independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended
Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)
Love and its household — hospitality, prisoners, marriage, money 13:1–6
vv. 1–3 — love sustained: brothers, strangers, prisoners
1
Ἡ φιλαδελφία μενέτω.independent — asyndeton — the parenesis opens with its programmatic command
2
τῆς φιλοξενίας μὴ ἐπιλανθάνεσθε,independent — φιλαδελφία widens to φιλοξενία
διὰ ταύτης γὰρ ἔλαθόν τινες ξενίσαντες ἀγγέλους.cause — Gen 18–19 — Abraham and Lot; ἔλαθον answers ἐπιλανθάνεσθε
3
μιμνῄσκεσθε τῶν δεσμίωνindependent — active concern, not mere recollection
ὡς συνδεδεμένοι,comparative — the perfect participle — as if jointly fettered
τῶν κακουχουμένωνindependent — elliptical — μιμνῄσκεσθε carried over
ὡς καὶ αὐτοὶ ὄντες ἐν σώματι.comparative — shared bodily vulnerability grounds the empathy
vv. 4–6 — marriage honored, money renounced, the promise held
4
Τίμιος ὁ γάμος ἐν πᾶσινindependent — verbless — read as exhortation, not statement
καὶ ἡ κοίτη ἀμίαντος,independent — the second verbless limb
πόρνους γὰρ καὶ μοιχοὺς κρινεῖ ὁ θεός.cause — the sanction on both limbs — future κρινεῖ, eschatological
5
Ἀφιλάργυρος ὁ τρόπος·independent — verbless again — the fronted predicate carries the stress
ἀρκούμενοι τοῖς παροῦσιν·participial — imperatival participle — contentment as greed's antidote
αὐτὸς γὰρ εἴρηκεν·cause — intensive αὐτός — God himself the speaker; perfect εἴρηκεν, a standing word
Οὐ μή σε ἀνῶcontent — Deut 31:6 / Josh 1:5 — οὐ μή, the strongest denial
οὐδ' οὐ μή σε ἐγκαταλίπω·content — the negatives piled up — never abandoned
6
ὥστε θαρροῦντας ἡμᾶς λέγειν·purpose — ὥστε + infinitive — result: God's promise emboldens our confession
Κύριος ἐμοὶ βοηθός,content — Ps 118:6 (LXX 117:6) — verbless
καὶ οὐ φοβηθήσομαι·content — Ps 118:6 — fear excluded
τί ποιήσει μοι ἄνθρωπος;content — the rhetorical question — mere man can do nothing final
Remember your leaders — Jesus Christ the same 13:7–8
7
Μνημονεύετε τῶν ἡγουμένων ὑμῶν,independent — the former leaders, now passed on
οἵτινες ἐλάλησαν ὑμῖν τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ,relative — qualitative οἵτινες — such as preached the word
ὧν ἀναθεωροῦντες τὴν ἔκβασιν τῆς ἀναστροφῆς μιμεῖσθε τὴν πίστιν.relative — ὧν with ἀναστροφῆς — the imperative μιμεῖσθε rides inside the relative; ἔκβασις, perhaps their faithful deaths
8
Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἐχθὲς καὶ σήμερον ὁ αὐτός, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας.independent — the lapidary acclamation — leaders pass, the object of their faith does not (cf. 1:11–12)
The altar outside the camp 13:9–14
vv. 9–10 — grace, not foods: we have an altar
9
Διδαχαῖς ποικίλαις καὶ ξέναις μὴ παραφέρεσθε·independent — the warning that opens the altar argument
καλὸν γὰρ χάριτι βεβαιοῦσθαι τὴν καρδίαν, οὐ βρώμασιν,cause — the two stabilizers opposed — χάριτι against βρώμασιν
ἐν οἷς οὐκ ὠφελήθησαν οἱ περιπατοῦντες.relative — the verdict on the food-rules — no profit
10
ἔχομεν θυσιαστήριονindependent — the counter-claim — Christ's sacrifice as the believers' altar
ἐξ οὗ φαγεῖν οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἐξουσίαν οἱ τῇ σκηνῇ λατρεύοντες.relative — the old order excluded from the new altar
vv. 11–14 — outside the camp: the pattern, the Christ, the exodus
11
ὧν γὰρ εἰσφέρεται ζῴων τὸ αἷμα περὶ ἁμαρτίας εἰς τὰ ἅγια διὰ τοῦ ἀρχιερέως, τούτων τὰ σώματα κατακαίεται ἔξω τῆς παρεμβολῆς.cause — Lev 16:27 — blood inside, bodies outside; the fronted ὧν-clause kept with its τούτων resumption
12
διὸ καὶ Ἰησοῦς,independent — the subject suspended; διό draws the typological inference
ἵνα ἁγιάσῃ διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου αἵματος τὸν λαόν,purpose — the purpose of ἔπαθεν below — his own blood against the animals'
ἔξω τῆς πύλης ἔπαθεν.independent — the antitype — Golgotha outside Jerusalem's wall
13
τοίνυν ἐξερχώμεθα πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔξω τῆς παρεμβολῆςindependent — τοίνυν — the hortatory conclusion: a new exodus
τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν αὐτοῦ φέροντες·participial — attendant — the cost of the going out (cf. 11:26)
14
οὐ γὰρ ἔχομεν ὧδε μένουσαν πόλιν,cause — why we can leave — nothing here abides
ἀλλὰ τὴν μέλλουσαν ἐπιζητοῦμεν.cause — the ἀλλά counterpart — the coming city sought (11:10, 16; 12:22)
The sacrifice of praise and of good works 13:15–16
15
δι' αὐτοῦ οὖν ἀναφέρωμεν θυσίαν αἰνέσεως διὰ παντὸς τῷ θεῷ,independent — δι' αὐτοῦ — through the crucified priest; the new cultus
τοῦτ' ἔστιν καρπὸν χειλέων ὁμολογούντων τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ.phrase modifier — τοῦτ' ἔστιν — the sacrifice glossed (Hos 14:2 LXX)
16
τῆς δὲ εὐποιΐας καὶ κοινωνίας μὴ ἐπιλανθάνεσθε·independent — praise joined to practical love — v. 2's verb of forgetting returns
τοιαύταις γὰρ θυσίαις εὐαρεστεῖται ὁ θεός.cause — θυσίαις again — good works as offering
Obey your leaders; pray for us 13:17–19
17
Πείθεσθε τοῖς ἡγουμένοις ὑμῶν καὶ ὑπείκετε,independent — the present leaders now, after the past ones of v. 7
αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀγρυπνοῦσιν ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶνcause — ἀγρυπνέω — the shepherd's sleepless vigilance
ὡς λόγον ἀποδώσοντες,comparative — ὡς + future participle — accountable watchmen
ἵνα μετὰ χαρᾶς τοῦτο ποιῶσιν καὶ μὴ στενάζοντες,purpose — ἵνα taken with Πείθεσθε — τοῦτο = their watching
ἀλυσιτελὲς γὰρ ὑμῖν τοῦτο.cause — verbless — their groaning rebounds on you
18
Προσεύχεσθε περὶ ἡμῶν,independent — the author steps forward
πειθόμεθα γὰρcause — πειθόμεθα echoes πείθεσθε — the persuaded ask for prayer
ὅτι καλὴν συνείδησιν ἔχομεν,content — the claim that warrants the request
ἐν πᾶσιν καλῶς θέλοντες ἀναστρέφεσθαι.participial — circumstantial — the settled intent behind the conscience
19
περισσοτέρως δὲ παρακαλῶ τοῦτο ποιῆσαι,independent — the first person singular emerges
ἵνα τάχιον ἀποκατασταθῶ ὑμῖν.purpose — the author hopes to return — the hindrance unnamed
The benediction of the God of peace 13:20–21
20
Ὁ δὲ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης,independent — the subject suspended — its optative waits in v. 21
ὁ ἀναγαγὼν ἐκ νεκρῶν τὸν ποιμένα τῶν προβάτων τὸν μέγαν ἐν αἵματι διαθήκης αἰωνίου,participial — Isa 63:11; Zech 9:11 — Hebrews' one explicit resurrection statement
τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν,phrase modifier — apposition — the Shepherd named last
21
καταρτίσαι ὑμᾶς ἐν παντὶ ἀγαθῷindependent — the optative main verb at last — the prayer-wish
εἰς τὸ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ,purpose — εἰς τό + infinitive — the goal of the equipping
ποιῶν ἐν ἡμῖν τὸ εὐάρεστον ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,participial — nominative ποιῶν back on ὁ θεός; note the shift ὑμᾶς → ἡμῖν
ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν.relative — the doxology — ᾧ taken with the nearer Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, though ὁ θεός is possible
The epistolary close 13:22–25
22
Παρακαλῶ δὲ ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί,independent — the personal appeal for the whole letter
ἀνέχεσθε τοῦ λόγου τῆς παρακλήσεως,content — paratactic imperative as the appeal's content — the letter self-described
καὶ γὰρ διὰ βραχέων ἐπέστειλα ὑμῖν.cause — epistolary aorist — thirteen chapters counted 'brief'
23
Γινώσκετε τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἡμῶν Τιμόθεον ἀπολελυμένον,independent — Γινώσκετε read as imperative; supplementary participle
μεθ' οὗ ἐὰν τάχιον ἔρχηται ὄψομαι ὑμᾶς.relative — the ἐάν-protasis kept inline within the relative
24
Ἀσπάσασθε πάντας τοὺς ἡγουμένους ὑμῶν καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους.independent — the leaders a third time (vv. 7, 17)
ἀσπάζονται ὑμᾶς οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰταλίας.independent — οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰταλίας — Italians abroad or greetings from Italy? left open
25
Ἡ χάρις μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν.independent — the verbless grace-benediction — the Pauline-style close
Analysis. Hebrews 13 reads as a staccato of flush-left purple: the closing parenesis fires one short independent command after another — love, hospitality, prisoners, marriage, money — most with a single olive γάρ-ground hanging beneath (angels entertained unawares, God the judge, God's own promise), so vv. 1–6 form a picket line of imperatives, each driving one stake of motive. The promise of v. 5 opens the chapter's one early chain: εἴρηκεν carries the Deut 31:6/Josh 1:5 assurance in blue, and the ὥστε-result of v. 6 hangs the Ps 118:6 confession beneath it — a ground that itself speaks Scripture. Verse 8's creedal one-liner sits verbless and flush-left between the two leader-commands, read here as the ground of v. 7's 'imitate their faith' rather than as the subject of v. 9's strange teachings. The central argument (vv. 9–14) descends from ἔχομεν θυσιαστήριον: the Day-of-Atonement pattern (v. 11, kept as a single line with its fronted ὧν-clause and τούτων resumption), Jesus suffering outside the gate (his suspended subject-line split around the embedded ἵνα), and the twin hortatives ἐξερχώμεθα and ἀναφέρωμεν with their γάρ-grounds — no abiding city here, and praise plus good works as the sacrifices God now accepts. The layout's other calls, named honestly: the verbless nominal sentences of vv. 4–5 are read as exhortations, not statements; ἀρκούμενοι (v. 5) as an imperatival participle; the ἵνα of v. 17 is attached to Πείθεσθε (obey, so that they may keep their watch with joy), not to ἀγρυπνοῦσιν; the great benediction is drawn as one suspended arc — Ὁ δὲ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης waits through the resurrection-participle and the apposition 'our Lord Jesus' before the optative καταρτίσαι lands flush-left in v. 21 — and its doxological ᾧ is anchored to the nearer Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ while the tag admits ὁ θεός; Γινώσκετε (v. 23) is taken as imperative, and οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰταλίας (v. 24) is left open between Italians at home and Italians abroad.