Hebrews 12:16

lest there be any sexually immoral person, or profane person, like Esau, who sold his birthright for one meal.

World English Bible
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Other translations

WEBBE

lest there be any sexually immoral person or profane person, like Esau, who sold his birthright for one meal.

BSB

See to it that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright.

KJV

Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

ASV

lest [there be] any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright.

BBE

And that there may not be any evil liver, or any man without respect for God, like Esau, who let his birthright go for a plate of food.

Original Greek

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μή mē lest [there be] G3361 τις tis any G5100 πόρνος pornos fornicator G4205 ἢ ē or G2228 βέβηλος bebēlos profane person G952 ὡς hōs as G5613 Ἠσαῦ Ēsau Esau G2269 ὃς hos who G3739 ἀντὶ anti for G473 βρώσεως brōseōs meal G1035 μιᾶς mias one G1520 ἀπέδετο apedeto sold G591 τὰ ta the G3588 πρωτοτόκια prōtotokia birthright G4415 ἑαυτοῦ he'autou of himself G1438

The early church

"Lest there be any fornicator: or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright." And wherein was Esau a "fornicator"? He does not say that Esau was a fornicator. "Lest there be any fornicator," he says, then, "follow after holiness: lest there be any, as Esau, profane": that is, gluttonous, without self-control, worldly, selling away things spiritual. "Who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright," who through his own slothfulness sold this honor which he had from God, and for a little pleasure, lost the greatest honor and glory. This was suitable to them. This [was the conduct] of an abominable, of an unclean person. So that not only is the fornicator unclean, but also the glutton, the slave of his belly. For he also is a slave of a different pleasure. He is forced to be overreaching, he is forced to be rapacious, to behave himself unseemly in ten thousand ways, being the slave of that passion, and oftentimes he blasphemes. So he accounted "his birthright" to be nothing worth. That is, providing for temporary refreshment, he went even to the [sacrifice of his] "birthright." So henceforth "the birthright" belongs to us, not to the Jews. And at the same time also this is added to their calamity, that the first is become last, and the second, first: the one, for courageous endurance; the other last for indolence.
John Chrysostom · d. 407Homilies on Hebrews

Commentary

Matthew Henry · Verses 12–17

A burden of affliction is apt to make the Christian's hands hang down, and his knees grow feeble, to dispirit him and discourage him; but against this he must strive, that he may better run his spiritual race and course. Faith and patience enable believers to follow peace and holiness, as a man follows his calling constantly, diligently, and with pleasure. Peace with men, of all sects and parties, will be favourable to our pursuit of holiness. But peace and holiness go together; there can be not right peace without holiness. Where persons fail of having the true grace of God, corruption will prevail and break forth; beware lest any unmortified lust in the heart, which seems to be dead, should spring up, to trouble and disturb the whole body. Falling away from Christ is the fruit of preferring the delights of the flesh, to the blessing of God, and the heavenly inheritance, as Esau did. But sinners will not always have such mean thoughts of the Divine blessing and inheritance as they now have. It agrees with the profane man's disposition, to desire the blessing, yet to despise the means whereby the blessing is to be gained. But God will neither sever the means from the blessing, nor join the blessing with the satisfying of man's lusts. God's mercy and blessing were never sought carefully and not obtained.

Read Matthew Henry on Hebrews 12 →

Cross-references

19

People & places

Esau

Topics

RepentanceWorldlinessJacobFirstbornEsauGluttonyBirthright

Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. Library: sources.