The writer now moves on to speak of human fathers in verses 9-10, coming back to the main theme in verse 11. Verses 9-10 consist of two “how much more” comparisons, as, for example, in 9.14.
Revised Standard Version‘s “Besides this” marks the transition; New English Bible and Barclay use “Again”; Phillips has “After all”; other common language translations and Translator’s New Testament omit it. Human fathers or “earthly fathers” (Revised Standard Version) gives the meaning of King James Version and Moffatt‘s literal “fathers of our flesh.” On “flesh,” see comments on 2.14. There is a clear contrast with God as spiritual Father, so human or its equivalent should not be omitted, as Phillips does.
It may be possible to render In the case of our human fathers as “Think about our human fathers.” But in some languages it may seem strange to talk about “human fathers.” One can talk about “our fathers here on earth,” but it may be more satisfactory to say “Consider what our own fathers did to us; they punished us and we honored them” or “… respected them.”
Respected translates a word which includes also the meaning of submit. Two different words are used, more for the sake of variety than to express different ideas. However, the word for submit is stronger.
Our spiritual Father is also the translation of New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible, and Translator’s New Testament. Barclay has “a spiritual Father”; Bible en français courant and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy use “our heavenly Father”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “our divine Father”; Bijbel in Gewone Taal translates “God who is our Father in a higher sense.” The phrase is literally “the Father of spirits,” as in Revised Standard Version. “Our” is expressed in the previous phrase, literally “fathers of our flesh,” meaning human fathers, and is probably implied in “the Father of spirits” also, as reflected in Good News Translation and also Moffatt, “Father of our spirits.” Translators should make sure that the difference between father and Father is clear even when the passage is read aloud. The simplest way of doing this is by using adjectives such as “human” and “spiritual.” It may be difficult in translation to speak of our spiritual Father, since this might turn out to mean nothing more than “our Father who is a spirit.” In that case “our Father in heaven” or even “God who is our Father in heaven” may be used instead.
How much more…!: it may be convenient to use an emphatic statement rather than an exclamation, since the exclamation suggests a comparison which may require expansion. Accordingly, the first part of the second sentence of this verse may be rendered as “Therefore we should certainly submit to the punishment that our Father in heaven gives us” or “… causes us to experience.”
And live implies “and therefore live”; New English Bible “and so attain life”; Knox and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “and draw life from him”; Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente “have life.” Phillips (similarly Barclay) has “and learn how to live,” which fits in well with the idea of bringing up children. However, the writer may be thinking of Exodus 20.12, which says that you may live a long time in the land; therefore he may be concerned, not only with the initial training of children, but with a whole way of life which God can bless with prosperity. Alternatively, the meaning may be that if the readers do what the writer recommends, they will survive the final test and receive the gift of eternal life. Verses 10 and 11b suggest that the writer is more concerned about a good relationship with God than with rules of behavior.
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 .