"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
— Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
Hebrews 12:1 is the "great cloud of witnesses" verse, a call to keep running the life of faith to the end. This page gives the verse, what the key words mean, where it sits in Hebrews, and a plain reading. For more on the theme, see Bible verses about perseverance, Bible verses about endurance, and Bible verses about faith.
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The verse
The King James reads: "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."
"Cloud" is nephos (G3509), a large crowd pictured as a cloud. "Witnesses" is martys (G3144). "Everything that hinders" (KJV "weight") is onkos (G3591), a bulk or burden. "So easily entangles" (KJV "so easily beset") is euperistatos (G2139). "Run" is trecho (G5143), "perseverance" (KJV "patience") is hypomone (G5281), and "race" is agon (G73), a contest.
Where it sits in Hebrews
"Therefore" points back to Hebrews 11, the list of people who lived by faith: Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, and many more. That chapter opens, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1). Those people are the "cloud of witnesses."
Right after verse 1 comes the center of the passage: "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). Then: "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Hebrews 12:3).
What the verse is saying
The picture is a long-distance race. The runner drops anything that weighs them down, including sin that wraps around their feet, and keeps going at a steady pace.
The witnesses are not mainly spectators in the stands. They are people whose lives testify that faith can finish the race. The verse points past them to Jesus in verse 2, who ran the hardest race and finished it. See also Galatians 6:9 and Isaiah 40:31.
Questions people ask
What does Hebrews 12:1 say?
In the NIV it says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." The KJV says, "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."
Who is the "great cloud of witnesses" in Hebrews 12:1?
They are the men and women of faith listed in Hebrews 11, such as Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, and Rahab. Their lives bear witness that trusting God is worth it to the end.
What does "lay aside every weight" mean?
The Greek onkos means a bulk or burden. It is anything that slows the runner down, even things that are not sins in themselves, along with the sin that "so easily entangles."
What does "run with perseverance" mean?
The word hypomone means patient endurance. The race of faith is a long one, so the call is to keep a steady pace and not quit, rather than to sprint and burn out.
What other verses are like Hebrews 12:1?
Hebrews 12:2 (fixing our eyes on Jesus), Galatians 6:9 (let us not become weary in doing good), Isaiah 40:31 (they will run and not grow weary), and Romans 12:12 (patient in affliction) are close companions.
