Hebrews 3:6
3:6 But Christ 1 is faithful as a son over God’s 2 house. We are of his house, 3 if in fact we hold firmly 4 to our confidence and the hope we take pride in. 5
Hebrews 12:9
12:9 Besides, we have experienced discipline from 6 our earthly fathers 7 and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life? 8
1 sn The Greek makes the contrast between v. 5 and v. 6a more emphatic and explicit than is easily done in English.
2 tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.
3 tn Grk “whose house we are,” continuing the previous sentence.
4 tc The reading adopted by the translation is found in Ì13,46 B sa, while the vast majority of mss (א A C D Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï latt) add μέχρι τέλους βεβαίαν (mecri telou" bebaian, “secure until the end”). The external evidence for the omission, though minimal, has excellent credentials. Considering the internal factors, B. M. Metzger (TCGNT 595) finds it surprising that the feminine adjective βεβαίαν should modify the neuter noun καύχημα (kauchma, here translated “we take pride”), a fact that suggests that even the form of the word was borrowed from another place. Since the same phrase occurs at Heb 3:14, it is likely that later scribes added it here at Heb 3:6 in anticipation of Heb 3:14. While these words belong at 3:14, they seem foreign to 3:6.
5 tn Grk “the pride of our hope.”
6 tn Grk “we had our earthly fathers as discipliners.”
7 tn Grk “the fathers of our flesh.” In Hebrews, “flesh” is a characteristic way of speaking about outward, physical, earthly life (cf. Heb 5:7; 9:10, 13), as opposed to the inward or spiritual dimensions of life.
8 tn Grk “and live.”
sn Submit ourselves…to the Father of spirits and receive life. This idea is drawn from Proverbs, where the Lord’s discipline brings life, while resistance to it leads to death (cf. Prov 4:13; 6:23; 10:17; 16:17).