Verse Search — KJV with Cross-References

King James Version·Hebrews 12:16

¹⁶Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

Open Hebrews →Chapter insight

Wesleyan–Holiness Lens

Hebrews

The defining Holiness text — without it none will see the Lord.

Cross-References

Psalms 2:7quotation'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.'
Who
David (traditional), inspired by the Spirit
To
Israel's coronation liturgy for the Davidic king
Where
Mount Zion — the enthronement of a new king
When
Royal coronation psalm celebrating God's decree over his anointed
Why:To prove Christ's superiority over angels: no angel was ever called 'Son' in this royal-divine sense.
Context:Hebrews opens by stacking seven OT quotations. Psalm 2 was first sung at the crowning of David's heir, but Hebrews reads it Christologically — the true Son enthroned at God's right hand is Jesus.
Read Psalms 2:7 →
2 Samuel 7:14quotation'I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.'
Who
The prophet Nathan, delivering God's word
To
King David, in his palace in Jerusalem
Where
Jerusalem, c. 1000 BC, after David proposes building a temple
When
The Davidic Covenant — God promises David an everlasting dynasty
Why:Hebrews joins this dynastic promise to Psalm 2 to show Jesus is the covenanted Son who fulfills both.
Context:Originally about Solomon, the promise outlives Solomon's failure. The NT reads it as ultimately fulfilled in Christ, David's greater Son.
Read 2 Samuel 7:14 →
Psalms 95:11quotation'They shall never enter my rest.'
Who
An anonymous psalmist calling Israel to worship
To
Post-exilic Israel gathered for temple liturgy
Where
The temple courts in Jerusalem
When
A liturgical warning recalling the wilderness rebellion at Meribah
Why:Hebrews uses it to warn the Jewish-Christian community: a greater 'rest' than Canaan remains, and unbelief still forfeits it.
Context:The author makes a brilliant move — if Joshua had truly given them rest, God would not still be speaking of 'today.' Sabbath rest is eschatological, fulfilled in Christ.
Read Psalms 95:11 →
Psalms 110:4quotation'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'
Who
David, by the Spirit
To
Israel and the Davidic king
Where
Royal court in Jerusalem
When
A coronation oracle joining kingship and priesthood in one figure
Why:Hebrews builds its entire central argument on this verse: Jesus' priesthood predates and outranks Aaron's.
Context:Psalm 110 is the most quoted OT text in the NT. Hebrews 7 unpacks Melchizedek — a priest-king without genealogy in Genesis 14 — as a 'type' of Christ's eternal priesthood.
Read Psalms 110:4 →
Jeremiah 31:31quotation'The days are coming... when I will make a new covenant.'
Who
The prophet Jeremiah
To
Judah on the eve of the Babylonian exile
Where
Jerusalem, c. 587 BC, the old covenant collapsing
When
God's promise of inward, Spirit-written renewal after exile
Why:Hebrews argues the Mosaic covenant was always provisional; Jeremiah himself anticipated its replacement in Christ.
Context:This is the longest OT quotation in the NT. The Wesleyan tradition reads it as the charter of entire sanctification — God writing his law on the heart.
Read Jeremiah 31:31 →
Psalms 40:6quotation'A body you have prepared for me.'
Who
David
To
Israel at worship
Where
Temple liturgy
When
A psalm of thanksgiving renouncing mere ritual sacrifice
Why:Hebrews puts these words on Christ's lips at the Incarnation: he is the obedient body that replaces animal blood.
Context:The author follows the Septuagint reading ('a body' rather than 'ears opened') because it carries the deeper truth — God prepared Jesus' very body as the once-for-all offering.
Read Psalms 40:6 →
Genesis 12allusionAbraham's faith in leaving Ur for an unseen land.
Who
Moses (traditional author of Genesis)
To
Israel in the wilderness, learning their patriarchal roots
Where
Haran, c. 2000 BC
When
God's call to Abram — the founding covenant of the people
Why:Hebrews 11 uses Abraham as exhibit A in a gallery of faith, arguing that justification by faith has always been God's way.
Context:Abraham 'went out, not knowing whither.' The whole chapter (Heb 11) is a homiletic roll call of OT believers, written to embolden a community tempted to drift back to Judaism.
Read Genesis 12 →
Leviticus 11:44theme'Be holy, because I am holy.' — the call to sanctification.
Who
Yahweh, through Moses
To
Israel at Sinai
Where
Sinai wilderness, foot of the mountain
When
Cultic holiness code distinguishing Israel from the nations
Why:Hebrews universalizes the Levitical call: without practical holiness no one will see the Lord.
Context:This is the central Wesleyan-Holiness proof text. The Levitical 'be holy' is no longer a ritual boundary but a Spirit-wrought transformation.
Read Leviticus 11:44 →