SEV Biblia, Chapter 12:14
Seguid la paz con todos; y la santidad, sin la cual nadie ver al Seor:
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Hebrew 12:14
Verse 14. Follow peace with all men] Cultivate, as far as you possibly can, a good understanding, both with Jews and Gentiles. eirhnhn diwkete, pursue peace with the same care, attention, and diligence, as beasts do their game; follow it through all places; trace it through all winding circumstances; and have it with all men, if you can with a safe conscience. And holiness] ton agiasmon? That state of continual sanctification, that life of purity and detachment from the world and all its lusts, without which detachment and sanctity no man shall see the Lord - shall never enjoy his presence in the world of blessedness. To see God, in the Hebrew phrase, is to enjoy him; and without holiness of heart and life this is impossible. No soul can be fit for heaven that has not suitable dispositions for the place.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 14. Follow peace with all men , etc..] That are in a natural and domestic relation to one another, being of the same family; and that are in a civil and political one, being of the same nation, city, or society; and that are in a spiritual one, being members of the same church; or, if not, yet being saints, and though in some things different in judgment; yea, even peace is to be followed with enemies, as much as in us lies: and perhaps by all men, the Gentiles may be more especially designed, whose peace the Hebrews thought they were not to seek, ( Deuteronomy 23:6) mistaking the sense of the text, by applying it to the Gentiles in general: to follow peace, signifies an eager pursuit after it, in the use of proper means; exerting the utmost of a man's power to attain it, in all things possible: many things serve to enforce this upon the saints; this is most agreeable to all the three divine Persons; to God, who is the God of peace; to Christ, the Prince of peace; and to the Spirit, one of whose fruits is peace; and to the characters of the saints, who are sons of peace, and who are called to peace, and who make a profession of the Gospel of peace; and to the privileges they enjoy, being interested in the covenant of peace, partaking of spiritual peace now, and being entitled to eternal peace hereafter: and this agrees with the sayings and counsels of the ancient Jews. It was a saying of Hillell f282 , who lived about the times of Christ; be thou one of the disciples of Aaron, who loved peace, wl Pdwrw , and followed peace.
This is said of Aaron in the Talmud f283 , that he loved peace, and followed peace, and made peace between a man and his neighbour, as is said, ( Malachi 2:6).
They recommend peace on many accounts, and say, great is peace, and among the rest, because it is one of the names of God f284 : and holiness : this being added to peace, shows that peace is no further to be followed than is consistent with holiness; and holiness here does not design any particular branch of holiness, as chastity of the body and mind, but the whole of holiness, inward and outward; and intends true holiness, in opposition to ceremonial holiness, which the Hebrews were fond of, and pursued after: it means even perfect holiness; for though holiness is not perfect in this life, yet it will be in heaven; and there is a perfection of it in Christ; and it is to be followed after, by going to Christ for more grace, and exercising faith upon him, as our sanctification; and by eager desires that the Spirit of God would sanctify us more and more, and enable us, by his grace and strength, to walk in the way of holiness, till we get safe to heaven: without which no man shall see the Lord ; or God, as the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read; that is, with the beatific vision in heaven: or the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord, as the Syriac version reads; even in this life, so as to have communion with him; and hereafter, so as to behold his glory, both intellectually and corporeally: to such a sight holiness is necessary; for God is holy, and Christ is holy, and so is heaven, and so are the angels, and the souls of men in it.
Matthew Henry Commentary
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 rac and course. Faith and patience enable believers to follow peace an holiness, as a man follows his calling constantly, diligently, and with pleasure. Peace with men, of all sects and parties, will be favourabl to our pursuit of holiness. But peace and holiness go together; ther can be not right peace without holiness. Where persons fail of havin the true grace of God, corruption will prevail and break forth; bewar lest any unmortified lust in the heart, which seems to be dead, shoul 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 sinner will not always have such mean thoughts of the Divine blessing an inheritance as they now have. It agrees with the profane man' disposition, to desire the blessing, yet to despise the means whereb 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.
Greek Textus Receptus
ειρηνην 1515 διωκετε 1377 5720 μετα 3326 παντων 3956 και 2532 τον 3588 αγιασμον 38 ου 3739 χωρις 5565 ουδεις 3762 οψεται 3700 5695 τον 3588 κυριον 2962
Vincent's NT Word Studies
14. Follow peace ( eirhnhn diwkete). Comp. LXX, Psalm xxiii. 14, and Rom. xiv. 19; 1 Pet. iii. 11. The verb is used of the pursuit of moral and spiritual ends, Rom. ix. 30, 31; xii. 13; 1 Cor. xiv. 1; Philippians iii. 12, 14; 1 Thess. v. 15; 1 Tim. vi. 11; 2 Tim. ii. 22. Holiness (agiasmon). See on Rom. vi. 19.
