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Hebrews 12:16–21

16 that no one is xsexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that yafterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

18 For you have not come to zwhat may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and athe sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words bmade the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, c“If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, dso terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”

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Hebrews 12:16–21 — The New International Version (NIV)

16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

Hebrews 12:16–21 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, 19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: 20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: 21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)

Hebrews 12:16–21 — New Living Translation (NLT)

16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17 You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.

18 You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20 They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.”

Hebrews 12:16–21 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)

Hebrews 12:16–21 — New Century Version (NCV)

16 Be careful that no one takes part in sexual sin or is like Esau and never thinks about God. As the oldest son, Esau would have received everything from his father, but he sold all that for a single meal. 17 You remember that after Esau did this, he wanted to get his father’s blessing, but his father refused. Esau could find no way to change what he had done, even though he wanted the blessing so much that he cried.

18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire. You have not come to darkness, sadness, and storms. 19 You have not come to the noise of a trumpet or to the sound of a voice like the one the people of Israel heard and begged not to hear another word. 20 They did not want to hear the command: “If anything, even an animal, touches the mountain, it must be put to death with stones.” 21 What they saw was so terrible that Moses said, “I am shaking with fear.”

Hebrews 12:16–21 — American Standard Version (ASV)

16 lest there be any fornication, or profane person, as Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright. 17 For ye know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place for a change of mind in his father, though he sought it diligently with tears.

18 For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them; 20 for they could not endure that which was enjoined, If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned; 21 and so fearful was the appearance, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:

Hebrews 12:16–21 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

16 lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one meal sold his birthright; 17 for ye know that also afterwards, desiring to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, (for he found no place for repentance) although he sought it earnestly with tears.

18 For ye have not come to the mount that might be touched and was all on fire, and to obscurity, and darkness, and tempest, 19 and trumpet’s sound, and voice of words; which they that heard, excusing themselves, declined the word being addressed to them any more: 20 (for they were not able to bear what was enjoined: And if a beast should touch the mountain, it shall be stoned; 21 and, so fearful was the sight, Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and full of trembling;)

Hebrews 12:16–21 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

16 Make sure that no one commits sexual sin or is as concerned about earthly things as Esau was. He sold his rights as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17 You know that afterwards, when he wanted to receive the blessing that the firstborn son was to receive, he was rejected. Even though he begged and cried for the blessing, he couldn’t do anything to change what had happened. 

18 You have not come to something that you can feel, to a blazing fire, to darkness, to gloom, to a storm, 19 to a trumpet’s blast, and to a voice. When your ancestors heard that voice, they begged not to hear it say another word. 20 They couldn’t obey the command that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that even Moses said he was trembling and afraid. 

Hebrews 12:16–21 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

16 And make sure that there isn’t any immoral or irreverent person like Esau, who sold his birthright in exchange for one meal. 17 For you know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected because he didn’t find any opportunity for repentance, though he sought it with tears.

18 For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, 19 to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. (Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, 20 for they could not bear what was commanded: And if even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned! 21 The appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am terrified and trembling. )

Hebrews 12:16–21 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

16 See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears.

18 You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20 (For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”)

Hebrews 12:16–21 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

16 that no one be a sexually immoral or totally worldly person like Esau, who for one meal traded his own birthright. 17 For you know that also afterwards, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, because he did not find an occasion for repentance, although he sought it with tears.

18 For you have not come to something that can be touched, and to a burning fire, and to darkness, and to gloom, and to a whirlwind, 19 and to the noise of a trumpet, and to the sound of words which those who heard begged that not another word be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.” 21 And the spectacle was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am terrified and trembling.”

Hebrews 12:16–21 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

16 See to it that no one commits sexual sins.

See to it that no one is godless like Esau. He sold the rights to what he would receive as the oldest son. He sold them for a single meal. 17 As you know, after that he wanted to receive his father’s blessing. But he was turned away. With tears he tried to get the blessing. But he couldn’t get his father to change his mind.

18 You haven’t come to a mountain that can be touched. You haven’t come to a mountain that is burning with fire. You haven’t come to darkness, gloom and storm. 19 You haven’t come to a blast from God’s trumpet. You haven’t come to a voice speaking to you. When people heard that voice long ago, they begged it not to say anything more to them. 20 What God commanded was too much for them. He said, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be killed with stones.” 21 The sight was terrifying. Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

Hebrews 12:16–21 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

16 that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.

17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

18 For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,

19 and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them.

20 For they could not bear the command, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.”

21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I am full of fear and trembling.”


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