My son, do not undervalue the correction which the Lord sends thee, do not be unmanned when he reproves thy faults. 6 It is where he loves that he bestows correction; there is no recognition for any child of his, without chastisement.[1] 7 Be patient, then, while correction lasts; God is treating you as his children. Was there ever a son whom his father did not correct? 8 No, correction is the common lot of all; you must be bastards, not true sons, if you are left without it. 9 We have known what it was to accept correction from earthly fathers, and with reverence; shall we not submit, far more willingly, to the Father of a world of spirits, and draw life from him? 10 They, after all, only corrected us for a short while, at their own caprice; he does it for our good, to give us a share in that holiness which is his. 11 For the time being, all correction is painful rather than pleasant; but afterwards, when it has done its work of discipline, it yields a harvest of good dispositions, to our great peace. 12 Come then, stiffen the sinews of drooping hand, and flagging knee, 13 and plant your footprints in a straight track, so that the man who goes lame may not stumble out of the path, but regain strength instead. 14 Your aim must be peace with all men, and that holiness without which no one will ever see God. 15 Take good care that none of you is false to God’s grace, that no poisonous shoot is allowed to spring up, and contaminate many of you by its influence.[2] 16 None of you must be guilty of fornication, none of you earthly-minded, as Esau was, when he sold his birthright for a single dish of food;[3] 17 afterwards, you may be sure, he was eager enough to have the blessing allotted to him, but no, he was rejected. He pleaded for it in tears, but no second chance was given him.[4] |
1 Ideoque et nos tantam habentes impositam nubem testium, deponentes omne pondus, et circumstans nos peccatum, per patientiam curramus ad propositum nobis certamen: 2 aspicientes in auctorem fidei, et consummatorem Jesum, qui proposito sibi gaudio sustinuit crucem, confusione contempta, atque in dextera sedis Dei sedet. 3 Recogitate enim eum qui talem sustinuit a peccatoribus adversum semetipsum contradictionem: ut ne fatigemini, animis vestris deficientes. 4 Nondum enim usque ad sanguinem restitistis, adversus peccatum repugnantes: 5 et obliti estis consolationis, quæ vobis tamquam filiis loquitur, dicens: Fili mi, noli negligere disciplinam Domini: neque fatigeris dum ab eo argueris. 6 Quem enim diligit Dominus, castigat: flagellat autem omnem filium, quem recipit. 7 In disciplina perseverate. Tamquam filiis vobis offert se Deus: quis enim filius, quem non corripit pater? 8 quod si extra disciplinam estis, cujus participes facti sunt omnes: ergo adulteri, et non filii estis. 9 Deinde patres quidem carnis nostræ, eruditores habuimus, et reverebamur eos, non multo magis obtemperabimus Patri spirituum, et vivemus? 10 Et illi quidem in tempore paucorum dierum, secundum voluntatem suam erudiebant nos: hic autem ad id quod utile est in recipiendo sanctificationem ejus. 11 Omnis autem disciplina in præsenti quidem videtur non esse gaudii, sed mœroris: postea autem fructum pacatissimum exercitatis per eam, reddet justitiæ. 12 Propter quod remissas manus, et soluta genua erigite, 13 et gressus rectos facite pedibus vestris: ut non claudicans quis erret, magis autem sanetur. 14 Pacem sequimini cum omnibus, et sanctimoniam, sine qua nemo videbit Deum: 15 contemplantes nequis desit gratiæ Dei: ne qua radix amaritudinis sursum germinans impediat, et per illam inquinentur multi. 16 Ne quis fornicator, aut profanus ut Esau: qui propter unam escam vendidit primitiva sua: 17 scitote enim quoniam et postea cupiens hæreditare benedictionem, reprobatus est: non enim invenit pœnitentiæ locum, quamquam cum lacrimis inquisisset eam. |