Hebrews 12:18 (ASV)

Passage

For ye are not come unto [a mount] that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

Nearby Context

Hebrews 12:16 lest [there be] any fornication, or profane person, as Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright.

Hebrews 12:17 For ye know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place for a change of mind [in his father,] though he sought is diligently with tears.

Hebrews 12:18 For ye are not come unto [a mount] that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

Hebrews 12:19 and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which [voice] they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them;

Hebrews 12:20 for they could not endure that which was enjoined, If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "darkness", "come", "mount", "might", "touched", "burned", "fire", and "blackness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "darkness" and "come", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "For ye know that even when he..." into verse 19's "and the sound of a trumpet and...", so "darkness" and "come" belong inside that flow. In Hebrews context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "darkness" and "come" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.