Xībóláishū 13:16

16 Zhǐshì bùkĕ wàngjì xíng shàn , hé juān shū de shì . yīnwei zhèyàng de jì , shì shén suǒ xǐyuè de .

Xībóláishū 13:16 Meaning and Commentary

Hebrews 13:16

But to do good and to communicate forget not
Which is to be understood, not of doing good works in general, but of acts of beneficence, or communicating to "the poor", as the Syriac version renders it: the apostle proceeds to take notice of another sort of sacrifice, which continues under the Gospel dispensation; and that is, alms; which should be attended to: alms should be given, or beneficence be exercised to all men in need, even to our enemies, as well as to our friends and relations; and especially to poor saints, and ministers of the Gospel: and this believers should not "forget"; which shows that it is a duty of importance; and that men are too apt to neglect it, and should be stirred up unto it:

for with such sacrifices God is well pleased;
not that they are meritorious of the favour of God and of eternal life; for what a man gives in a way of charity is but what God has given him, and cannot be profitable to God, though it is to a fellow creature; nor is there any proportion between what is given, and grace and glory which the saints receive; yet doing good in this way, when it is done in faith, springs from love, and is directed to the glory of God, is well pleasing to him; yea, these sacrifices are preferred by him to legal ones, ( Hosea 6:6 ) and the Jews also say, that

``greater is he who does alms than (if he offered) all sacrifices ^F3.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 T. Bab. Succa, fol. 49. 2.

Xībóláishū 13:16 In-Context

14 Wǒmen zaì zhèlǐ bĕn méiyǒu cháng cún de chéng , nǎi shì xúnqiú nà jiānglái de chéng .

15 Wǒmen yīngdāng kào zhe Yēsū , chángcháng yǐ sòngzàn wéi jì xiàn gĕi shén , zhè jiù shì nà chéngrèn zhǔ míng zhī rén zuǐchún de guǒzi .

16 Zhǐshì bùkĕ wàngjì xíng shàn , hé juān shū de shì . yīnwei zhèyàng de jì , shì shén suǒ xǐyuè de .

17 Nǐmen yào yīcóng nàxiē yǐndǎo nǐmen de , qiĕ yào shùnfú . yīn tāmen wèi nǐmen de línghún shíkè jǐngxǐng , hǎoxiàng nà jiānglái jiāo zhàng de rén . nǐmen yào shǐ tāmen jiāo de shíhou yǒu kuaìlè , bú zhì yōuchóu . ruò yōuchóu jiù yǔ nǐmen wúyì le .

18 Qǐng nǐmen wèi wǒmen dǎogào . yīn wǒmen zì jué liángxīn wú kuī , yuànyì fán shì àn zhèng dào ér xíng .