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For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Hebrews 2:18 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
  • BSB Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
  • NKJV For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
  • NASB For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
  • NLT Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Because Jesus Himself suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted. His own trials make Him a sympathetic and effective helper.

Overview

Having truly suffered temptation, Christ understands the struggles of His people from the inside. This experiential knowledge equips Him to come to their aid. The verse offers great encouragement: the one who saves is also the one who sympathizes and strengthens in the midst of trial.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • 1 Cor 10:13There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
  • Heb 4:15–16For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
  • Heb 7:25–26Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
  • Jude 1:24Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
  • Heb 5:2Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
  • 2 Tim 1:12For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
  • Rev 3:10Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
  • 2 Pet 2:9The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
  • John 10:29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
  • Luke 22:53When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
  • Matt 26:37–39And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
  • Matt 4:1–10Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
  • Heb 5:7–9Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
  • Phil 3:21Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
  • 2 Cor 12:7–10And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Hebrews videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Hebrews 2:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on HebrewsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Hebrews is sustained worship of Christ: better than angels, Moses, and the priests; the great High Priest after Melchizedek who by one sacrifice perfects forever those he saves.

How Hebrews 2:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.