the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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King James Version
Hebrews 12:22
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But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,
No, you have come to another mountain—Mount Zion. This is the city of the living God. In Jerusalem, angels have gathered together to worship and fill the city with joy.
But you have come to the mountain of Zion, to the place of the living God, to the Jerusalem which is in heaven, and to an army of angels which may not be numbered,
but ye have come to mount Zion; and to [the] city of [the] living God, heavenly Jerusalem; and to myriads of angels,
But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels,
But ye are come to mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
On the contrary you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the ever-living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to countless hosts of angels,
But ye are come vnto mount Sion, and vnto the citie of the liuing God the heauenly Ierusalem, and to an innumerable company of Angels:
But you have drawn near Mount Zion, even the city of the living God, to a heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,
But ye are come to the mount Sion, and to the cite of the lyuynge God, to the celestiall Ierusalem, and to the multitude of many thousande angels,
but you are come to mount Sion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable congress of angels, to the general assembly,
No, that's not your experience at all. You've come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just. You've come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel's—a homicide that cried out for vengeance—became a proclamation of grace.
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels [in festive gathering],
but ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels,
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
But ye are come vnto the moute Sion and to the citie of the livinge god the celestiall Ierusalem: and to an innumerable sight of angels
but you have come to mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to tens of thousands of angels in a festive gathering,
But ye are come to mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
But, ye came to Mount Zion, and to a city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of messengers,
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands of angels gathered together with joy.
But you have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly
Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels
You have now come to Mount Zion and to the heavenly Jerusalem. This is the city of the living God, where thousands and thousands of angels have come to celebrate.
On the contrary, you have come to Mount Tziyon, that is, the city of the living God, heavenly Yerushalayim; to myriads of angels in festive assembly;
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
But ye are come vnto the mount Sion, and to the citie of the liuing God, the celestiall Hierusalem, and to ye company of innumerable Angels,
But you have come near to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the innumerable multitude of angels,
Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels in festive gathering,
But you have come to Mount Tziyon, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Yerushalayim, and to innumerable hosts of angels,
Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to tens of thousands of angels joyfully gathered together,Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalm 68:17; Galatians 4:26; Philippians 3:20; Jude 1:14; Revelation 3:12;">[xr]
But ye have come nigh unto the Mount of Ziun, and to the city of Aloha the Living, to the Urishlem which is in heaven, and to the congregation of myriads of angels,
But ye have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the Jerusalem that is in heaven; and to the assemblies of myriads of angels;
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,
No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering.
But instead, you have come to the mountain of Jerusalem. It is the city of the living God. It is the Jerusalem of heaven with its thousands of angels.
but ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels,
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
But ye have approached - unto Zion's mountain, and unto the city of a Living God, a heavenly Jerusalem, - and unto myriads of messengers,
But you are come to mount Sion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels,
But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to tens of thousands of angels, to the festal gathering
But ye are come vnto ye mount Sion, and to the citie of the lyuyng God, the celestiall Hierusalem, and to an innumerable companie of Angels,
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to a place where thousands of angels have gathered to celebrate.
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,
Instead, you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, with its thousands of angels.
But ye han come nyy to the hil Sion, and to the cite of God lyuynge, the heuenli Jerusalem, and to the multitude of many thousynde aungels,
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
ye are come: Psalms 2:6, Psalms 48:2, Psalms 132:13, Psalms 132:14, Isaiah 12:6, Isaiah 14:32, Isaiah 28:16, Isaiah 51:11, Isaiah 51:16, Isaiah 59:20, Isaiah 60:14, Joel 2:32, Romans 11:26, Galatians 4:26, Revelation 14:1
the city: Hebrews 13:14, Psalms 48:2, Psalms 87:3, Matthew 5:35, Philippians 3:20, *marg. Revelation 3:12, Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:10, Revelation 22:19
of the: Hebrews 3:12, Hebrews 9:14, Hebrews 10:31, Deuteronomy 5:26, Joshua 3:10, 2 Kings 19:4, Psalms 42:2, Psalms 84:2, Jeremiah 10:10, Daniel 6:26, Hosea 1:10, Matthew 16:16, Romans 9:26, 1 Thessalonians 1:9, Revelation 7:2
an innumerable: Deuteronomy 33:2, Psalms 68:17, Daniel 7:10, Jude 1:14, Revelation 5:11, Revelation 5:12
Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 12:5 - But unto 2 Samuel 5:7 - Zion 1 Kings 11:36 - the city 1 Kings 22:19 - all the host 1 Chronicles 11:5 - the castle 2 Chronicles 32:19 - the God Psalms 9:11 - which Psalms 15:1 - holy Psalms 24:3 - the hill Psalms 46:4 - city Psalms 48:1 - city Psalms 50:2 - Out Psalms 68:16 - the hill Psalms 87:5 - of Zion Psalms 89:5 - in the congregation Psalms 99:2 - great Psalms 107:7 - that they Isaiah 1:21 - the faithful Isaiah 8:18 - which Isaiah 10:24 - O my people Isaiah 24:23 - mount Isaiah 25:6 - in this Isaiah 27:13 - and shall Isaiah 56:7 - them will Isaiah 65:11 - my holy Jeremiah 17:25 - and this Zechariah 3:7 - I will Zechariah 8:4 - There Mark 12:25 - but Ephesians 1:10 - he Ephesians 1:22 - to the Ephesians 2:19 - but Ephesians 5:27 - glorious 1 Timothy 3:15 - the living Hebrews 11:10 - he looked Hebrews 11:16 - they desire Revelation 7:9 - no man Revelation 13:6 - and them
Gill's Notes on the Bible
But ye are come unto Mount Sion,.... The Alexandrian copy reads, as in Hebrews 12:18 "for ye are not come"; which may seem to favour that interpretation of this passage, which refers it to the heavenly state; to which saints, in this present life, are not, as yet, come: but, by "Mount Sion", and the other names here given, is meant the church of God, under the Gospel dispensation, to which the believing Hebrews were come; in distinction from the legal dispensation, signified by Mount Sinai, from which they were delivered: and this is called Mount Sion, because, like that, it is beloved of God; chosen by him; and is the place of his habitation; here his worship is, and his word and ordinances are administered; here he communes with his people, and distributes his blessings and this, as Mount Sion, is a perfection of beauty the joy of the whole earth; is strongly fortified by divine power, and is immovable; and is comparable to that mountain, for its height and holiness: and to come to Sion is to become a member of a Gospel church, and partake of the ordinances, enjoy the privileges, and perform the duties belonging to it:
and unto the city of the living God; the Gospel church is a city, built on Christ, the foundation; and is full of habitants, true believers, at least it will be, in the latter day; it is pleasantly situated by the river of God's love, and by the still waters of Gospel ordinances; it is governed by wholesome laws, of Christ's enacting, and is under proper officers, of his appointing; and is well guarded by watchmen, which he has set upon the walls of it; and it is endowed with many privileges, as access to God, freedom from the arrests of justice, and from condemnation, adoption, and a right to the heavenly inheritance: and this may be called "the city of God", because it is of his building, and here he dwells, and protects, and defends it; and who is styled "the living God", to distinguish him from the idols of the Gentiles, which are lifeless and inanimate, no other than sticks and stones.
The heavenly Jerusalem: the church of God goes by the name of Jerusalem often, both in the Old and in the New Testament; with which it agrees in its name, which signifies the vision of peace, or they shall see peace: Christ, the King of it, is the Prince of peace; the members of it are sons of peace, who enjoy a spiritual peace now, and an everlasting one hereafter: like that, it is compact together, consisting of saints, cemented together in love, in the order and fellowship of the Gospel; and is well fortified, God himself, and his power, being all around it, and having salvation, for walls and bulwarks, and being encamped about by angels; and it is a free city, being made so by Christ, and, through him, enjoying the liberty of grace now, and having a title to the liberty of glory in the world to come; as Jerusalem was, it is the object of God's choice, the palace of the great King, and the place of divine worship: it is called "heavenly", to distinguish it from the earthly Jerusalem; and to express the excellency of it, as well as to point out its original: the members of it are from heaven, being born from above; their conversation is now in heaven; and they are designed for that place; and its doctrines and ordinances are all from thence.
And to an innumerable company of angels; which are created spirits, immaterial and immortal; very knowing, and very powerful; and swift to do the will of God; they are holy, and immutably so, being the elect of God, and confirmed by Christ: and saints now are brought into a state of friendship with them; and into the same family; and are social worshippers with them; and they have access into heaven, where angels are; and with whom they shall dwell for ever: and, in the present state of things, they share the benefit and advantages of their kind offices; who have, sometimes, provided food for their bodies; healed their diseases; directed and preserved them on journeys; prevented outward calamities; delivered them out of them, when in danger; restrained things hurtful, and cut off their enemies: and, with regard to things spiritual they have, sometimes, made known the mind and will of God unto the saints; have comforted them under their distresses; helped them against Satan's temptations; are present at their death, and carry their souls to glory; and will gather the saints together, at the last day: and, as to the number of them, they are innumerable; they are the armies of heaven; and there is a multitude of the heavenly host; there are more than twelve legions of angels; their number is ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands: and this makes both for the glory and majesty of God, whose attendants they are; and for the comfort and safety of saints, to whom they minister, and about whom they encamp: a like phrase is used in the Apocrypha:
"Before the fair flowers were seen, or ever the moveable powers were established, before the innumerable multitude of angels were gathered together,'' (2 Esdras 6:3)
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
But ye are come unto Mount Sion - You who are Christians; all who are under the new dispensation. The design is to “contrast” the Christian dispensation with the Jewish. and to show that its excellencies and advantages were far superior to the religion of their fathers. It had more to win the affections; more to elevate the soul; more to inspire with hope. It had less that was terrific and alarming; it appealed less to the fears and more to the tropes of mankind; but still apostasy from this religion could not be less terrible in its consequences than apostasy from the religion of Moses. In the passage before us, the apostle evidently contrasts Sinai with Mount Zion, and means to say that there was more about the latter that was adapted to win the heart and to preserve allegiance than there was about the former. Mount Zion literally denoted the Southern hill in Jerusalem, on which a part of the city was built.
That part of the city was made by David and his successors the residence of the court, and soon the name Zion, was given familiarly to the whole city. Jerusalem was the center of religion in the land; the place where the temple stood, and where the worship of God was celebrated, and where God dwelt by a visible symbol, and it became the type and emblem of the holy abode where He dwells in heaven. It cannot be literally meant here that they had come to the Mount Zion in Jerusalem, for that was as true of the whole Jewish people as of those whom the apostle addressed, but it must mean that they had come to the Mount Zion of which the holy city was an emblem; to the glorious mount which is revealed as the dwelling-place of God, of angels, of saints. That is, they had “come” to this by the revelations and hopes of the gospel. They were not indeed literally in heaven, nor was that glorious city literally on earth, but the dispensation to which they had been brought was what conducted them directly up to the city of the living God, and to the holy mount where he dwelt above. The view was not confined to an earthly mountain enveloped in smoke and flame, but opened at once on the holy place where God abides. By the phrase, “ye are come,” the apostle means that this was the characteristic of the new dispensation that it conducted them there, and that they were already in fact inhabitants of that glorious city. They were citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem (compare note, Philippians 3:20), and were entitled to its privileges.
And unto the city of the living God - The city where the living God dwells - the heavenly Jerusalem; compare notes on Hebrews 11:10. God dwelt by a visible symbol in the temple at Jerusalem - and to that his people came under the old dispensation. In a more literal and glorious sense his abode is in heaven, and to that his people have now come.
The heavenly Jerusalem - Heaven is not unfrequently represented as a magnificent city where God and angels dwelt; and the Christian revelation discloses this to Christians as certainly their final home. They should regard themselves already as dwellers in that city, and live and act as if they saw its splendor and partook of its joy. In regard to this representation of heaven as a city where God dwells, the following places may be consulted: Hebrews 11:10, Hebrews 11:14-16; Hebrews 12:28; Hebrews 13:14; Galatians 4:26; Revelation 3:12; Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:10-27. It is true that Christians have not yet seen that city by the physical eye, but they look to it with the eye of faith. It is revealed to them; they are permitted by anticipation to contemplate its glories, and to feel that it is to be their eternal home. They are permitted to live and act as if they saw the glorious God whose dwelling is there, and were already surrounded by the angels and the redeemed. The apostle does not represent them as if they were expecting that it would be visibly set up on the earth, but as being now actually dwellers in that city, and bound to live and act as if they were amidst its splendors.
And to an innumerable company of angels - The Greek here is, “to myriads (or ten thousands) of angels in an assembly or joyful convocation.” The phrase “tens of thousands” is often used to denote a great and indefinite number. The word rendered “general assembly,” Hebrews 12:22 - πανήγυρις panēguris - refers properly to an “assembly, or convocation of the whole people in order to celebrate any public festival or solemnity, as the public games or sacrifices; Robinson’s Lexicon. It occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and refers here to the angels viewed as assembled around the throne of God and celebrating his praises. It should be regarded as connected with the word “angels,” referring to “their” convocation in heaven, and not to the church of the first-born. This construction is demanded by the Greek. Our common translation renders it as if it were to be united with the church - “to the general assembly and church of the first-born;” but the Greek will not admit of this construction.
The interpretation which unites it with the angels is adopted now by almost all critics, and in almost all the editions of the New Testament. On the convocation of angels, see the notes on Job 1:6. The writer intends, doubtless, to contrast that joyful assemblage of the angels in heaven with those who appeared in the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. God is always represented as surrounded by hosts of angels in heaven; see Deuteronomy 33:2; 1 Kings 22:19; Daniel 7:10; Psalms 68:17; compare notes, Hebrews 12:1; see also Revelation 5:11; Matthew 26:53; Luke 2:13. The meaning is, that under the Christian dispensation Christians in their feelings and worship become united to this vast host of holy angelic beings. it is, of course, not meant that they are “visible,” but they are seen by the eye of faith. The “argument” here is, that as, in virtue of the Christian revelation, we become associated with those pure and happy spirits, we should not apostatize from such a religion, for we should regard it as honorable and glorious to be identified with them.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 22. But ye are come unto mount Sion — In order to enter fully into the apostle's meaning, we must observe,
1. That the Church, which is called here the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and mount Sion, is represented under the notion of a CITY.
2. That the great assembly of believers in Christ is here opposed to the congregation of the Israelites assembled at Mount Sinai.
3. That the innumerable company of angels is here opposed to, those angels by whom the law was ushered in, Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19.
4. That the Gospel first-born, whose names are written in heaven, are here opposed to the enrolled first-born among the Israelites, Exodus 24:5; Exodus 19:22.
5. That the mediator of the new covenant, the Lord Jesus, is here opposed to Moses, the mediator of the old.
6. And that the blood of sprinkling, of Christ, our High Priest, refers to the act of Moses, Exodus 24:8: "And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words."
1. The description in these verses does not refer to a heavenly state; for the terrible nature of the Mosaic dispensation is never opposed to heaven or life eternal, but to the economy of the New Testament.
2. In heaven there is no need of a mediator, or sprinkling of blood; but these are mentioned in the state which the apostle describes.
The heavenly Jerusalem — This phrase means the Church of the New Testament, as Schoettgen has amply proved in his dissertation on this subject.
To an innumerable company of angels — μυριασιν αγγελων. To myriads, tens of thousands, of angels. These are represented as the attendants upon God, when he manifests himself in any external manner to mankind. When he gave the law at Mount Sinai, it is intimated that myriads of these holy beings attended him. "The chariots of the Lord are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels; the Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the holy place;" Psalms 68:17. And when he shall come to judge the world, he will be attended with a similar company. "Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;" Daniel 7:10. In both these cases, as in several others, these seem to be, speaking after the manner of men, the body guard of the Almighty. Though angels make a part of the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem, yet they belong also to the Church below. Christ has in some sort incorporated them with his followers, for "they are all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation," and they are all ever considered as making a part of God's subjects.
