A man who disregards Moses’ law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think he will be judged worthy of who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance belongs to me;” says the Lord, “I will repay.” Again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
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Hebrews 10:28-31 sits inside this longer paragraph.
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries. A man who disregards Moses’ law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think he will be judged worthy of who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance belongs to me;” says the Lord, “I will repay.” Again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Parallel Translations
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A man who disregards Moses’ law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses.
How much worse punishment do you think he will be judged worthy of who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
For we know him who said, “Vengeance belongs to me;” says the Lord, “I will repay.” Again, “The Lord will judge his people.”
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
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He that despiseth Moses lawe dyeth with out mercy vnder two or thre witnesses.
Of how moche sorer punyshment suppose ye shall he be counted worthy which treadeth vnderfote the sonne of god: and counteth the bloude of the testament as an vnholy thynge wherwith he was sanctified and doth dishonoure to the sprete of grace.
For we knowe him that hath sayde vengeaunce belongeth vnto me I will recompence sayth the lorde. And agayne: the lorde shall iudge his people.
It is a fearfull thynge to faule into the hondes of the livynge God.
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He that despiseth Moses Law, dieth without mercy vnder two, or three witnesses:
Of howe much sorer punishment suppose ye shall hee be worthy, which treadeth vnder foote the Sonne of God, and counteth the blood of the Testament as an vnholy thing, wherewith he was sanctified, and doeth despite the Spirit of grace?
For we know him that hath sayd, Vengeance belongeth vnto mee: I will recompense, saith the Lord. And againe, The Lord shall iudge his people.
It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the liuing God.
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Cross-references (68)
- Deuteronomy 32:35-36 (v30) Vengeance is mine, and recompense, at the time when their foot slides; for the day of their calamity is at hand. Their doom rushes at…
- Matthew 10:28 (v31) Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body…
- Luke 12:5 (v31) But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him who after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
- Romans 12:19 (v30) Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the…
- Hebrews 12:29 (v31) for our God is a consuming fire.
Show all 68 cross-references
- Isaiah 33:14 (v31) The sinners in Zion are afraid. Trembling has seized the godless ones. Who among us can live with the devouring fire? Who among us can live…
- Nahum 1:2 (v30) Yahweh is a jealous God and avenges. Yahweh avenges and is full of wrath. Yahweh takes vengeance on his adversaries, and he maintains wrath…
- Psalms 76:7 (v31) You, even you, are to be feared. Who can stand in your sight when you are angry?
- Ephesians 4:30 (v29) Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
- Psalms 50:4 (v30) He calls to the heavens above, to the earth, that he may judge his people:
- Hebrews 6:6 (v29) and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put…
- Psalms 90:11 (v31) Who knows the power of your anger, your wrath according to the fear that is due to you?
- 2 Corinthians 5:10 (v30) For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things in the body according to what he has…
- Isaiah 63:10 (v29) But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. Therefore he turned and became their enemy, and he himself fought against them.
- Matthew 16:16 (v31) Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
- Psalms 96:13 (v30) before Yahweh; for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, the peoples with his truth.
- Psalms 135:14 (v30) For Yahweh will judge his people and have compassion on his servants.
- Luke 12:10 (v29) Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
- 1 Corinthians 11:27 (v29) Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup in a way unworthy of the Lord will be guilty of the body and the blood of the…
- Hebrews 10:27 (v31) but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries.
- Psalms 50:22 (v31) “Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you into pieces, and there be no one to deliver.
- Psalms 98:9 (v30) Let them sing before Yahweh, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
- Isaiah 61:2 (v30) to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
- Romans 13:4 (v30) for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a…
- Psalms 94:1 (v30) Yahweh, you God to whom vengeance belongs, you God to whom vengeance belongs, shine out.
- Ezekiel 18:30 (v30) “Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, everyone according to his ways,” says the Lord Yahweh. “Return, and turn yourselves from all…
- Matthew 12:31-32 (v29) Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Whoever…
- Acts 7:51 (v29) “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so you do.
- Hebrews 2:2 (v28) For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty,
- Hebrews 2:3 (v29) how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation—which at the first having been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by those…
- Deuteronomy 19:15 (v28) One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin that he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth…
- Isaiah 59:17 (v30) He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head. He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad…
- Isaiah 63:4 (v30) For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redeemed has come.
- Ezekiel 34:17 (v30) “As for you, O my flock, the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the male goats.
- Luke 21:11 (v31) There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places. There will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
- Deuteronomy 17:2-13 (v28) If there is found among you, within any of your gates which Yahweh your God gives you, a man or woman who does that which is evil in Yahweh…
- 1 Corinthians 11:29 (v29) For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy way eats and drinks judgment to himself if he doesn’t discern the Lord’s body.
- Hebrews 9:13 (v29) For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify to the cleanness of the…
- Hebrews 12:25 (v29) See that you don’t refuse him who speaks. For if they didn’t escape when they refused him who warned on the earth, how much more will we…
- Numbers 15:30-31 (v28) “ ‘But the soul who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, blasphemes Yahweh. That soul shall be cut off…
- Numbers 15:36 (v28) All the congregation brought him outside of the camp, and stoned him to death with stones, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
- Deuteronomy 19:13 (v28) Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the innocent blood from Israel that it may go well with you.
- Zechariah 12:10 (v29) I will pour on David’s house, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they will look to me whom…
- Matthew 7:6 (v29) “Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and…
- Matthew 18:16 (v28) But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
- John 8:17 (v28) It’s also written in your law that the testimony of two people is valid.
- John 17:19 (v29) For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
- 2 Corinthians 13:1 (v28) This is the third time I am coming to you. “At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”
- Hebrews 2:11 (v29) For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers,
- Hebrews 6:4 (v29) For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
- 2 Samuel 12:9 (v28) Why have you despised Yahweh’s word, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have…
- 2 Samuel 12:13 (v28) David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.” Nathan said to David, “Yahweh also has put away your sin. You will not die.
- 2 Kings 9:33 (v29) He said, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses. Then he trampled her…
- Isaiah 14:19 (v29) But you are cast away from your tomb like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, who are thrust through with the sword, who go down…
- Isaiah 27:11 (v28) When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off. The women will come and set them on fire, for they are a people of no understanding.…
- Jeremiah 13:14 (v28) I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says Yahweh: “I will not pity, spare, or have compassion,…
- Micah 7:10 (v29) Then my enemy will see it, and shame will cover her who said to me, where is Yahweh your God? Then my enemy will see me and will cover her…
- John 10:36 (v29) do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’
- Romans 9:15 (v28) For he said to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
- Hebrews 13:20 (v29) Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord…
- James 2:13 (v28) For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Deuteronomy 13:6-10 (v28) If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul,…
- Psalms 143:10 (v29) Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
- Lamentations 1:15 (v29) “The Lord has set at nothing all my mighty men within me. He has called a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord has…
- Matthew 26:28 (v29) for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins.
- Romans 16:20 (v29) And the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
- 1 Corinthians 15:25 (v29) For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
- Hebrews 9:20 (v29) saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (22 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv28–30 28. He that despised, etc. This is an argument…
28. He that despised, etc. This is an argument from the less to the greater; for if it was a capital offense to violate the law of Moses, how much heavier punishment does the rejection of the gospel deserve, a sin which involves so many and so heinous impieties! This reasoning was indeed most fitted to impress the Jews; for so severe a punishment on apostates under the Law was neither new to them, nor could it appear unjustly rigorous. They ought then to have acknowledged that vengeance just, however severe, by which God now sanctions the majesty of his Gospel
Hereby is also confirmed what I have already said, that the Apostle speaks not of particular sins, but of the entire denial of Christ; for the Law did not punish all kinds of transgressions with death, but apostasy, that is, when any one wholly renounced religion; for the Apostle referred to a passage in Deuteronomy 17:2-7, where we find, that if any one violated God’s covenant by worshipping foreign gods, he was to be brought outside of the gate and stoned to death.
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Now, though the Law proceeded from God, and Moses was not its author, but its minister, yet the Apostle calls it the law of Moses, because it had been given through him: this was said in order to amplify the more the dignity of the Gospel, which has been delivered to us by the Son of God.
Under two or three witnesses, etc. This bears not on the present subject; but it was a part of the civil law of Moses that two or three witnesses were required to prove the accused guilty. However, we hence learn what sort of crime the Apostle meant; for had not this been added, an opening would have been left for many false conjectures. But now it is beyond all dispute that he speaks of apostasy. At the same time that equity ought to be observed which almost all statesmen have adopted, that no one is to be condemned without being proved guilty by the testimony of two witnesses.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv28, 30 If the breach of the Law of Moses was…
If the breach of the Law of Moses was punished by death, how much more worthy death is it to fall away from Christ?
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv28–31 28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy…
28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
Ver. 28. He that despised] i.e. He that with a high hand violated it, or fell into any capital crime, and it came to light, died without mercy. As for those heinous offences, that not being discovered, and sufficiently proved, came not under the Judge’s cognizance, the Lord, for the easing of men’s consciences, and for the saving of their lives, appointed the yearly feast of expiations, Lev 16:29.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv28–31 The punishment threatened on such sinners is illustrated by…
The punishment threatened on such sinners is illustrated by an instance proper to the Hebrews; For if the lesser sin against Moses’s law was punished by death, the greater sin against the gospel of Christ shall be more punished.
He that despised Moses’s law; any person, whoever he were, none excepted, cantemning, rejecting, nullifying, or making to have noplace or force, (suitable to forsaking, before prohibited), the law of God, given by the mediation of Moses, so as to have no power on the conscience by apostacy from it, and to do it openly, proudly, and presumptuously, in the face of the church, Num 15:30,31.
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Died without mercy under two or three witnesses; was to be sentenced to death without any compassion or mercy, and indispensably executed without any pity, by stoning of the offender by two or three witnessess, which did evidence the fact, and convict him of it, according to the law, as Deu 13:6-11; 17:2-7.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv28, 30, 31 The apostle here confirms what he had before spoken,…
The apostle here confirms what he had before spoken, of the sad and certain destruction of apostates; and compares it with the punishment inflicted on the breakers of Moses’ law. If those, under the testimony of two or three witnesses, of that apostasy died without mercy; how much sorer plunishment is due to the contemners of Christ, who tread under foot, that is, vilify and undervalue our Lord Jesus Christ, esteeming him as one that died a public malefactor; counting the blood of the covenant an unholy thing; that is, a common thing; making nothing of the solemnest rite that ever was used in the world for the confirmation of any covenant, to wit, the shedding of the blood of the Son of God, and doing despite unto the spirit of grace: as if he were guilty of lying and falsehood, in bearing witness of the divine power of Christ.
Learn hence, 1. That although to transgress Moses’ law was an heinous offence, yet to sin wilfully against the gospel, after we have received the knowledge of it, is far more heinous.
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Learn, 2. That to revolt from and rebel against God loving sinful man, against Jesus Christ ransoming and redeeming captive slaves, and against the Holy Spirit sanctifying and cleansing polluted souls, comes nearest the sin of devils; and as the sin is the more heinous, so the punishment must be far more grievous: For God has allotted different degrees of punishments unto different degrees and aggravations of sins.
Learn, 3. That the punishment of final apostasy is eternal without any hope of mercy, and without the least relaxation of punishment: For they shall have judgment without any mercy.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv28–31 For we know him that hath said,.... That is,…
For we know him that hath said,.... That is, God, whom the apostle and the Hebrews knew; not merely by the works of creation and providence, but by the Scriptures, which they were favoured with, and by which they were distinguished from the Gentiles, and by which they knew his being, nature, and perfections; particularly, that what he said he was able to perform, and that he was true and faithful to every word of his, and to what he has said, Deu 32:35
vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompence, saith the Lord. Vengeance belongs to God, not as to the affection, as if there was any such passion in him; but as to the effect, there being that produced by him, which answers to the effect of such a passion among men, namely punishment: and punishment for sin belongs to God, against whom it is committed; and not to Heathen deities, one of which goes by the name of Vengeance, Act 28:4 nor to Satan, and his spiteful angels; nor to men, to exercise it in a private and personal way; though civil magistrates, being in God's stead, are allowed to exercise it in a public way, according to the laws of God: and there is good reason to believe, that what the Lord here says, "I will recompence", or revenge sin, shall be done; which may be concluded from his hatred of sin; from his purity, holiness, and justice; from his faithfulness to his word; from his omnipotence; from the notice he takes of sin, in his own people, in a way of chastisement, and correction; and from the vengeance he has poured on his own Son, as their surety.
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And again, in Deu 32:36 the Lord shall judge his people; such as are truly so, his chosen and covenant people, his redeemed and called ones; these he judges by chastising them in a fatherly way, that they may not be condemned with the world; and by governing and protecting them; and by vindicating and pleading their cause, and avenging them on their enemies: or else such as are only his people by profession; on these he will write a "Lo-ammi"; he distinguishes them from his own, and judges between them and his people, and will condemn them; nor will their profession screen them from his wrath and vengeance.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv28–31 He that, in capital cases, despised (presumptuously transgressed) the…
He that, in capital cases, despised (presumptuously transgressed) the law of Moses died without mercy - Without any delay or mitigation of his punishment.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv28–31 Verse 28. He that despised Moses' law] αθετησας. He…
Verse 28. He that despised Moses' law] αθετησας. He that rejected it, threw it aside, and denied its Divine authority by presumptuous sinning, died without mercy-without any extenuation or mitigation of punishment; Nu 15:30.
Under two or three witnesses] That is, when convicted by the testimony of two or three respectable witnesses. See De 17:6.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv28, 30 Heb 10:28-29. He that — In capital cases, such…
Heb 10:28-29. He that — In capital cases, such as by the sins of sabbath- breaking, disobedience to parents, blasphemy, adultery, murder; despised — Presumptuously transgressed; Moses’s law, died — Was put to death; without mercy — Without any delay or mitigation of his punishment, if convicted by two or three witnesses — See the margin. Of how much sorer punishment — Than that of the death of the body; shall he be thought worthy, who — By wilful, total apostacy; (to which only it appears that this passage refers;) hath, as it were, trodden underfoot the Son of God — A lawgiver far more honourable than Moses, and the true Messiah, the only Saviour of the world; him whom God hath exalted above principalities and powers, and whom therefore all mankind ought to exalt and adore in their souls; but who now, by this sort of persons, was esteemed an evil-doer, a seducer; one not in any sense sent of God, but a malefactor, justly condemned and executed for his crimes: herein they trod under foot the Son of God with all contempt and scorn. And hath counted the blood of the covenant — That is, the blood of Christ, whereby the new covenant was confirmed; wherewith he was sanctified — Dedicated to God, and taken into covenant with him, and even inwardly renewed in the spirit of his mind; an unholy — Κοινον, a common thing, of no value or virtue; a worthless thing; not even of so much use to the glory of God as the blood of beasts in legal sacrifices. Observe, reader, those by whom the efficacy of Christ’s blood, for the expiation of sin, is denied, may be truly said to make it a common thing; and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace — Ενυβρισας, having treated with contumely or reproach that Holy Spirit which the grace of God confers upon his people, and which is the author of saving grace to them. Macknight renders it, Hath insulted the Spirit of grace; observing, “the apostle means the Holy Spirit, whose gifts were bestowed in the first age on believers, for the confirmation of the gospel. Wherefore if one apostatized in the first age, after having been a witness to the miraculous gifts, much more, after having possessed them himself, he must, like the scribes and Pharisees, have ascribed them to evil spirits; than which a greater indignity could not be done to the Spirit of God.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv28–31 He that despised Moses’ law - That is, the…
He that despised Moses’ law - That is, the apostate from the religion of Moses. It does not mean that in all cases the offender against the Law of Moses died without mercy, but only where offences were punishable with death, and probably the apostle had in his eye particularly the case of apostasy from the Jewish religion. The subject of apostasy from the Christian religion is particularly under discussion here, and it was natural to illustrate this by a reference to a similar case under the Law of Moses. The Law in regard to apostates from the Jewish religion was positive. There was no reprieve; Deu 13:6-10.
Died without mercy - That is, there was no provision for pardon.
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Under two or three witnesses - It was the settled law among the Hebrews that in all cases involving capital punishment, two or three witnesses should be necessary. That is, no one was to be executed unless two persons certainly bore testimony, and it was regarded as important, if possible, that three witnesses should concur in the statement. The object was the security of the accused person if innocent. The “principle” in the Law was, that it was to be presumed that two or three persons would be much less likely to conspire to render a false testimony than one would be, and that two or three would not be likely to be deceived in regard to a fact which they had observed.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv28, 31 A man making void, &c. He brings this comparison…
A man making void, &c. He brings this comparison from the manner that transgressors were dealt with under the law of Moses, to shew how much greater punishments Christians deserve when they are ungrateful to Christ after much greater benefits, when they may be said to have trodden under foot the Son of God by despising him, who was the author of their salvation, by shedding his blood upon the cross. (Witham) --- What is here said of the crime of apostacy, may in some measure be applied to every deadly sin committed after baptism or the sacrament of penance; for a Christian by returning to sin, treads under foot the Son of God, despises the adorable blood by which he was sanctified, and offers a henious affront to the spirit of grace. Apostacy, though enormous, like all other sins can be forgiven by true repentance; but the apostle declares, there is no victim for the guilt of a person who perseveres and dies in apostacy.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv28–31 Compare Heb 2:2-3; Heb 12:25.
Compare Heb 2:2-3; Heb 12:25.
despised--"set at naught" [ALFORD]: utterly and heinously violated, not merely some minor detail, but the whole law and covenant; for example, by idolatry (Deu 17:2-7). So here apostasy answers to such an utter violation of the old covenant.
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died--Greek, "dies": the normal punishment of such transgression, then still in force.
without mercy--literally, "mercies": removal out of the pale of mitigation, or a respite of his doom.
under--on the evidence of.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv28–31 28. An argument from less, Moses, to greater, the…
28. An argument from less, Moses, to greater, the Son.
Despised— Nullified, reduced it to nothing. The illustration is taken from Deu_17:2-7, where it is enacted that if an Israelite “hath gone and served other gods,” as “sun or moon,” Israel should “stone them with stones,” as apostates from Jehovah, “at the mouth of two or three witnesses.” Such an apostate has not only sinned, but has wholly rejected Moses’s law.
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Without mercy—There was no expiating sacrifice, no executive pardon.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv28–31 28. He that despised Moses’ law] Especially by being…
28. He that despised Moses’ law] Especially by being guilty of the sin of idolatry (Deu_17:2-7). Literally, it is “any one, on setting at nought Moses’ law.”
died] Lit., “dies.” Here is another of the favourite Jewish exegetical arguments a minori ad majus.
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without mercy] The Mosaic law pronounced on offenders an inexorable doom. “The letter killeth” (2Co_3:6).
under two or three witnesses] i.e. by the testimony of at least two (Joh_8:17; 2Co_13:1).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv28–31 (28) He that despised Moses’ law.—Rather, A man that…
(28) He that despised Moses’ law.—Rather, A man that hath set at nought a law of Moses dieth without pity before two or three witnesses. The reference is to Deu_17:2-7, the last words being a direct quotation from Heb_10:6 in that section. There the subject is apostasy from Jehovah to the worship of idols. That sin which, by the acknowledgment of all, had in ancient time robbed Israel of the name of God’s people is tacitly placed by the side of the sin of those who for sake Christ. It will be seen how impressively the thought of the last verse is maintained in this.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv28, 29, 31 One that hath despised (rather, set at naught) Moses"…
One that hath despised (rather, set at naught) Moses" Law dieth without mercy under (i.e. at the word of) two or three witnesses. The reference is to Deu_17:2-7, as shown by the mention of the "two or three witnesses" (ver. 6). The sin there spoken of is that of one who "hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD, in transgressing his covenant, and hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven." The significance of this in its bearing on the meaning of amartanontwn in ver. 26 has been already noted.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv28, 30, 31 Trodden under foot the Son of God
Heb_10:28-29
Trodden under foot the Son of God
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Aggravated apostasy
I.
THE APOSTATE TREADS UNDER FOOT THE SON OF GOD. The expression is metaphorical, and presupposeth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and affirmeth that He, though the Son of God, is trodden under foot. To tread a thing under foot is
1. To undervalue it, if it be of any worth.
2. To vilify it.
3. To vilify it very much.
4. To express this contempt by casting it upon the ground and trampling upon it, which is the greatest debasement, and is sometimes an expression of utter detestation.
Thus Jezebel was thrown down upon the earth, and trampled upon by Jehus horses. To vilify and debase things that are base is no fault; and to despise unworthy men is tolerable; but the apostate undervalues the Son of God; and the greater His dignity, the greater the indignity. He is not mere man, though man, yet as man the best of men; for He is the Son of God, and that not any kind of son, but the only begotten and beloved Son of God, the brightness of His Fathers glory, and the express image of His person; and so the Son of God, that He is God. Thus neither the Person and Deity of Christ, nor His natures, nor the personal union of them, nor His transcendent gifts, nor His heavenly wisdom, nor His glorious works, nor His rare virtues, nor His great work of expiation, nor His glory and power; which He enjoys at the right hand of God, could anyways move him; but he debaseth Him that was higher than the heavens, as low as the dust under his feet; yet this debasement was only an act of his base mind, but could not in the least degree obscure the excellency of Christ, This is the first aggravation of apostasy.
II. HE COUNTETH THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT, WHEREBY HE WAS SANCTIFIED, AN UNHOLY THING.
1. By the blood understand the sacrifice of Christ, so much magnified in the former chapter; for it is that blood by which Christ, entering the holy place of heaven, obtained eternal redemption; that blood which purgeth the conscience from dead works to serve the living God; that blood which confirmed the everlasting covenant, in which respect it is called the blood of the covenant. This covenant is called the covenant of grace, wherein God promiseth remission of sins, and the eternal inheritance of glory, upon condition of repentance and faith in Christ. And it is called the blood of this covenant because upon it the covenant was grounded, and by virtue of it all the promises thereof are made effectual.
2. This was the blood by which this apostate, upon his receiving the knowledge of the truth, was sanctified. For
(1) This blood, as offered and accepted of God, made his sin remissible.
(2) Upon the profession of his faith his sin was, at least conditionally, pardoned and purged.
(3) So long as he continued in his profession, and so far as he proceeded according to certain degrees in faith and the profession of it, so far he might be said to be in a state of justification, and not only to justification, but sanctification.
3. Yet this sanctifying blood the apostate counts unholy or common. To be common blood may be understood
(1) Such as hath no expiating and purging power.
(2) Such as is no better than the blood of bulls and goats sacrificed.
(3) Such as differs not from the blood of other men.
(4) Such as is the blood of a malefactor, guilty and vicious person, and that is impure and unholy blood. So that the apostate, though he had received some kind and measure of sanctification from it, yet ascribed no more virtue and excellency to it than to common blood; denied the sanctifying power of it, nay, did account it unholy. Yet you must note, that though it be so vile in his conceit, yet it is really in itself the only sanctifying blood to all such as do sincerely believe. This is the second aggravatior,.
III. THE APOSTATE DOTH DESPITE UNTO THE SPIRIT OF GRACE.
1. This Spirit is not the spirit of man, neither is it any angel, nor any created person of substance; but it is an uncreated Spirit, the Spirit of God, so as that it is God; therefore the perfections and operations of God are predicated of it.
2. This Spirit is said to be the Spirit of grace. Thus He may be called in opposition to the spirit of bondage and fear, which is the spirit proper to the law. For the Spirit by the law, which had no expiation for sin, no promise of power to keep it, nor of pardon if transgressed, could work nothing but fear, which was a continued slavery. The Spirit of the gospel, which is the Spirit of Christ, promised and given in the gospel, is a Spirit of comfort and confidence.
3. They do despite unto this Spirit. In this despite there are injury, reproach, contempt; and the greater the person to whom the despite is done, the more heinous it is. This here meant is not done to man, but God; because done to that Spirit which is so the Spirit of God, that He is God. This is committed
(1) By resisting the sanctifying power of God.
(2) By undoing all that God, by His Spirit, had done in him for his salvation.
(3) By accounting the gifts, notions, motions of this Spirit, the works, delusions, and impulses of the devil; and that not only in himself, but in others sanctified by this Spirit, and endued with His gifts. This is a sin against God the Father, who loved us, and sent Christ to redeem us; against God the Son, who had shed His precious blood for the expiation of our sins; against God the Holy Ghost, who had begun the work of sanctification and consolation in us. (G. Lawson.)
The folly of rejecting Christ:
It is as if a Venice glass should dispute against a marble wall. It is as if a little ship should run itself against a rock; the rock would soon split the ship, but the ship could not have hurt the rock. (Ralph Robinson.)
The murdered Christ
I do believe that a murderer would rather see the ghost of his murdered victim standing by his side, sitting at his table, looking at him through the curtains of his bed, confronting him in every society he visits, haunting him in solitude--I believe a man would rather see the ghost of a murdered victim following him everywhere than you would like to see the murdered Christ, whom your sins pierced on the Cross. (B. K. Noel.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv28–31 28. He that despised Moses' law. He who wilfully…
28. He that despised Moses' law. He who wilfully rebelled against the law of Moses had no remission. When proved guilty by two or three witnesses his fate was death. See Num. 15:30–36; Deut. 13:6–10. There was mercy for the ignorant, the mistaken, those “overtaken,” but not for the deliberate despiser.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v30
Hebrews
HOW TO OWN OURSELVES
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Heb 10:30
THE writer uses a somewhat uncommon word in this clause, which is not altogether adequately represented by the translation ‘saving.’ Its true force will be apparent by comparing one or two of the few instances in which it occurs in the New Testament. For example, it is twice employed in the Epistles to the Thessalonians; in one case being rendered, ‘God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain’ {or, more correctly, to the obtaining of} ‘salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ’; and in another, ‘called to the obtaining of glory through Jesus Christ.’ It is employed twice besides in two other places of Scripture, and in both of these it means ‘possession.’ So that, though practically equivalent to the idea of salvation, there is a very beautiful shade of difference which is well worth noticing.
The thought of the text is substantially this - those who believe win their souls; they acquire them for their possession. We talk colloquially about ‘people that cannot call their souls their own.’ That is a very true description of all men who are not lords of themselves through faith in Jesus Christ. ‘They who believe to the gaining of their own souls’ is the meaning of the writer here.
And I almost think that we may trace in this peculiar expression an allusion, somewhat veiled but real, to similar words of our Lord’s. For He said, when, like the writer in the present context, He was encouraging His disciples to steadfastness in the face of difficulties and persecutions, ‘In your patience’ - in your persistent adherence to Me, whatever might draw you away, - ‘ye shall win’ - not merely possess, as our Bible has it, and not a commandment, but a promise - ‘in your patience ye shall win your souls.’ Whether that allusion be sustainable or no matters comparatively little; it is the significant and beautiful thought which underlies the word to which I wish to turn, and to present you with some illustrations of it.
I. First, then, if we lose ourselves we win ourselves.
All men admit in theory that a self-centred life is a blunder. Jesus Christ has all moralists and all thoughtful men wholly with Him when He says, ‘He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life shall find it.’ There is no such way of filling a soul with enlargement and blessedness and of evolving new powers and capacities as self-oblivion for some great cause, for some great love, for some great enthusiasm. Many a woman has found herself when she held her child in her arms, and in the self-oblivion which comes from maternal affections and cares has sprung into a loftier new life. Many a heart, of husband and wife, can set its seal to this truth, that the blessedness of love is that it decentralises the soul, and substitutes another aim for the wretched and narrow one that is involved in self-seeking. And even if we do not refer to these sacred heights of maternal or of wedded love, there are many other noble counterpoises to the do-grading influence of self- absorption, which all men recognise and some men practise. Whoever has once tasted the joy and rapture of flinging himself into some great enthusiasm, and has known how much fuller life is when so inspired than in its ordinary forms, needs no words to convince him that the secret of blessedness, elevation, and power, if it is to be put into one great word, must be put into this one, ‘self-oblivion.’
But whilst all these counterpoises to the love of self are, in their measure and degree, great and noble and blessed, not one of them, nor all of them put together, will so break the fetters from off a prisoned soul and let it out into the large place of utter and glad self-oblivion as the course which our text enjoins upon us when it says: If you wish to forget yourselves, to abandon and lose yourselves, fling yourselves into Christ’s arms, and by faith yield your whole being, will, trust, purposes, aims, everything - yield them all to Him; and when you can say, ‘We are not our own,’ then first will you belong to yourselves and have won your own souls.
There is nothing except that absolute departure from all reliance upon our own poor powers, and from all making of ourselves our centre and aim in life, which gives us true possession of ourselves. Nothing else is comparable to the talismanic power of trust in Jesus Christ. When thus we lose ourselves in Him we find ourselves, and find Him in ourselves.
I believe that, at bottom, a life must either spin round on its own axis, self- centred and self-moved, or else it must be drawn by the mass and weight and mystical attractiveness of the great central sun, and swept clean out of its own little path to become a satellite round Him. Then only will it move in music and beauty, and flash back the lustre of an unfading light. Self or God, one or other will be the centre of every human life.
It is well to be touched with lofty enthusiasms; it is well to conquer self in the eager pursuit of some great thought or large subject of study; it is well to conquer self in the sweetness of domestic love; but through all these there may run a perverting and polluting reference to myself. Affection may become but a subtle prolongation of myself, and study and thought may likewise be tainted, and even in the enthusiasm for a great cause there may mingle much of self-regard; and on the whole there is nothing that will sweep out, and keep out, the seven devils of selfishness except to yield yourselves to God, drawn by His mercies, and say, ‘I am not my own; I am bought with a price.’ Then, and only then, will you belong to yourselves.
II. Secondly it we will take Christ for our Lord we shall be lords of our own souls.
I have said that self-surrender is self-possession. It is equally true that self- control is self-possession; and it is as true about this application of my text as it was about the former, that Christianity only says more emphatically what moralists say, and suggests and supplies a more efficient means of accomplishing the end which they all recognise as good. For everybody knows that the man who is a slave to his own passions, lusts, or desire is not his own master. And everybody knows that the man who is the sport of circumstance, and yields to every temptation that comes sweeping round him, as bamboos bend before every blast; or the man who is guided by fashion, conventionality, custom, and the influence of the men amongst whom he lives, and whom he calls ‘the world,’ is not his own master. He ‘dare not call his soul his own.’
What do we mean by being self-possessed, except this, that we can so rule our more fluctuating and sensitive parts as that, notwithstanding appeals made to them By external circumstances, they do not necessarily yield to these? He possesses himself who, in the face of antagonism, can do what is right; who, in the face of temptation, will not do what is wrong; who can dare to be in the right with one or two; and who is not moulded By circumstances, howsoever they may influence him, but reacts upon them as a hammer, and is not as an anvil. And this superiority over the parts of my nature which are meant to be kept down, and this assertion of independent power in the face of circumstances, and this freedom from the dominion of cliques and parties and organs of opinion and loud voices round us, this is best secured in its fulness and completeness by the path which my text suggests.
Trust in Jesus Christ, and let Him be your Commander-in-chief, and you have won your souls. Let Him dominate them, and you can dominate them. If you will give your wills into His hands, He will give them back to you and make you able to subdue your passions and desires. Put the reins into Christ’s hands and say, ‘Here, O Lord, guide Thou the horses and the chariot, for I cannot coerce them, but Thou canst.’ Then He will come and bring a new ally in the field, and cast a new weight into the scale, and you will no longer be the slave of the servile and inferior parts of your nature; nor be kicked about, the football of circumstances; nor be the echo of some other body’s views, but you will have a voice of your own, and a will of your own, and a soul of your own, because you have given them to Christ, and He will help you to control them. Such a man - and I verily believe, from the bottom of my heart, such a man only - in the fullest sense, is
‘Free from slavish bands,
Of hope to rise, or fear to fall;
Lord of himself, though not of lands;
And having nothing, yet hath all.’
What does some little rajah, on the edge of our great Indian Empire, do when troubled with rebels whom he cannot subdue? He goes and makes himself a feudatory of the great central power at Calcutta, and then down comes a regiment or two, and makes very short work of the rebellion that the little kinglet could do nothing with. If you go to Christ and say to Him, ‘Dear Lord, I take my crown from my head and lay it at Thy feet. Come Thou to help me to rule this anarchic realm of my own soul,’ you will win yourself.
III. Thirdly, if we have faith in Christ we acquire a better self.
The thing that most thoughtful men and women feel, after they have gone a little way into life, is not so much that they want to possess themselves, as that they want to get rid of themselves - of all the failures and shame and disappointment and futility of their lives. That desire may be accomplished. We cannot strip ourselves of ourselves by any effort. The bitter old past keeps living on, and leaves with us seeds of weakness and memories that sometimes corrupt, and always enfeeble: memories that seem to limit the possibilities of the future in a tragic fashion. Ah, brethren! we can get rid of ourselves; and, instead of continuing the poor, sin-laden, feeble creatures that we are, we can have pouring into our souls the gift most real -though people nowadays, in their shallow religion, call it mystical - of a new impulse and a new life. The old individuality will remain, but new tastes, new aspirations, aversions, hopes, and capacities to realise them may all be ours, so that ‘if any man be in Christ he is a new creature’; and in barter for the old garment he receives the robe of righteousness. You can lose yourselves, in a very deep and earnest sense, if, trusting in Jesus Christ, you open the door of the heart to the influx of that new life which is His best gift. Faith wins a better self, and we may each experience, in all its fulness and Blessedness, the paradox of the apostle when he said, ‘I live’ now, at last, in triumphant possession of this better life: ‘I live’ now - I only existed before - ‘yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.’ And with Christ in me I first find myself.
IV. Lastly, if by faith we win our souls here, we save them from destruction hereafter.
I have said that the word of my text is substantially equivalent to the more frequent and common expression ‘salvation’; though with a shade of difference, which I have been trying to bring Out. And this substantial equivalence is more obvious if you will note that the text is the second member of an antithesis of which the first is, ‘we are not of them which draw back into perdition.’
So, then, the writer sets up, as exact opposites of one another, these two ideas - perdition or destruction on the one hand, and the saving or winning of the soul on the other. Therefore, whilst we must give due eight to the considerations which I have already been suggesting, we shall not grasp the whole of the writer’s meaning unless we admit also the thought of the future. And that the same blending of the two ideas, of possession and salvation in the more usual sense of the word, was implied in the Lord’s saying, of which I have suggested there may be an echo here, is plain if you observe that the version in St. Luke gives the text which I have already quoted: ‘In your patience ye shall win your souls’; and that of St. Matthew, in the same connection, gives, instead, the saying, ‘he that endureth’ - which corresponds with patience - ‘he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.’
So, then, brethren, you cannot be said to have won your souls if you are only keeping them for destruction, and such destruction is clearly laid down here as the fate of those who turn away from Jesus Christ.
Now, it seems to me that no fair interpretation can eject from that word ‘perdition,’ or ‘destruction,’ an element of awe and terror. However you may interpret the ruin, it is ruin utter of which it speaks. And I am very much afraid that in this generation eager discussions about the duration of punishment, and the final condition of those who die impenitent, have had a disastrous influence on a great many minds and consciences in reference to this whole subject, by making it rather a subject of controversy than a solemn truth to be pondered. However the controversies be settled, there is terror enough left in that word to make us all bethink ourselves.
I lay it on your hearts, dear friends - it is no business of mine to say much about it, but I lay it on your hearts and on my own; and I beseech you to ponder it. Do not mix it up with wholly independent questions as to what is to become of people who never heard about Jesus Christ. ‘The Judge of all the earth will do right.’ What this verse says applies to people that have heard about Him - that is, to you and me - and to people that do not accept Him - and that is some of us; and about them it says that they ‘draw back unto perdition.’
Now, remember, the alternative applies to each of us. It is a case of ‘either- or’ in regard to us all. If we have taken Christ for our Saviour, and, as I said, put the reins into His hands and given ourselves to Him by love and submission and confidence, then we own our souls, because we have given them to Him to keep, ‘and He is able to keep that which is committed to Him against that day.’
But I am bound to tell you, in the plainest words I can command, that if you have not thus surrendered yourself to Jesus Christ, His sacrifice, His intercession, His quickening Spirit, then I know not where you are to find one foothold of hope that upon you there will not come down the overwhelming fate that is darkly portrayed in that one solemn word.
Oh, brethren! let us all ponder the question, ‘ What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v29 Spirit of grace
Spirit of grace
Grace (in salvation). 1Pe 1:10; 1Pe 1:13; Rom 3:24
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(See Scofield "Joh 1:17").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv28, 30 of two or three witnesses
of two or three witnesses
It is implied that this means "of at least two or three witness." (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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How much worse punishment do you think one deserves ... grace?
The author is emphasizing the greatness of the punishment for those who reject Christ. AT: "This was severe punishment. But the punishment will be even greater for anyone ... grace!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
has trampled underfoot the Son of God
Disregarding Christ and scorning him are spoken of as if someone had walked on him. AT: "has rejected the Son of God" (See: Metaphor)
the Son of God
This is an important title for Jesus. (See: Translating Son and Father)
who treated the blood of the covenant as unholy
This shows how the person has trampled the Son of God. AT: "by treating the blood of the covenant as unholy"
the blood of the covenant
Here "blood" stands for Christ's death, by which God established the new covenant. (See: Metonymy)
the blood by which he was sanctified
This can be stated in active form. AT: "the blood by which God sanctified him" (See: Active or Passive)
the Spirit of grace
"the Spirit of God, who provides grace"
translationWords
reject
law
die
mercy
testimony
testimony
punish
trample
Son of God
blood
covenant
holy
sanctify
Holy Spirit
grace
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv28, 30 10:28-29 The author argues from lesser to greater (see…
10:28-29 The author argues from lesser to greater (see study note on 9:14). The lesser situation is the old punishment of death for a person who refused to obey the law of Moses (see Deut 13:6-11). The greater situation concerns those who reject Christ and treat him with contempt. • how much worse the punishment: Eternal damnation is the fate awaiting those who have rejected Christ. • The blood of the covenant, which made us holy, is Christ’s perfect sacrifice (9:11–10:18). • insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit: Those who reject the Spirit’s prompting and mercy deny the validity of the Good News and the superiority of Christ and his saving work (cp. Mark 3:22-30).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.