Verse Lens · Context pointer
Hebrews 5:13 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 13. 13For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
This verse uses the milk metaphor for inexperience with the word of righteousness.
Read It With
- Hebrews 5:11–6:3
Read Hebrews 5:13 with 5:11–6:3. This verse uses the milk metaphor for inexperience with the word of righteousness. The complete unit establishes this movement: The hearers have become dull and need foundational teaching again; mature people are those whose faculties are trained by practice to distinguish good and evil. Therefore the community should move toward completeness without repeatedly relaying the foundation, depending on God's permission.
Why It Needs Context
This verse uses the milk metaphor for inexperience with the word of righteousness. That contribution depends on Hebrews 5:11–6:3; isolated teaching would detach the line from the sermon's complete movement.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Hebrews 5:11–6:3 — Move from Dull Hearing toward Practiced DiscernmentSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Hebrews 5:11–6:3, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, discourse features, quotations, and original-language discussion.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file Heb.txt, 5:11–6:3
Open the Hebrews Greek text file ↗