Passage

Hebrews 4.16

Book: Hebrews · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"14. Having then a great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15. For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

"16. Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"14. Having then a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold tightly to our confession. 15. For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin."

"16. Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"14. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

"16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"14. Having, then, a great chief priest passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, may we hold fast the profession, 15. for we have not a chief priest unable to sympathise with our infirmities, but [one] tempted in all things in like manner, apart from sin;"

"16. we may come near, then, with freedom, to the throne of the grace, that we may receive kindness, and find grace, for seasonable help." (Hebrews 4:14-16, 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

G1656 - eleos, eleos (Strong's G1656). Also appears in: Matthew 9.13, Matthew 23, Romans 9.1-29.
G5485 - charis, charis (Strong's G5485). Also appears in: Luke 1.29-38, Luke 2.40, Luke 2.52.

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.