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Hebrews

About this book
Chapter 13

1 Brotherly love must continue. 2 Do not neglect hospitality because through it some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those in prison as though you were in prison with them, and those ill-treated as though you, too, felt their torment. 4 Marriage must be honored among all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers. 5 Your conduct must be free from the love of money, and you must be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.” 6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can people do to me?” 7 Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever! 9 Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals, which have never benefited those who participated in them. 10 We have an altar that those who serve in the tabernacle have no right to eat from. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood the high priest brings into the sanctuary as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp.⁠ 12 Therefore, to sanctify the people by his own blood, Jesus also suffered outside the camp. 13 We must go out to him, then, outside the camp, bearing the abuse he experienced. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips,⁠ acknowledging his name. 16 And do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. Let them do this with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you. 18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to conduct ourselves rightly in every respect. 19 I especially ask you to pray that I may be restored to you very soon. 20 Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, 21 equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen. 22 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, bear with my message of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you briefly. 23 You should know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he comes soon, he will be with me when I see you. 24 Greetings to all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy send you greetings. 25 Grace be with you all.

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Hosea 14:3 and Hebrews 13:15

Septuagint · New Testament

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Summary

The Hebrew version of Hosea has Israel offer the bulls of their lips, but the Greek Septuagint translates it to the fruit of their lips. Hebrews echoes the Greek version, changing animal sacrifice into spoken praise that confesses God’s name.

Passages

LXX Hosea 14:3

Septuagint
2 Return, Israel, to the Lord your God; for you have fallen through your iniquities. 3 Take with you words, and turn to the Lord your God: speak to him, that you may not receive the reward of unrighteousness, but that you may receive good things: and we will render in return the fruit of our lips. 4 Assyria shall never save us; we will not mount on horseback; we will no longer say to the works of our hands, Our gods. He who is in you shall pity the orphan.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Hosea

Hebrews 13:15

New Testament
14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name. 16 And do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Hebrews

References

... And while the regulations in Leviticus refer to various leavened and unleavened cakes, Hebrews redefines the offering as the fruit of lips that confess the name of Jesus (καρπὸν χειλέων ὁμολογούντων τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ). The expression “fruit of lips” appears in Hosea 14:2 (Septuagint 14:3) where the people are given a liturgy for a prayer for forgiveness, including a promise to “repay” the fruit of their lips, that is, put their words into action by fulfilling their vows of repentance. In Hebrews, as in Hosea, sacrificial language is put to use in terms of speech. A similar phenomenon is encountered at Qumran, where the community (which had withdrawn from the temple) transferred the language of sacrifice to speech in honour of God. ...
Philip Church, Hebrews and the Temple: Attitudes to the Temple in Second Temple Judaism and in Hebrews, NovTSup 171 (Leiden: Brill, 2017), 366–367.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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LXX Hosea 14:3 and Hebrews 13:15

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