Passage

Hebrews 12.24

Book: Hebrews · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"22. but ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels, 23. to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,"

"24. and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better than that of Abel."

"25. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not when they refused him that warned them on earth, much more shall not we escape who turn away from him that warneth from heaven: 26. whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more will I make to tremble not the earth only, but also the heaven." (Hebrews 12:22-26, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"22. But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable multitudes of angels, 23. to the festal gathering and assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,"

"24. to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than that of Abel."

"25. See that you don’t refuse him who speaks. For if they didn’t escape when they refused him who warned on the earth, how much more will we not escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven, 26. whose voice shook the earth then, but now he has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.”" (Hebrews 12:22-26, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"22. But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23. To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, ^{written: or, enrolled}"

"24. And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. ^{covenant: or, testament}"

"25. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 26. Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven." (Hebrews 12:22-26, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"22. But, ye came to Mount Zion, and to a city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of messengers, 23. to the company and assembly of the first-born in heaven enrolled, and to God the judge of all, and to spirits of righteous men made perfect,"

"24. and to a mediator of a new covenant, Jesus, and to blood of sprinkling, speaking better things than that of Abel!"

"25. See, may ye not refuse him who is speaking, for if those did not escape who refused him who upon earth was divinely speaking, much less we who do turn away from him who [speaketh] from heaven, 26. whose voice the earth shook then, and now hath he promised, saying, 'Yet once, I shake not only the earth, but also the heaven;'" (Hebrews 12:22-26, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: unknown author (traditionally Paul; modern scholarship: possibly Apollos, Barnabas, Priscilla, or unknown)
Audience: Jewish-Christian community tempted to revert to Judaism
Location: composition unknown
Time period: composed c. AD 60-69 (before the AD 70 temple destruction, given the present-tense temple-language)

Theological reading

Key words

G1242 - diatheke, diatheke (Strong's G1242). Also appears in: Matthew 26.27-28, Mark 14, Luke 22.19-20.
G2424 - Iesous, Iesous (Strong's G2424). Also appears in: Matthew 1.1, Matthew 1.16, Matthew 1.18.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.