Hebrews 13:17–25

Verse 17–18. Obey your prelates, and so forth Join the sacrifice of obedience to your bishops and pastors, whom God has placed over you, who must render an account even of your souls, that is whether they have discharged their duty towards you, and whether it be not by their neglect that you have remained in your sins. Follow their commands and instructions, with such a ready willingness, that you do not contristate them, but that you may be a subject of comfort and joy to them, in their heavy and dangerous employments.—Fail not to pray for me, who am such a minister of God. Witham.

Verse 17–18. Obey your prelates, and so forth Join the sacrifice of obedience to your bishops and pastors, whom God has placed over you, who must render an account even of your souls, that is whether they have discharged their duty towards you, and whether it be not by their neglect that you have remained in your sins. Follow their commands and instructions, with such a ready willingness, that you do not contristate them, but that you may be a subject of comfort and joy to them, in their heavy and dangerous employments.—Fail not to pray for me, who am such a minister of God. Witham.

Verse 20–21. Who brought, or raised from the dead, the great pastor of the sheep, of all the faithful, Jesus Christ, in the blood of the everlasting testament: in the testament that is to last for ever, not for a time, like the former testament made to the people of Israel. These words, in the blood, may either be joined with brought from the dead his son, as man, by the merits of his blood, which he had shed on the cross, as it is said Philip. 2:8. Or they may be joined with the great pastor, and then the sense will be, that God raised Jesus Christ, who, by his blood shed on the cross, became the great shepherd of all the faithful. Working in you by his grace every good work, and so forth Witham.

Verse 20–21. Who brought, or raised from the dead, the great pastor of the sheep, of all the faithful, Jesus Christ, in the blood of the everlasting testament: in the testament that is to last for ever, not for a time, like the former testament made to the people of Israel. These words, in the blood, may either be joined with brought from the dead his son, as man, by the merits of his blood, which he had shed on the cross, as it is said Philip. 2:8. Or they may be joined with the great pastor, and then the sense will be, that God raised Jesus Christ, who, by his blood shed on the cross, became the great shepherd of all the faithful. Working in you by his grace every good work, and so forth Witham.

Verse 22. Bear with the word of consolation, with what I have written to exhort and comfort you in a very few words, considering the importance of the subject, and the sublime mysteries. Witham.

Verse 23. Our brother, Timothy, is set at liberty. From which we may conjecture that Timothy had been a prisoner, though it is not known where, nor on what occasion. Witham.

JAMES

THE

CATHOLIC EPISTLE OF S. JAMES,

THE APOSTLE

ON THE CATHOLIC EPISTLES