Hebrews Chapter 1
God has spoken through his Son
1 God, after speaking long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the universe.
3 The Son is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by the word of His power. After He had made purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
The Son, superior to the angels
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son”?
6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.”
8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions.”
10 And, “You, O Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.”
11 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment.
12 You will roll them up like a robe, and they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will have no end.
13 To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?
14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Hebrews Chapter 2
Such a great salvation
1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
2 For if the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment,
3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.
4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
The author of salvation
5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking;
6 but someone testified somewhere, saying, “What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him?
7 You made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.
” For in subjecting everything to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.
9 But we do see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist, to perfect the pioneer of their salvation through suffering.
11 For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of one family. Therefore Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers,
12 saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.”
13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”
14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—
15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.
17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Hebrews Chapter 3
Jesus is superior to Moses
1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.
2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.
3 For Jesus has been deemed worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house is more honorable than its builder.
4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.
5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, bearing witness to what would be spoken later.
6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house—and we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and the hope that we rejoice in to the end.
The rest of God's people
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did.
10 That is why I was angry with that generation and said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the very end,
15 Meanwhile, it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
16 Who were those who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those who came out of Egypt with Moses?
17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who disobeyed?
19 And we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
Hebrews Chapter 4
1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering his rest, let us be careful that none of you should seem to have fallen short of it.
2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard it did not combine it with faith.
3 But we who have believed enter that rest, just as he has said: “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4 For he has spoken in one place about the seventh day in this way: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”
5 And again here, “They shall not enter my rest.”
6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,
7 again he sets a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time, as it was said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later of another day.
9 Therefore, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
10 For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by the same example of disobedience.
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Jesus the great high priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews Chapter 5
1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
2 He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness.
3 Because of this, he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for the sins of the people.
4 No one takes this honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 So Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.”
6 As he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered;
9 and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him;
10 and was designated by God a high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Warning against apostasy
11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.
12 Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.
14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews Chapter 6
1 Therefore, leaving the elementary teachings about Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,
2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
3 And we will do this, if God permits.
4 For it is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age,
6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
7 For the earth that drinks in the rain that often falls on it, and produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God;
8 But the plant that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. Its end is to be burned.
9 Yet, dear friends, we are confident of better things for you—things that have to do with salvation, even though we speak this way.
10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have ministered to the saints and continue to minister to them.
11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.
12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself,
14 saying, “I will surely bless you and make your numbers great.”
15 And after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
16 For men certainly swear by one greater than themselves, and for them the end of all controversy is the oath for confirmation.
17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.
18 God did this so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,
20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews Chapter 7
The Melchizedek Priesthood
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
2 to whom Abraham also gave a tenth of everything. First of all, his name means King of Righteousness; then also, King of Salem, that is, King of Peace.
3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
4 Consider how great this man was, to whom even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils.
5 Now those descendants of Levi who receive the priesthood have a commandment in the law to collect tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham.
6 But this man, whose genealogy is not traced from them, collected tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
7 And without question, the lesser is blessed by the greater.
8 In the one case, mortal men receive tithes, but in the other, one of whom it is testified that he lives.
9 So, one might say, Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham,
10 for he was still in his father’s loins when Melchizedek met him.
11 If perfection could be attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the law), why would there still be need for another priest to arise, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?
12 For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also.
13 And he of whom these things are said belongs to a different tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar.
14 For it is evident that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe about which Moses said nothing concerning priests.
15 And this is even more evident when a different priest arises, one like Melchizedek,
16 not appointed on the basis of a legal requirement concerning descendants, but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.
17 For it is testified of him, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
18 The former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness
19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
20 And this was not done without an oath;
21 for those others were made priests without an oath, but this one was made a priest with the oath of him who said to him, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’”
22 Therefore Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.
23 Now there were many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office;
24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.
25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens.
27 Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. For this he did once for all, offering himself.
28 For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son, who has been made perfect forever.
Hebrews Chapter 8
The mediator of a new pact
1 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
2 a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord set up, not man.
3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore it is necessary that this one also have something to offer.
4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are already priests who offer the gifts according to the law,
5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
6 But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as he is also mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second one.
8 For finding fault with them, he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I disregarded them, declares the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
11 And no one will teach his neighbor, or say to his brother, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.
13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
Hebrews Chapter 9
1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary.
2 For the tabernacle was set up this way: In the first part, called the Holy Place, were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of the Presence.
3 Behind the second veil was the part of the tabernacle called the Most Holy Place,
4 which had a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid with gold on all sides, in which were a golden jar containing the manna, Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. We cannot now speak in detail about these things.
6 When these things were thus arranged, the priests regularly went into the first part of the tabernacle to perform their duties.
7 But into the second part, only the high priest went once a year, and not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins of ignorance committed by the people.
8 The Holy Spirit was showing that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing.
9 This is a symbol for the present time, showing that the gifts and sacrifices offered are unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper.
10 They consist only in food and drink, various washings, and regulations concerning the body, imposed until the time of reformation.
11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation.
12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean, sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean,
14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.
17 A will is in force only when someone has died; it is not valid while the person who made it is still alive.
18Hence, not even the first covenant was instituted without blood.
19 For when Moses had proclaimed all the commandments of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded you.”
21 In addition to this, he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the vessels used in the ministry with the blood.
22 Indeed, according to the law, almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Christ's sacrifice takes away sin
23 Therefore, it was necessary that the copies of the heavenly things be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
25 Nor did he enter to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.
26 Otherwise, he would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now, at the culmination of the ages, he has appeared once for all to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Hebrews Chapter 10
1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never, with the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would no longer have consciousness of their sins.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
4 For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me;
6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.
7 Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, O God.’”
8 First he said, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are offered in accordance with the law).
9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will, my God.” He sets aside the first to establish the second.
10 And by that will we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from then on until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. For after saying,
16 “ This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,
” 17 he adds, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
18 For where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any offering for sin.
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Warning to those who sin deliberately
26 For if we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people. ”
31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a great struggle with sufferings;
33 On the one hand, you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; on the other hand, you became partners with those who were similarly treated.
34 For you sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you yourselves had a better and lasting inheritance in heaven.
35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what he has promised.
37 For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”
38 My righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.
39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and are saved.
Hebrews Chapter 11
Faith
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. Through faith he was commended as righteous, God himself commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and he could not be found, because God had taken him. For before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. And by that faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith Sarah herself, though barren, was enabled to conceive, even beyond the proper time, because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.
12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.
14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a homeland.
15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son,
18 of whom it had been said, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”
19thinking that God is able to raise even from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he also received him back.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
25 choosing rather to be mistreated along with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin,
26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them.
29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets;
33 Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in battle, and routed foreign armies.
35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.
36 Still others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were put to death with the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated—
38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the ground.
39 All these were commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.
40 God having provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect apart from us.
Hebrews Chapter 12
Looking to Jesus
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastises everyone he accepts as his son.”
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
8 But if you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Should we not much more readily submit to the Father of spirits and live?
10 They disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Those who reject the grace of God
12 Therefore, strengthen your droopy arms and weak knees,
13 and make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God; that no bitter root springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright.
17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it with tears.
18 For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and is burning with fire, to darkness, gloom and storm,
19 to a trumpet blast or to a voice speaking words, which those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them,
20 because they could not endure what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned or shot with a dart.”
21 And the sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
23 to the assembly of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven, to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
24 to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven!
26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”
27 And this phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Hebrews Chapter 13
Christian duties
1 Let brotherly love continue.
2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
3 Remember those in prison as if you were imprisoned with them, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering in the body.
4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no benefit to those who partake of them.
10 We have an altar from which those who serve at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11 The bodies of animals whose blood the high priest brings into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering are burned outside the camp.
12 For this reason Jesus also suffered outside the gate to make the people holy through his own blood.
13 Let us then go to him outside the camp, bearing the reproach he bears.
14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who must give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
18 Pray for us, for we are confident that we have a clear conscience and desire to conduct ourselves honorably in every way.
19 I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you more quickly.
Final blessing and greetings
20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, working in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
22 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
23 Know that our brother Timothy has been released, and if he comes soon, I will come with him to see you.
24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy send you greetings.
25 Grace be with you all. Amen.