Hebrews 12:8

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

King James Version (1611)
But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sonnes.

King James Version
But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

English Standard Version
If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

New American Standard Bible
But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

New Century Version
If you are never disciplined (and every child must be disciplined), you are not true children.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

Legacy Standard Bible
But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

Berean Standard Bible
If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.

Contemporary English Version
God corrects all of his children, and if he doesn't correct you, then you don't really belong to him.

Complete Jewish Bible
All legitimate sons undergo discipline ; so if you don't, you're a mamzer and not a son!

Darby Translation
But if ye are without chastening, of which all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

Easy-to-Read Version
So, if you never receive the discipline that every child must have, you are not true children and don't really belong to God.

Geneva Bible (1587)
If therefore ye be without correction, whereof al are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sonnes.

George Lamsa Translation
But if you are without discipline, that very discipline by which every man is trained, then you are strangers and not sons.

Good News Translation
If you are not punished, as all his children are, it means you are not real children, but bastards.

Lexham English Bible
But if you are without discipline, in which all legitimate sons have become participants, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

Literal Translation
But if you are without discipline, of which all have become sharers, then you are bastards, and not sons.

Amplified Bible
Now if you are exempt from correction and without discipline, in which all [of God's children] share, then you are illegitimate children and not sons [at all].

American Standard Version
But if ye are without chastening, whereof all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

Bible in Basic English
But if you have not that punishment of which we all have our part, then you are not true sons, but children of shame.

Hebrew Names Version
But if you are without discipline, whereof all have been made partakers, then are you illegitimate, and not sons.

International Standard Version
Now if you are without any discipline, in which all sons share, then you are illegitimate and not his sons.Psalm 73:1; 1 Peter 5:9;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And if ye be without the correction with which every one is corrected, ye are aliens, and not children.

Murdock Translation
But if ye are without that chastisement, with which every one is chastened, ye are become strangers and not sons.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But yf ye be without chastisment, wherof all are partakers, then are ye bastardes, and not sonnes.

English Revised Version
But if ye are without chastening, whereof all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

World English Bible
But if you are without discipline, whereof all have been made partakers, then are you illegitimate, and not sons.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But if ye are without chastning, of which all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons.

Weymouth's New Testament
And if you are left without discipline, of which every true son has had a share, that shows that you are bastards, and not true sons.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
That if ye `ben out of chastising, whos parteneris ben ye alle maad, thanne ye ben auowtreris, and not sones.

Update Bible Version
But if you are without chastening, whereof all have been made partakers, then are you bastards, and not sons.

Webster's Bible Translation
But if ye are without chastisement, of which all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons.

New English Translation
But if you do not experience discipline, something all sons have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons.

New King James Version
But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

New Living Translation
If God doesn't discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all.

New Life Bible
If you are not punished as all sons are, it means that you are not a true son of God. You are not a part of His family and He is not your Father.

New Revised Standard
If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
If however ye are without discipline, whereof, all, have received a share, then, are ye, bastards, and, not sons.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But if you be without chastisement, whereof all are made partakers, then are you bastards and not sons.

Revised Standard Version
If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
If ye be not vnder correccio (where of all are part takers) then are ye bastardes and not sonnes.

Young's Literal Translation
and if ye are apart from chastening, of which all have become partakers, then bastards are ye, and not sons.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf ye be not vnder correccion (wherof all are partakers) then are ye bastardes and not sonnes.

Mace New Testament (1729)
but if you were exempted from that discipline which others are subject to, then are you bastards, and not sons.

Simplified Cowboy Version
If God doesn't discipline you then it means you are a bastard and don't have a father.

Contextual Overview

⁴In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline, but don't be crushed by it either. It's the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. ¹²So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it! ¹⁴Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God's generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God's blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Hebrews 12:6, Psalms 73:1, Psalms 73:14, Psalms 73:15, 1 Peter 5:9, 1 Peter 5:10

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 23:2 - General Psalms 73:5 - They are Proverbs 1:32 - and the Hosea 4:14 - punish

Cross-References

Genesis 12:14
When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians took one look and saw that his wife was stunningly beautiful. Pharaoh's princes raved over her to Pharaoh. She was taken to live with Pharaoh.

Genesis 12:16
Because of her, Abram got along very well: he accumulated sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, men and women servants, and camels. But God hit Pharaoh hard because of Abram's wife Sarai; everybody in the palace got seriously sick.

Genesis 21:33
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and worshiped God there, praying to the Eternal God. Abraham lived in Philistine country for a long time.

Joshua 7:2
Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai (The Ruin), which is near Beth Aven just east of Bethel. He instructed them, "Go up and spy out the land." The men went up and spied out Ai.

Joshua 8:3
Joshua and all his soldiers got ready to march on Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand men, tough, seasoned fighters, and sent them off at night with these orders: "Look sharp now. Lie in ambush behind the city. Get as close as you can. Stay alert. I and the troops with me will approach the city head-on. When they come out to meet us just as before, we'll turn and run. They'll come after us, leaving the city. As we are off and running, they'll say, ‘They're running away just like the first time.' That's your signal to spring from your ambush and take the city. God , your God, will hand it to you on a platter. Once you have the city, burn it down. God says it, you do it. Go to it. I've given you your orders."

Nehemiah 11:31
The Benjaminites from Geba lived in: Micmash Aijah Bethel and its suburbs Anathoth Nob and Ananiah Hazor Ramah and Gittaim Hadid, Zeboim, and Neballat Lod and Ono and the Valley of the Craftsmen. Also some of the Levitical groups of Judah were assigned to Benjamin.

Isaiah 10:28
You Who Legislate Evil Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims— Laws that make misery for the poor, that rob my destitute people of dignity, Exploiting defenseless widows, taking advantage of homeless children. What will you have to say on Judgment Day, when Doomsday arrives out of the blue? Who will you get to help you? What good will your money do you? A sorry sight you'll be then, huddled with the prisoners, or just some corpses stacked in the street. Even after all this, God is still angry, his fist still raised, ready to hit them again. "Doom to Assyria, weapon of my anger. My wrath is a cudgel in his hands! I send him against a godless nation, against the people I'm angry with. I command him to strip them clean, rob them blind, and then push their faces in the mud and leave them. But Assyria has another agenda; he has something else in mind. He's out to destroy utterly, to stamp out as many nations as he can. Assyria says, ‘Aren't my commanders all kings? Can't they do whatever they like? Didn't I destroy Calno as well as Carchemish? Hamath as well as Arpad? Level Samaria as I did Damascus? I've eliminated kingdoms full of gods far more impressive than anything in Jerusalem and Samaria. So what's to keep me from destroying Jerusalem in the same way I destroyed Samaria and all her god-idols?'" When the Master has finished dealing with Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he'll say, "Now it's Assyria's turn. I'll punish the bragging arrogance of the king of Assyria, his high and mighty posturing, the way he goes around saying, "‘I've done all this by myself. I know more than anyone. I've wiped out the boundaries of whole countries. I've walked in and taken anything I wanted. I charged in like a bull and toppled their kings from their thrones. I reached out my hand and took all that they treasured as easily as a boy taking a bird's eggs from a nest. Like a farmer gathering eggs from the henhouse, I gathered the world in my basket, And no one so much as fluttered a wing or squawked or even chirped.'" Does an ax take over from the one who swings it? Does a saw act more important than the sawyer? As if a shovel did its shoveling by using a ditch digger! As if a hammer used the carpenter to pound nails! Therefore the Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, will send a debilitating disease on his robust Assyrian fighters. Under the canopy of God's bright glory a fierce fire will break out. Israel's Light will burst into a conflagration. The Holy will explode into a firestorm, And in one day burn to cinders every last Assyrian thornbush. God will destroy the splendid trees and lush gardens. The Assyrian body and soul will waste away to nothing like a disease-ridden invalid. A child could count what's left of the trees on the fingers of his two hands. And on that Day also, what's left of Israel, the ragtag survivors of Jacob, will no longer be fascinated by abusive, battering Assyria. They'll lean on God , The Holy—yes, truly. The ragtag remnant—what's left of Jacob—will come back to the Strong God. Your people Israel were once like the sand on the seashore, but only a scattered few will return. Destruction is ordered, brimming over with righteousness. For the Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, will finish here what he started all over the globe. Therefore the Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, says: "My dear, dear people who live in Zion, don't be terrorized by the Assyrians when they beat you with clubs and threaten you with rods like the Egyptians once did. In just a short time my anger against you will be spent and I'll turn my destroying anger on them. I, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, will go after them with a cat-o'-nine-tails and finish them off decisively—as Gideon downed Midian at the rock Oreb, as Moses turned the tables on Egypt. On that day, Assyria will be pulled off your back, and the yoke of slavery lifted from your neck." Assyria's on the move: up from Rimmon, on to Aiath, through Migron, with a bivouac at Micmash. They've crossed the pass, set camp at Geba for the night. Ramah trembles with fright. Gibeah of Saul has run off. Cry for help, daughter of Gallim! Listen to her, Laishah! Do something, Anathoth! Madmenah takes to the hills. The people of Gebim flee in panic. The enemy's soon at Nob—nearly there! In sight of the city he shakes his fist At the mount of dear daughter Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. But now watch this: The Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, swings his ax and lops the branches, Chops down the giant trees, lays flat the towering forest-on-the-march. His ax will make toothpicks of that forest, that Lebanon-like army reduced to kindling.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But if ye be without chastisement,.... Or have no affliction:

whereof all are partakers; that is, all the children of God; they are all alike children; they are all in a state of imperfection, and prone to sin; God has an impartial respect unto them: and though they are not all alike chastened, nor chastened at all times, yet none are exempted from chastisement, but have it in some way or another, and at some time or another.

Then are ye bastards, and not sons; all are not sons that are under a profession of religion; all that are under a profession of religion are not chastised; but then those are not the children of God, but the children of the world, of Satan, and of the antichristian harlot; for though all that are chastised are not children, yet all that are children are chastised: hence we learn, that outward peace and prosperity is not a note of a true church; and that such have reason to distrust their state, who know not what it is to have the chastising rod of God upon them; and that afflictions are rather arguments for than against sonship.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But if ye be without chastisement - If you never meet with anything that is adapted to correct your faults; to subdue your temper; to chide your wanderings, it would prove that you were in the condition of illegitimate children - cast off and disregarded by their father.

Whereof all are partakers - All who are the true children of God.

Then are ye bastards, and not sons - The reference here is to the neglect with which such children are treated, and to the general want of care and discipline over them:

“Lost in the world’s wide range; enjoin’d no aim,

Prescrib’d no duty, and assign’d no name.”

Savage.

In the English law, a bastard is termed “nullius filius.” Illegitimate children are usually abandoned by their father. The care of them is left to the mother, and the father endeavors to avoid all responsibility, and usually to be concealed and unknown. His own child he does not wish to recognize; he neither provides for him; nor instructs him; nor governs him; nor disciplines him. A father, who is worthy of the name, will do all these things. So Paul says it is with Christians. God has not cast them off. In every way he evinces toward them the character of a father. And if it should be that they passed along through life without any occurrence that would indicate the paternal care and attention designed to correct their faults, it would show that they never had been his children, but - were cast off and wholly disregarded. This is a beautiful argument; and we should receive every affliction as full proof that we are not forgotten by the High and Holy One who condescends to sustain to us the character, and to evince toward us, in our wanderings, the watchful care of a Father.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Hebrews 12:8. Then are ye bastards — This proceeds on the general fact, that bastards are neglected in their manners and education; the fathers of such, feeling little affection for, or obligation to regard, their spurious issue. But all that are legitimate children are partakers of chastisement or discipline; for the original word παιδεια does not imply stripes and punishments, but the whole discipline of a child, both at home and at school.