¹Since we’re surrounded by such a huge cloud of witnesses, let’s throw off everything that weighs us down and any sin that gets in our way. Let’s keep on running the race on the course in front of us.

²And let’s keep looking to Jesus. He’s the one who leads us into faith and the one who makes our faith mature. Because of the joy he was looking forward to, he didn’t let the shame of being put to death on a cross stop him. He suffered on the cross, and then he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³Think about how he endured such opposition from sinners, so that you don’t get worn out and give up.

God Trains His Children

⁴In your own struggle against sin, you haven’t yet resisted to the point where your blood has been shed.

⁵Don’t forget this word of encouragement that speaks to you the way a father speaks to his children:

“My son, don’t think the Lord’s discipline doesn’t matter,

and don’t give up hope when he corrects you,

⁶because the Lord disciplines the one he loves

and he corrects everyone he accepts as his son.”

⁷So stay strong during hard times, because God is using them to train you. He’s treating you as his own children. That’s what parents do—they discipline their children.

⁸If God doesn’t discipline you, then you’re not God’s genuine sons and daughters at all.

⁹Besides, we’ve all had human fathers who disciplined us, and we obeyed them. So we should certainly obey the Father of spirits and benefit from his correction.

¹⁰Our parents disciplined us for a short time as they thought best. But God disciplines us for our good so that we can share in his holiness.

¹¹No discipline seems pleasant at the time. Instead, it seems painful. But later on it produces a harvest of godliness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

¹²So if your hands are weak, make them strong. If your legs won’t hold you up, then strengthen them too.

¹³“Make level paths for your feet to walk on.” Then those who have trouble walking will be healed, and they won’t have difficulty anymore.

A Warning and an Appeal

¹⁴Try your best to live at peace with everyone. Do everything you can to be holy, because without holiness no one will see the Lord.

¹⁵Make sure that no one misses out on God’s grace and that no bitter plant grows up, because if it does, it will cause trouble and make many people impure.

¹⁶And make sure that no one is sexually immoral or godless like Esau, who sold his rights as the oldest son for a single meal.

¹⁷As you know, afterwards he wanted to receive his father’s blessing, but he was turned away. Even though he pleaded with tears, he still couldn’t change what he had done.

The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy

¹⁸You haven’t come to a mountain that could be touched and that’s burning with fire. You haven’t come to darkness, gloom, and storm,

¹⁹or to a loud trumpet blast, or to the voice of God speaking to you. When the Israelites heard that voice long ago, they begged it not to say anything more to them.

²⁰They were too scared by the command, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be killed with stones.”

²¹The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I’m shaking with fear.”

²²No, you’ve come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You’ve come to a place where thousands and thousands of angels have gathered to celebrate.

²³You’ve come to a special community of people: God considers each and every one of them to be his firstborn child! Their names are written in heaven. You’ve come to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of godly people who’ve been made perfect.

²⁴You’ve come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better things than the blood of Abel, which cried out from the ground for revenge.

²⁵So make sure that you don’t disobey the one who’s speaking to you now. If they didn’t escape when they disobeyed the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we disobey the one who’s warning us from heaven!

²⁶At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I’m going to shake the earth once more, and when I do, I’m also going to shake the heavens.”

²⁷The words “once more” show that the things that can be shaken (that is, created things) are going to be taken away. Then the things that can’t be shaken will remain.

²⁸Since we’re receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken, let’s be thankful, and let’s worship God in a way that pleases him. Let’s worship him with deep respect and wonder,

²⁹because our “God is like a fire that burns everything up.”