This verse brings out a further implication of the last sentence and confirms that Good News Translation was right to translate accepts as a son in verse 6.

The introduction of the comparative clause as all his sons are between the conditional clause and the main clause of this verse may pose problems in translation. It may be better to separate the comparative clause as all his sons are and make it an independent and initial statement; for example, “God punishes all his sons. Therefore, if you are not punished it means you are not his sons but someone else’s sons.” It is also possible to use “children” in place of sons, as mentioned in the comments on Heb. 12.5.

But bastards: the Greek puts this positive statement first, before the negative not real sons, and this may be more natural in some other languages too. Real and it means are implied. The repeated are suggests that the writer is thinking of real cases, perhaps of some of his readers who are now suffering the correction of which he speaks. However, the verse is introduced by a Greek word for If, so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch‘s translation is possible: “God has brought up all his children in this way. If it were different with you, then you would not be his legitimate children.”

It may be necessary to indicate that bastards is to be understood in a figurative sense. Otherwise a reader might assume that all persons who are not sons of God are literally bastards, that is to say, “born out of wedlock.” Therefore but bastards may be expressed as a simile instead of a metaphor; for example, “but, on the contrary, you are like bastards.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .