Charles Ellicott Commentary Hebrews 2:1

"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away [from them]." — Hebrews 2:1 (ASV)

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard.—Better, to the things heard; for this expression contains the complement of the thought of Hebrews 1:1.

Both “speak” and “hear” are words which carry weighty emphasis in this Epistle (Hebrews 2:2; Hebrews 12:25; Hebrews 3:5; Hebrews 3:7; Hebrews 4:2, and other passages). Because of the supreme dignity of Him in whom at the last God speaks, people are bound to give the more earnest heed to the words spoken, whether heard by them from the Lord Himself or (as in this case, Hebrews 2:3) from His servants.

Lest at any time we should let them slip.—This translation (first introduced by the Genevan Bible of 1560) substantially gives the sense, but inverts the figure presented in the Greek. The words must be rendered, lest possibly we drift away (Wiclif, “lest perhaps we float away”). It is the person who is in danger of being carried along by the current: unless the mind is held closely to the words that God has spoken, it must drift away from them, and from the salvation which they promise. There seems no foundation for the rendering of the margin, first given in the Genevan Testament of 1557.

On verses 1-4:

These verses must be closely joined with the first chapter. Before advancing to the next step in his argument, the writer pauses to enforce the duty which results from what has been already established. But the exhortation does not interrupt the thought, but rather serves as a connecting link. (See Note on Hebrews 2:5.)