Hebrews 12:1

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Wherefore	Τοιγαροῦν Toigaroun	G5105	truly for then · conjunction
seeing	ἔχοντες echontes	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active participle, nominative plural masculine
we	ἡμεῖς hēmeîs	G2249	we (only used when emphatic)
also	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
with	περικείμενον perikeimenon	G4029	to lie all around · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, accusative singular neuter
great	τοσοῦτον tosouton	G5118	apparently from G3588 (ὁ) and G3739 (ὅς)) and G3778 (οὗ… · correlative pronoun — accusative singular neuter
cloud	νέφος nephos	G3509	a cloud · noun — accusative singular neuter
witnesses	μαρτύρων, marturōn	G3144	a witness (literally (judicially) or figuratively (geni… · noun — genitive plural masculine
aside	ἀποθέμενοι apothemenoi	G659	to put away (literally or figuratively) · verb — second aorist middle participle, nominative plural masculine
every	πάντα panta	G3956	all · adjective — accusative singular masculine
weight	ὄγκον ogkon	G3591	a mass (as bending or bulging by its load) · noun — accusative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
sin	ἁμαρτίαν, hamartian	G266	a sin (properly abstract) · noun — accusative singular feminine
beset	εὐπερίστατον euperistaton	G2139	well standing around · adjective — accusative singular feminine
run	τρέχωμεν trechōmen	G5143	compare G2359 (θρίξ)) · verb — present active subjunctive, 1st person plural
with	δι᾽ di᾽	G1223	through (in very wide applications · preposition
patience	ὑπομονῆς hupomonēs	G5281	cheerful (or hopeful) endurance · noun — genitive singular feminine
race	ἀγῶνα agōna	G73	properly · noun — accusative singular masculine
before	προκείμενον prokeimenon	G4295	to lie before the view · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, accusative singular masculine
us	ἡμῖν hēmîn	G2254	to (or for

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
Philippians 2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
Luke 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so th…
Hebrews 10:35-39 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
Philippians 3:10-14 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Galatians 5:7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
1 Peter 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hebrews 12:1-3

Here observe what is the great duty which the apostle urges upon the Hebrews, and which he so much desires they would comply with, and that is, to lay aside every weight, and the sin that did so easily beset them, and run with patience the race set before them. The duty consists of two parts, the one preparatory, the other perfective. I. Preparatory: Lay aside every weight, and the sin, etc. 1. Every weight, that is, all inordinate affection and concern for the body, and the present life and world. Inordinate care for the present life, or fondness for it, is a dead weight upon the soul, that pulls it down when it should ascend upwards, and pulls it back when it should press forward; it makes…

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Adam Clarke on Hebrews 12:1

Wherefore - This is an inference drawn from the examples produced in the preceding chapter, and on this account both should be read in connection. Compassed about - Here is another allusion to the Olympic games: the agonistae, or contenders, were often greatly animated by the consideration that the eyes of the principal men of their country were fixed upon them; and by this they were induced to make the most extraordinary exertions. Cloud of witnesses - Νεφος μαρτυρων. Both the Greeks and Latins frequently use the term cloud, to express a great number of persons or things; so in Euripides, Phoeniss. ver. 257: νεφος ασπιδων πυκνον, a dense cloud of shields; and Statius, Thebiad., lib. ix., ve…

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John Gill on Hebrews 12:1

Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about,...., As the Israelites were encompassed with the pillar of cloud, or with the clouds of glory in the wilderness, as the Jews say; See Gill on 1 Corinthians 10:1, to which there may be an allusion, here, since it follows, with so great a cloud of witnesses; or "martyrs", as the Old Testament saints, the instances of whose faith and patience are produced in the preceding chapter: these, some of them, were martyrs in the sense in which that word is commonly used; they suffered in the cause, and for the sake of true religion; and they all bore a noble testimony of God, and for him; and they received a testimony from him; and will be hereafter witne…

The Church Fathers

Let us lay aside every weight. "Weight" is a sin of the enjoyment of the flesh, a form in which the "sin which clings so closely" is born. It clings closely to us as it surrounds us with pleasure and subdues us to its own will.
— Severian of Gabala, FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 12.1

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses" about the weight of our life, that is, about the fact that we have ahead of us a cloud of sad afflictions, which lead many who trust in Christ and die for him to honor, "let us lay aside everything" from us.… And "let us run with perseverance the race that is set for us" not only by our persecutors but by the devil himself.
— Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS

Or to accept instead of the joy set before him, as Gregory says; to whom, he says, being able to remain in his own glory and divinity, he not only emptied himself to the form of a servant, but also endured the cross, despising its shame. Therefore, he says, he is able to also repay you for the sufferings endured on his account; for he was not only crucified, but also sits at the right hand of God, presenting the equality of the right hand and the throne. "and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
— Oecumenius, The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Games — (1.) Of children (Zech. 8:5; Matt. 11:16). The Jewish youth were also apparently instructed in the use of the bow and the sling (Judg. 20:16; 1 Chr. 12:2). (2.) Public games, such as were common…
Afflicted Saints · Should imitate Christ — Should imitate Christ
Clouds · Illustrative: Of multitudes of persons — Illustrative: Of multitudes of persons
Conduct, Christian · Putting away all sin — Putting away all sin
Games · Foot races — Foot races
Holiness · 2:17;5:22-25;6:15; — 2:17;5:22-25;6:15;
Patience · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Perseverance · 1:10,22,23;2:7; — 1:10,22,23;2:7;
Race · 2:16; — 2:16;
Repentance · What it is — What it is
Reward · 6:1-3; — 6:1-3;
Righteous · .Runners in a race — .Runners in a race
Roman Empire, The · Allusions to grecian game adapted by: Foot races — Allusions to grecian game adapted by: Foot races
Saints, Compared To

Hebrews 12:1

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hebrews 12:1-3

Adam Clarke on Hebrews 12:1

John Gill on Hebrews 12:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Hebrews 12:1

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hebrews 12:1-3

Adam Clarke on Hebrews 12:1

John Gill on Hebrews 12:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Hebrews 12:1-3

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Hebrews 12:1-17