The Book Of HebrewsOf The Vivid English Translation Of The New Testament
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Note: This web version of the Book Of Hebrews does not contain the many footnotes. The footnotes are included in the PDF version for downloading.
An Overview Of The Book Of Hebrews
Writer Of The Letter To The Hebrews:
The author is unknown. Origen of Alexandria, who lived from about A.D. 182-250, wrote, “Who wrote the epistle only God truly knows.”
The author did not name himself in the letter. The early Church held no clear, consistent tradition regarding the authorship of the letter either. The early Church in the East thought Paul wrote it. The Synod of Hyppo in A.D. 393 and the Synods of Carthage in A.D. 399 and 419 placed the letter in the canon and attributed its authorship to Paul. The Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Trent decreed the letter was written by Paul. The early Church in the West did not attribute the letter to Paul’s authorship, however. Tertullian of Carthage, who lived from around A.D. 160-230, thought Barnabas was its author. In Rome the letter was considered anonymous.
The reference to Timothy in Hebrews 13:23 led some to think that Paul wrote the Letter to the Hebrews. Paul could not have written it, however. The author stated in Hebrews 2:3 that he and his readers had received the word of salvation second hand from those who had heard it from the Lord Jesus himself. Paul, on the other hand, declared that he had seen the Lord and had received the word he preached directly from the Lord himself and not from other men (see 1 Corinthians 9:1; 11:23; 15:8; Galatians 1:11, 12).
Who, then, wrote the Letter to the Hebrews? The internal evidence within the letter holds out some clues. The author’s theology and familiarity with Timothy suggest the author was associated with Paul’s close friends and fellow workers. The characteristics of the letter indicate its author was a Jewish Christian who was knowledgeable in the Greek Old Testament translation. He was well versed in the Old Testament religion of the Jews and their forms of worship. He was also capable of writing the most polished literary style of Greek of any book in the New Testament.
Given these clues, some have thought Barnabas wrote the Letter to the Hebrews. Barnabas was a Jewish Levite from Cyprus (see Acts 4:36). Being a Levite, he would have been knowledgeable of the priesthood and of the forms of worship in the temple. These facts would give the suggestion that he wrote the letter some credibility.
Martin Luther suggested a more plausible writer in a sermon on the party divisions in the Corinthian congregation that Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. Luther suggested Apollos. Apollos is a likely candidate. He was associated with Paul. Luke wrote that Apollos was in Ephesus and Corinth (see Acts 18:24-19:1). Paul urged Titus to render assistance to Apollos when Apollos passed through Crete (see Titus 3:13). In Acts 18:24f Luke wrote that Apollos was a Jew. He was born in Alexandria, which was an ancient center of scholarship and learning. He was an eloquent, learned man, who was mighty in his knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures. He was a Christian convert who had been instructed in the gospel of the Lord Jesus by others. He possessed a fervent spirit. He powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating from the Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus was the promised Messiah and Christ. All these characteristics are mirrored in the Letter to the Hebrews.
Recipients Of The Letter To The Hebrews:
The title “To the Hebrews” designates Jews in distinction from Gentiles. This title was not originally a part of the letter. It may have been added in the second century, when the letters of the New Testament were assembled into a collection. It has been suggested that the title “To The Hebrews” was written on the outside of the script rolls to identify the document as the letter we know as the Letter to the Hebrews.
Since there is no greeting at the outset of the letter that identifies the original recipients, who they were can only be inferred from the internal evidence within the letter itself. The entire letter indicates the original recipients were a group of Jewish Christians who had endured persecution and who were therefore considering giving up their Christian faith to return to Judaism. They had suffered a severe persecution in which they had been made a public spectacle (see Hebrews 10:32-36). Their persecutors had publicly insulted and troubled them for sympathizing with other Christians who were being mistreated and imprisoned. The Jewish Christians themselves had not been imprisoned, but they did have their homes and property seized and confiscated. None of their number had been martyred for their faith in resisting sin, though they faced this possibility in the future (see Hebrews 12:4). To escape such persecution, they were considering abandoning the Christian faith and returning to Judaism. For this reason the author urged them not to throw away the confidence of their faith but to endure and stand fast. Then they would not be destroyed by God on the coming day of judgment but receive the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation (see Hebrews 10:35-39). The letter clarifies that the recipients were known to the author, who had spent some time with them (see Hebrews 13:18, 19), and who was intending to return to them soon with Timothy (see Hebrews 13:23). The letter also indicates that this group of Jewish Christians had had some of their pastors and spiritual leaders die in the past (see Hebrews 13:7). The author reminded them to respect their former leaders for the Word of God that those leaders had taught them (see Hebrews 13:7). At the time the author wrote the letter, its recipients had other spiritual leaders to lead them. The author urged them to obey those leaders (see Hebrews 13:17), and he sent his greeting to those leaders (see Hebrews 13:24).
It cannot be stated with certainty where this group of persecuted Jewish Christians lived. The greeting in Hebrews 13:24, “Those from Italy greet you,” suggests that they lived in Italy, quite possibly within Rome itself. Apparently some members from the Jewish Christian congregation there in Italy and Rome were present with the author when he wrote the letter. Those members present with him sent their greeting back to their home congregation. The Jewish Christians who received the letter did have their own assembly and place of worship where they gathered (see Hebrews 10:25). It is possible, therefore, that the recipients were one of the house churches in Rome, whom Paul greeted in Romans 16:5, 14, 15.
Some have thought the Letter to the Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, for the letter speaks of the temple and its rituals with which Jewish Christians in Jerusalem would have been most familiar. The author of the letter, however, did not write about the temple (Greek naos) but about the tabernacle (Greek skene), the sacred tent that accompanied Moses and the Israelites through the wilderness. It seems the author wrote about the tabernacle and not the temple, for in describing the interior furnishings of the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place in which the ark of the covenant had been kept, he stated, “concerning which things it is not possible now to report in detail,” (Hebrews 9:5). He, nor anyone else, could discuss those details of the interior furnishings because they no longer existed. They could not be known from the existent temple in Jerusalem, with which the Jewish priests and people were most familiar. But Jewish Christians, even those who had never seen the temple in Jerusalem, would have been knowledgeable of the tabernacle with its priesthood and sacrifices from their Old Testament Scriptures. The recipients of the letter, therefore, need not have been in Jerusalem near the temple to understand by personal experience the significance of what the author wrote in his letter or to picture the priestly rituals and sacrifices described in the letter.
Another argument made in favor of Jerusalem as the place where the recipients of the letter lived is the persecution of Jewish Christians that took place there. It has been argued that the Jews’ persecution of other Jews who had embraced Christ and Christianity was most severe there in Jerusalem. There the temptation for Jewish Christians to revert to Judaism was the strongest.
It is true that the ruling council of the Jews, the Sanhedrin, did initiate a terrible persecution of Jewish Christians. It began with the stoning of Stephen and turned against the whole church in Jerusalem (see Acts 7:54-8:3), scattering the Jewish Christians throughout Judea and Samaria. Saul, before his conversion and ministry as the apostle Paul, was the chief agent in carrying out the persecution of those Jewish Christians (see Acts 8:3; 9:1, 2). But one only need be familiar with the persecutions that Paul himself and his co-workers suffered to know that the unbelieving Jews throughout the areas of Galatia and Macedonia were just as fanatical when it came to persecuting both Jews and Gentiles who had embraced Christianity and spread the gospel of Christ (see Acts 13:44-50; 14:1-6; 14:19; 17:1-14). While in Corinth Paul was extremely concerned about the faith of the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Thessalonica, who were being persecuted by the Jews there. Paul was fearful that because of their being persecuted the Christians in Thessalonica would be tempted to give up their faith (see 1 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5). Thus the persecution of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem is not an argument that requires the Letter to the Hebrews must have been written to Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. Jewish Christians were being persecuted in other places of the Roman empire as well.
Date Of The Letter To The Hebrews:
The letter was quoted by Clement of Rome in his Letter to the Corinthians, which he wrote in A.D. 96. Thus the Letter to the Hebrews must have been written prior to A.D. 96.
The recipients of the letter were brought to faith by the teaching of the disciples who had personally been with and had heard the Word of God taught by the Lord Jesus himself (see Hebrews 2:3). The years of Jesus’ public ministry were about A.D. 27-30. The letter was obviously written some years later.
From the time the recipients were brought to faith by the disciples to the time the letter was written a substantial amount of time must have passed. For they had had the time to grow spiritually in their knowledge of the Word of God but had not. Thus the writer admonished those Jewish Christians for their failing to have progressed to the point where they could teach others instead of their still needing to be taught the basic teachings of God’s Word themselves (see Hebrews 5:12, 13). A sufficient amount of time had also passed since they were gathered as a Christian congregation, for some of their initial pastors and leaders had died (see Hebrews 13:7). This passage of time suggests the letter may have been written to the Jewish Christians in Rome after A.D. 50.
The recipients had already endured a severe persecution. One of the reasons they had been persecuted was for sympathizing with other Christians who had been imprisoned (see Hebrews 10:32-36), some of whom may have been put to death (see Hebrews 12:4). The Jewish Christians in Rome who received the letter were subject to further persecution and possibly their own martyrdom as well (see Hebrews 10:36; 12:4). Such open persecution, imprisonment, and killing of Christians in Rome were started by the Roman Emperor Nero in A.D. 64. He blamed the Christians for the burning of Rome. This information suggests a date for the letter of some time after A.D. 64.
In the letter the author wrote at some length about the Jewish priesthood, bloody sacrifices, and the tabernacle. The Jewish temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. With its destruction the Jewish priesthood and bloody sacrifices were brought to an end permanently. Yet the author made no mention of this historic end to these Jewish forms of worship, which had been practiced throughout the Old Testament era up to that time. His failure to speak of this suggests the author wrote the Letter to the Hebrews prior to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and before A.D. 70.
Taking into account all of the preceding information, it seems very probable that the Letter to the Hebrews was written after A.D. 64 and before A.D. 70. This would make the date of the letter sometime between A.D. 65 and 69.
Occasion For The Writing Of The Letter To The Hebrews:
The Jewish Christians to whom the letter was sent had endured a severe persecution and were subject to additional persecutions (see Hebrews 10:32-36). Having been subjected to public ridicule and insults, having had their homes and personal property seized and confiscated, having to bear the same reproach and disgrace from their fellow Jews that Christ himself had heaped upon him (see Hebrews 13:12, 13), and having to face the possibility of their martyrdom (see Hebrews 12:4)--they were growing weak and dispirited (see Hebrews 12:12) and their faith was wavering (see Hebrews 10:23).
Thus they were tempted to abandon their Christian faith and throw it overboard (see Hebrews 10:35; 3:12) in favor of reverting to Judaism (see Hebrews 13:9-14), in which they would be spared from further persecutions. Some of their number had already fallen away, repudiated Christ Jesus the Son of God, and had become apostate (see Hebrews 6:4-8). The possibility that they all may give up their faith prompted the author to write the letter to encourage them to remain faithful and to assure them their Christianity was superior to Judaism.
There were additional spiritual problems among the Jewish Christian recipients that also needed to be addressed. As far as the Word of God and the gospel of Christ were concerned, they had become dull of hearing and slow to learn. They had failed to progress to the point where they could teach others (see Hebrews 5:11-6:3). They were also forsaking their public worship services in which they could hear the Word of God and encourage one another in the faith (see Hebrews 10:25).
Purpose Of The Letter To The Hebrews:
To exhort and encourage the Jewish Christians to remain faithful to Christ Jesus and not to turn back to their former Judaism.
Theme Of The Letter To The Hebrews:
A Word of Exhortation (see Hebrews 13:22) to Hold Fast to the Christian Hope without Wavering (see Hebrews 3:12-14; 10:23; 10:35-39).
The author is unknown. Origen of Alexandria, who lived from about A.D. 182-250, wrote, “Who wrote the epistle only God truly knows.”
The author did not name himself in the letter. The early Church held no clear, consistent tradition regarding the authorship of the letter either. The early Church in the East thought Paul wrote it. The Synod of Hyppo in A.D. 393 and the Synods of Carthage in A.D. 399 and 419 placed the letter in the canon and attributed its authorship to Paul. The Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Trent decreed the letter was written by Paul. The early Church in the West did not attribute the letter to Paul’s authorship, however. Tertullian of Carthage, who lived from around A.D. 160-230, thought Barnabas was its author. In Rome the letter was considered anonymous.
The reference to Timothy in Hebrews 13:23 led some to think that Paul wrote the Letter to the Hebrews. Paul could not have written it, however. The author stated in Hebrews 2:3 that he and his readers had received the word of salvation second hand from those who had heard it from the Lord Jesus himself. Paul, on the other hand, declared that he had seen the Lord and had received the word he preached directly from the Lord himself and not from other men (see 1 Corinthians 9:1; 11:23; 15:8; Galatians 1:11, 12).
Who, then, wrote the Letter to the Hebrews? The internal evidence within the letter holds out some clues. The author’s theology and familiarity with Timothy suggest the author was associated with Paul’s close friends and fellow workers. The characteristics of the letter indicate its author was a Jewish Christian who was knowledgeable in the Greek Old Testament translation. He was well versed in the Old Testament religion of the Jews and their forms of worship. He was also capable of writing the most polished literary style of Greek of any book in the New Testament.
Given these clues, some have thought Barnabas wrote the Letter to the Hebrews. Barnabas was a Jewish Levite from Cyprus (see Acts 4:36). Being a Levite, he would have been knowledgeable of the priesthood and of the forms of worship in the temple. These facts would give the suggestion that he wrote the letter some credibility.
Martin Luther suggested a more plausible writer in a sermon on the party divisions in the Corinthian congregation that Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. Luther suggested Apollos. Apollos is a likely candidate. He was associated with Paul. Luke wrote that Apollos was in Ephesus and Corinth (see Acts 18:24-19:1). Paul urged Titus to render assistance to Apollos when Apollos passed through Crete (see Titus 3:13). In Acts 18:24f Luke wrote that Apollos was a Jew. He was born in Alexandria, which was an ancient center of scholarship and learning. He was an eloquent, learned man, who was mighty in his knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures. He was a Christian convert who had been instructed in the gospel of the Lord Jesus by others. He possessed a fervent spirit. He powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating from the Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus was the promised Messiah and Christ. All these characteristics are mirrored in the Letter to the Hebrews.
Recipients Of The Letter To The Hebrews:
The title “To the Hebrews” designates Jews in distinction from Gentiles. This title was not originally a part of the letter. It may have been added in the second century, when the letters of the New Testament were assembled into a collection. It has been suggested that the title “To The Hebrews” was written on the outside of the script rolls to identify the document as the letter we know as the Letter to the Hebrews.
Since there is no greeting at the outset of the letter that identifies the original recipients, who they were can only be inferred from the internal evidence within the letter itself. The entire letter indicates the original recipients were a group of Jewish Christians who had endured persecution and who were therefore considering giving up their Christian faith to return to Judaism. They had suffered a severe persecution in which they had been made a public spectacle (see Hebrews 10:32-36). Their persecutors had publicly insulted and troubled them for sympathizing with other Christians who were being mistreated and imprisoned. The Jewish Christians themselves had not been imprisoned, but they did have their homes and property seized and confiscated. None of their number had been martyred for their faith in resisting sin, though they faced this possibility in the future (see Hebrews 12:4). To escape such persecution, they were considering abandoning the Christian faith and returning to Judaism. For this reason the author urged them not to throw away the confidence of their faith but to endure and stand fast. Then they would not be destroyed by God on the coming day of judgment but receive the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation (see Hebrews 10:35-39). The letter clarifies that the recipients were known to the author, who had spent some time with them (see Hebrews 13:18, 19), and who was intending to return to them soon with Timothy (see Hebrews 13:23). The letter also indicates that this group of Jewish Christians had had some of their pastors and spiritual leaders die in the past (see Hebrews 13:7). The author reminded them to respect their former leaders for the Word of God that those leaders had taught them (see Hebrews 13:7). At the time the author wrote the letter, its recipients had other spiritual leaders to lead them. The author urged them to obey those leaders (see Hebrews 13:17), and he sent his greeting to those leaders (see Hebrews 13:24).
It cannot be stated with certainty where this group of persecuted Jewish Christians lived. The greeting in Hebrews 13:24, “Those from Italy greet you,” suggests that they lived in Italy, quite possibly within Rome itself. Apparently some members from the Jewish Christian congregation there in Italy and Rome were present with the author when he wrote the letter. Those members present with him sent their greeting back to their home congregation. The Jewish Christians who received the letter did have their own assembly and place of worship where they gathered (see Hebrews 10:25). It is possible, therefore, that the recipients were one of the house churches in Rome, whom Paul greeted in Romans 16:5, 14, 15.
Some have thought the Letter to the Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, for the letter speaks of the temple and its rituals with which Jewish Christians in Jerusalem would have been most familiar. The author of the letter, however, did not write about the temple (Greek naos) but about the tabernacle (Greek skene), the sacred tent that accompanied Moses and the Israelites through the wilderness. It seems the author wrote about the tabernacle and not the temple, for in describing the interior furnishings of the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place in which the ark of the covenant had been kept, he stated, “concerning which things it is not possible now to report in detail,” (Hebrews 9:5). He, nor anyone else, could discuss those details of the interior furnishings because they no longer existed. They could not be known from the existent temple in Jerusalem, with which the Jewish priests and people were most familiar. But Jewish Christians, even those who had never seen the temple in Jerusalem, would have been knowledgeable of the tabernacle with its priesthood and sacrifices from their Old Testament Scriptures. The recipients of the letter, therefore, need not have been in Jerusalem near the temple to understand by personal experience the significance of what the author wrote in his letter or to picture the priestly rituals and sacrifices described in the letter.
Another argument made in favor of Jerusalem as the place where the recipients of the letter lived is the persecution of Jewish Christians that took place there. It has been argued that the Jews’ persecution of other Jews who had embraced Christ and Christianity was most severe there in Jerusalem. There the temptation for Jewish Christians to revert to Judaism was the strongest.
It is true that the ruling council of the Jews, the Sanhedrin, did initiate a terrible persecution of Jewish Christians. It began with the stoning of Stephen and turned against the whole church in Jerusalem (see Acts 7:54-8:3), scattering the Jewish Christians throughout Judea and Samaria. Saul, before his conversion and ministry as the apostle Paul, was the chief agent in carrying out the persecution of those Jewish Christians (see Acts 8:3; 9:1, 2). But one only need be familiar with the persecutions that Paul himself and his co-workers suffered to know that the unbelieving Jews throughout the areas of Galatia and Macedonia were just as fanatical when it came to persecuting both Jews and Gentiles who had embraced Christianity and spread the gospel of Christ (see Acts 13:44-50; 14:1-6; 14:19; 17:1-14). While in Corinth Paul was extremely concerned about the faith of the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Thessalonica, who were being persecuted by the Jews there. Paul was fearful that because of their being persecuted the Christians in Thessalonica would be tempted to give up their faith (see 1 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5). Thus the persecution of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem is not an argument that requires the Letter to the Hebrews must have been written to Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. Jewish Christians were being persecuted in other places of the Roman empire as well.
Date Of The Letter To The Hebrews:
The letter was quoted by Clement of Rome in his Letter to the Corinthians, which he wrote in A.D. 96. Thus the Letter to the Hebrews must have been written prior to A.D. 96.
The recipients of the letter were brought to faith by the teaching of the disciples who had personally been with and had heard the Word of God taught by the Lord Jesus himself (see Hebrews 2:3). The years of Jesus’ public ministry were about A.D. 27-30. The letter was obviously written some years later.
From the time the recipients were brought to faith by the disciples to the time the letter was written a substantial amount of time must have passed. For they had had the time to grow spiritually in their knowledge of the Word of God but had not. Thus the writer admonished those Jewish Christians for their failing to have progressed to the point where they could teach others instead of their still needing to be taught the basic teachings of God’s Word themselves (see Hebrews 5:12, 13). A sufficient amount of time had also passed since they were gathered as a Christian congregation, for some of their initial pastors and leaders had died (see Hebrews 13:7). This passage of time suggests the letter may have been written to the Jewish Christians in Rome after A.D. 50.
The recipients had already endured a severe persecution. One of the reasons they had been persecuted was for sympathizing with other Christians who had been imprisoned (see Hebrews 10:32-36), some of whom may have been put to death (see Hebrews 12:4). The Jewish Christians in Rome who received the letter were subject to further persecution and possibly their own martyrdom as well (see Hebrews 10:36; 12:4). Such open persecution, imprisonment, and killing of Christians in Rome were started by the Roman Emperor Nero in A.D. 64. He blamed the Christians for the burning of Rome. This information suggests a date for the letter of some time after A.D. 64.
In the letter the author wrote at some length about the Jewish priesthood, bloody sacrifices, and the tabernacle. The Jewish temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. With its destruction the Jewish priesthood and bloody sacrifices were brought to an end permanently. Yet the author made no mention of this historic end to these Jewish forms of worship, which had been practiced throughout the Old Testament era up to that time. His failure to speak of this suggests the author wrote the Letter to the Hebrews prior to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and before A.D. 70.
Taking into account all of the preceding information, it seems very probable that the Letter to the Hebrews was written after A.D. 64 and before A.D. 70. This would make the date of the letter sometime between A.D. 65 and 69.
Occasion For The Writing Of The Letter To The Hebrews:
The Jewish Christians to whom the letter was sent had endured a severe persecution and were subject to additional persecutions (see Hebrews 10:32-36). Having been subjected to public ridicule and insults, having had their homes and personal property seized and confiscated, having to bear the same reproach and disgrace from their fellow Jews that Christ himself had heaped upon him (see Hebrews 13:12, 13), and having to face the possibility of their martyrdom (see Hebrews 12:4)--they were growing weak and dispirited (see Hebrews 12:12) and their faith was wavering (see Hebrews 10:23).
Thus they were tempted to abandon their Christian faith and throw it overboard (see Hebrews 10:35; 3:12) in favor of reverting to Judaism (see Hebrews 13:9-14), in which they would be spared from further persecutions. Some of their number had already fallen away, repudiated Christ Jesus the Son of God, and had become apostate (see Hebrews 6:4-8). The possibility that they all may give up their faith prompted the author to write the letter to encourage them to remain faithful and to assure them their Christianity was superior to Judaism.
There were additional spiritual problems among the Jewish Christian recipients that also needed to be addressed. As far as the Word of God and the gospel of Christ were concerned, they had become dull of hearing and slow to learn. They had failed to progress to the point where they could teach others (see Hebrews 5:11-6:3). They were also forsaking their public worship services in which they could hear the Word of God and encourage one another in the faith (see Hebrews 10:25).
Purpose Of The Letter To The Hebrews:
To exhort and encourage the Jewish Christians to remain faithful to Christ Jesus and not to turn back to their former Judaism.
Theme Of The Letter To The Hebrews:
A Word of Exhortation (see Hebrews 13:22) to Hold Fast to the Christian Hope without Wavering (see Hebrews 3:12-14; 10:23; 10:35-39).
Headings throughout The Following Book of Hebrews:
The headings are not merely section headings. The headings and subheadings make up an outline of the book. They are included in the body of the text so the reader can see them as he reads the book without having to page over to a separate outline.
The headings are not merely section headings. The headings and subheadings make up an outline of the book. They are included in the body of the text so the reader can see them as he reads the book without having to page over to a separate outline.
The Book Of Hebrews
Part 1: God Has Spoken to Us by His Superior Spokesman – Christ His Son Hebrews 1:1-4:13
A. Christ Is Superior to the Prophets Hebrews 1:1-3
1¶ God, having spoken long ago to the fathers by the prophets at many times and in various ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also made the world;
3 who continues to be the radiant splendor of his glory and the exact representation of his actual being, and who continues to uphold all things by his powerful word, who having made a purification of sins sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 who became so much higher in rank than the angels as much as he has inherited a name more excellent than theirs.
B. Christ Is Superior to the Angels Hebrews 1:5-14
1. Superior in Name Hebrews 1:5-9
¶ 5 For to which of the angels did he ever say,
“YOU ARE MY SON,
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU?”
And again,
“I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM,
AND HE WILL BE A SON TO ME.”
6 Moreover when he again brings his firstborn into the inhabited world, he says,
“AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.”
7 And on the one hand he says with regard to the angels,
“HE WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS,
AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAMEOF FIRE;”
8 but on the other hand he says with regard to his Son,
“YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,
AND THE SCEPTER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS THE SCEPTER OF YOUR ROYALRULE.
9 YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS;
FOR THIS REASON GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU,
WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.”
2. Superior in Attributes and Works Hebrews 1:10-14
10 And,
“YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,
AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;
11 THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU WILL REMAIN;
AND THEY ALL WILL WEAR OUT LIKE A GARMENT,
12 AND YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP LIKE A CLOAK,
LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE EXCHANGED;
BUT YOU ARE THE SAME
AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.”
13 Moreover to which of the angels has he ever said,
“CONTINUE SITTING AT MY RIGHT HAND
UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET?”
14 Are they not all ministering spirits repeatedly sent out to serve those who will inherit salvation?
3. So Heed the Word of Christ Hebrews 2:1-4
2
1 For this reason we must pay special attention to the things we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
2 For if the word spoken by angels became authoritative, and every violation and disobedience received just punishment,
3 how shall we ourselves escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation, which at first was spoken by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard,
4 while God was bearing witness together with them both by miraculous signs and wonders and various kinds of powerful deeds and distributions of the Holy Spirit according to his will.
C. Christ, Who Was Made Inferior to the Angels, Was Crowned with Glory Hebrews 2:5-18
¶ 5 For he did not subject to angels the world to come, about which we are speaking.
6 But someone has solemnly testified somewhere, saying,
“WHAT IS MAN THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM,
OR THE SON OF MAN THAT YOU LOOK UPON HIM TO CARE FOR HIM?
7 YOU MADE HIM INFERIOR TO THE ANGELS FOR A LITTLE WHILE,
YOU CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR,
8 YOU PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.”
For in subjecting all things to him he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him;
9 but we see Jesus, who had been made inferior to the angels for a little while, crowned with glory and honor because of suffering death, in order that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
¶ 10 For it was fitting for the Father, for the sake of whom are all things and by means of whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory to bring the author of their salvation to his goal by means of suffering.
11 For both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brothers,
12 saying,
“I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BROTHERS,
IN THE MIDST OF THE CHURCH I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE;”
13 and again,
“I WILL PUT MY TRUST UPON HIM;”
and again,
“BEHOLD, HERE I AM AND THE CHILDREN WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN TO ME.”
14 Since, then, the children have shared in and continue to share in flesh and blood, he himself also in just the same way partook of the same human characteristics, in order that by means of death he might deprive of his power the one who holds the power of death, that is the devil,
15 and release all those who were subject to slavery by the fear of death throughout all their lives.
16 For surely he does not help angels; on the contrary, he helps the descendants of Abraham.
17 For which reason he had to become like his brothers in every respect, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the things pertaining to God, so that he may make the appeasing sacrifice for the sins of the people;
18 for because he himself was tempted in what he has suffered, he is able to come to the aid of those who are being tempted.
D. Christ Is Superior to Moses Hebrews 3:1-6
3
1 For which reason, holy brothers, sharers in a heavenly calling, fix your mind on Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,
2 as being faithful to him who made him also like Moses who was faithful in his whole house.
3 For this Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the one who built the house has so much greater honor than the house itself.
4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the one who built all things.
5 And on the one hand Moses was faithful in the whole house of God as a servant for a testimony of those things that were to be spoken in the future,
6 but on the other hand Christ was faithful as a Son over his house; whose house we ourselves are, if we hold fast our confidence and our boast of hope firm until the end.
E. So Believe In Christ Hebrews 3:7-4:13
¶ 7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,
“TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,
8 DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN YOU PROVOKED ME,
AS IN THE DAY OF TESTING IN THE WILDERNESS,
9 WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED ME BY PUTTING ME TO THE TEST
AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS;
10 FOR THIS REASON I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION
AND I SAID, ‘THEY ARE ALWAYS BEING LEAD ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART,
AND THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN MY WAYS;’
11 AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH,
‘THEY SHALL CERTAINLY NOT ENTER INTO MY REST!’ ”
¶ 12 See to it, brothers, lest there be in any one of you a wicked heart of unbelief that falls away from the living God,
13 but keep encouraging one another every day as long as it is called “Today”, lest one of you become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin;
14 for we have become sharers of Christ, if indeed we hold fast the beginning of our conviction firm until the end.
15 When it is said,
“TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,
DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN YOU PROVOKED ME,”
16 which ones, by all means, after having heard became provoked? Why! Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?
17 Moreover, with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom did he swear they would not enter into his rest, if not to those who refused to believe?
19 And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
A. Christ Is Superior to the Prophets Hebrews 1:1-3
1¶ God, having spoken long ago to the fathers by the prophets at many times and in various ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also made the world;
3 who continues to be the radiant splendor of his glory and the exact representation of his actual being, and who continues to uphold all things by his powerful word, who having made a purification of sins sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 who became so much higher in rank than the angels as much as he has inherited a name more excellent than theirs.
B. Christ Is Superior to the Angels Hebrews 1:5-14
1. Superior in Name Hebrews 1:5-9
¶ 5 For to which of the angels did he ever say,
“YOU ARE MY SON,
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU?”
And again,
“I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM,
AND HE WILL BE A SON TO ME.”
6 Moreover when he again brings his firstborn into the inhabited world, he says,
“AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.”
7 And on the one hand he says with regard to the angels,
“HE WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS,
AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAMEOF FIRE;”
8 but on the other hand he says with regard to his Son,
“YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,
AND THE SCEPTER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS THE SCEPTER OF YOUR ROYALRULE.
9 YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS;
FOR THIS REASON GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU,
WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.”
2. Superior in Attributes and Works Hebrews 1:10-14
10 And,
“YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,
AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;
11 THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU WILL REMAIN;
AND THEY ALL WILL WEAR OUT LIKE A GARMENT,
12 AND YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP LIKE A CLOAK,
LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE EXCHANGED;
BUT YOU ARE THE SAME
AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.”
13 Moreover to which of the angels has he ever said,
“CONTINUE SITTING AT MY RIGHT HAND
UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET?”
14 Are they not all ministering spirits repeatedly sent out to serve those who will inherit salvation?
3. So Heed the Word of Christ Hebrews 2:1-4
2
1 For this reason we must pay special attention to the things we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
2 For if the word spoken by angels became authoritative, and every violation and disobedience received just punishment,
3 how shall we ourselves escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation, which at first was spoken by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard,
4 while God was bearing witness together with them both by miraculous signs and wonders and various kinds of powerful deeds and distributions of the Holy Spirit according to his will.
C. Christ, Who Was Made Inferior to the Angels, Was Crowned with Glory Hebrews 2:5-18
¶ 5 For he did not subject to angels the world to come, about which we are speaking.
6 But someone has solemnly testified somewhere, saying,
“WHAT IS MAN THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM,
OR THE SON OF MAN THAT YOU LOOK UPON HIM TO CARE FOR HIM?
7 YOU MADE HIM INFERIOR TO THE ANGELS FOR A LITTLE WHILE,
YOU CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR,
8 YOU PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.”
For in subjecting all things to him he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him;
9 but we see Jesus, who had been made inferior to the angels for a little while, crowned with glory and honor because of suffering death, in order that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
¶ 10 For it was fitting for the Father, for the sake of whom are all things and by means of whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory to bring the author of their salvation to his goal by means of suffering.
11 For both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brothers,
12 saying,
“I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BROTHERS,
IN THE MIDST OF THE CHURCH I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE;”
13 and again,
“I WILL PUT MY TRUST UPON HIM;”
and again,
“BEHOLD, HERE I AM AND THE CHILDREN WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN TO ME.”
14 Since, then, the children have shared in and continue to share in flesh and blood, he himself also in just the same way partook of the same human characteristics, in order that by means of death he might deprive of his power the one who holds the power of death, that is the devil,
15 and release all those who were subject to slavery by the fear of death throughout all their lives.
16 For surely he does not help angels; on the contrary, he helps the descendants of Abraham.
17 For which reason he had to become like his brothers in every respect, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the things pertaining to God, so that he may make the appeasing sacrifice for the sins of the people;
18 for because he himself was tempted in what he has suffered, he is able to come to the aid of those who are being tempted.
D. Christ Is Superior to Moses Hebrews 3:1-6
3
1 For which reason, holy brothers, sharers in a heavenly calling, fix your mind on Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,
2 as being faithful to him who made him also like Moses who was faithful in his whole house.
3 For this Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the one who built the house has so much greater honor than the house itself.
4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the one who built all things.
5 And on the one hand Moses was faithful in the whole house of God as a servant for a testimony of those things that were to be spoken in the future,
6 but on the other hand Christ was faithful as a Son over his house; whose house we ourselves are, if we hold fast our confidence and our boast of hope firm until the end.
E. So Believe In Christ Hebrews 3:7-4:13
¶ 7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,
“TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,
8 DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN YOU PROVOKED ME,
AS IN THE DAY OF TESTING IN THE WILDERNESS,
9 WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED ME BY PUTTING ME TO THE TEST
AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS;
10 FOR THIS REASON I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION
AND I SAID, ‘THEY ARE ALWAYS BEING LEAD ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART,
AND THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN MY WAYS;’
11 AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH,
‘THEY SHALL CERTAINLY NOT ENTER INTO MY REST!’ ”
¶ 12 See to it, brothers, lest there be in any one of you a wicked heart of unbelief that falls away from the living God,
13 but keep encouraging one another every day as long as it is called “Today”, lest one of you become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin;
14 for we have become sharers of Christ, if indeed we hold fast the beginning of our conviction firm until the end.
15 When it is said,
“TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,
DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN YOU PROVOKED ME,”
16 which ones, by all means, after having heard became provoked? Why! Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?
17 Moreover, with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom did he swear they would not enter into his rest, if not to those who refused to believe?
19 And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
4
1 Let us become frightened, then, lest one of you continues to think he has come short of it, while the promise still remains to enter into his rest;
2 for we also have had the gospel preached to us just as they also did, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they had not been united in faith with those who heard.
3 for we who believed enter into that rest, just as he has said,
“AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH,
‘THEY SHALL CERTAINLY NOT ENTER INTO MY REST.’ ”
And yet his works were finished since the beginning of the world.
4 For he has said somewhere concerning the seventh day, “AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL OF HIS WORKS;”
5 and yet in this passage he says again, “THEY SHALL CERTAINLY NOT ENTER INTO MY REST.”
6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter into it, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not enter because of disbelief,
7 once more he sets a certain day, “TODAY”, by David saying after so long a time, as has been said before,
“TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,
DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken about another day afterwards.
9 Therefore a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God;
10 for the one who has entered into God’s rest has himself also rested from his works just as God rested from his own works.
11 Let us, then, make every effort to enter into that rest, so that no one might fall in the same kind of disbelief.
¶ 12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword and penetrating even to the division of soul and spirit, both of the joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and considerations of the heart,
13 and there is no creature hidden from God’s sight, but all things are naked and laid bare to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
Part 2: Christ Is the Superior High Priest Hebrews 4:14-10:18
A. Christ is the Great High Priest Hebrews 4:14-16
¶ 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 we have one who has been tempted in every respect in the same way we are, but without sin.
16 Therefore let us draw near to the throne of grace with free and fearless confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
B. God Conferred the High Priesthood to Christ Hebrews 5:1-10
5
1 For every high priest selected from among men is appointed for men in the things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.
2 He is able to deal gently with those who sin in ignorance and are led into error, since he himself is also encompassed with weakness,
3 and for this reason is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people so also for himself.
4 And no one takes this honor upon himself; on the contrary, he is called by God, just as Aaron was also.
¶ 5 In the same way also Christ did not exalt himself to become a high priest; on the contrary, he was called by God who said to him,
“YOU ARE MY SON,
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU;”
6 just as he also says in another passage,
“YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER
AFTER THE MANNER OF MELCHIZEDEK.”
7 Christ during the days of his earthly life, offered both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence towards God.
8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience from the things that he suffered;
9 and having reached his goal, he became the source of eternal salvation to all those who listened to him,
10 having been designated by God as “High Priest” after the manner of Melchizedek.
C So Grow Up Spiritually Hebrews 5:11-6:20
¶ 11 Concerning Melchizedek there is much for us to say in our discussion and yet it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
12 For although you ought to be teachers by this time, you again have need for someone to teach you the beginning, fundamental principles of the word of God. Indeed, you have come to have need of milk, not solid food!
13 For everyone who feeds only on milk is unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is an infant;
14 but solid food is for adults, for those who have by practice had their minds trained to distinguish both good and evil.
6
1 Therefore leaving the beginning instruction about Christ, let us move on toward maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, but a foundation of faith towards God,
2 of teaching about baptisms, and the laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
3 And this we will do, if indeed God permits.
4 For it is impossible with regard to those who have once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit
5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 and yet afterwards have fallen away, to restore them once more to repentance, because they again crucify the Son of God to themselves and hold him up to public disgrace.
7 For land that drank the rain that often falls upon it, and brings forth growing plants useful to those for whose sake it is also cultivated, receives a blessing from God;
8 but land that produces thorn-plants and thistle-plants is worthless and close to being cursed, the fate for which is burning.
¶ 9 But even though we speak in this way, beloved, we have been and continue to be certain of better things for you, and of things accompanying salvation;
10 for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the love which you have shown for his name by having helped the saints and continuing to help them.
11 And we continue to desire each of you to go on showing this same zeal with regard to the full assurance of hope until the end,
12 so that you may not become sluggish, but may be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and endurance.
¶ 13 For when God made the promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, HE SWORE BY HIMSELF,
14 saying, “I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU GREATLY AND MULTIPLY YOU EXCEEDINGLY;”
15 and in this way, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise.
16 For men swear by one who is greater than themselves, and the oath sworn as confirmation for what was said ends every dispute for them;
17 in which case because God was intending even more to demonstrate to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his purpose guaranteed it with an oath,
18 in order that by means of two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we, who take refuge to take hold of the hope set before us, may have strong encouragement,
19 which hope we have as an anchor for the soul, both safe and secure and enters what is inside of the curtain,
20 where Jesus, who went before us, entered in our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the manner of Melchizedek.
1 Let us become frightened, then, lest one of you continues to think he has come short of it, while the promise still remains to enter into his rest;
2 for we also have had the gospel preached to us just as they also did, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they had not been united in faith with those who heard.
3 for we who believed enter into that rest, just as he has said,
“AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH,
‘THEY SHALL CERTAINLY NOT ENTER INTO MY REST.’ ”
And yet his works were finished since the beginning of the world.
4 For he has said somewhere concerning the seventh day, “AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL OF HIS WORKS;”
5 and yet in this passage he says again, “THEY SHALL CERTAINLY NOT ENTER INTO MY REST.”
6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter into it, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not enter because of disbelief,
7 once more he sets a certain day, “TODAY”, by David saying after so long a time, as has been said before,
“TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,
DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken about another day afterwards.
9 Therefore a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God;
10 for the one who has entered into God’s rest has himself also rested from his works just as God rested from his own works.
11 Let us, then, make every effort to enter into that rest, so that no one might fall in the same kind of disbelief.
¶ 12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword and penetrating even to the division of soul and spirit, both of the joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and considerations of the heart,
13 and there is no creature hidden from God’s sight, but all things are naked and laid bare to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
Part 2: Christ Is the Superior High Priest Hebrews 4:14-10:18
A. Christ is the Great High Priest Hebrews 4:14-16
¶ 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 we have one who has been tempted in every respect in the same way we are, but without sin.
16 Therefore let us draw near to the throne of grace with free and fearless confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
B. God Conferred the High Priesthood to Christ Hebrews 5:1-10
5
1 For every high priest selected from among men is appointed for men in the things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.
2 He is able to deal gently with those who sin in ignorance and are led into error, since he himself is also encompassed with weakness,
3 and for this reason is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people so also for himself.
4 And no one takes this honor upon himself; on the contrary, he is called by God, just as Aaron was also.
¶ 5 In the same way also Christ did not exalt himself to become a high priest; on the contrary, he was called by God who said to him,
“YOU ARE MY SON,
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU;”
6 just as he also says in another passage,
“YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER
AFTER THE MANNER OF MELCHIZEDEK.”
7 Christ during the days of his earthly life, offered both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence towards God.
8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience from the things that he suffered;
9 and having reached his goal, he became the source of eternal salvation to all those who listened to him,
10 having been designated by God as “High Priest” after the manner of Melchizedek.
C So Grow Up Spiritually Hebrews 5:11-6:20
¶ 11 Concerning Melchizedek there is much for us to say in our discussion and yet it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
12 For although you ought to be teachers by this time, you again have need for someone to teach you the beginning, fundamental principles of the word of God. Indeed, you have come to have need of milk, not solid food!
13 For everyone who feeds only on milk is unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is an infant;
14 but solid food is for adults, for those who have by practice had their minds trained to distinguish both good and evil.
6
1 Therefore leaving the beginning instruction about Christ, let us move on toward maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, but a foundation of faith towards God,
2 of teaching about baptisms, and the laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
3 And this we will do, if indeed God permits.
4 For it is impossible with regard to those who have once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit
5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 and yet afterwards have fallen away, to restore them once more to repentance, because they again crucify the Son of God to themselves and hold him up to public disgrace.
7 For land that drank the rain that often falls upon it, and brings forth growing plants useful to those for whose sake it is also cultivated, receives a blessing from God;
8 but land that produces thorn-plants and thistle-plants is worthless and close to being cursed, the fate for which is burning.
¶ 9 But even though we speak in this way, beloved, we have been and continue to be certain of better things for you, and of things accompanying salvation;
10 for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the love which you have shown for his name by having helped the saints and continuing to help them.
11 And we continue to desire each of you to go on showing this same zeal with regard to the full assurance of hope until the end,
12 so that you may not become sluggish, but may be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and endurance.
¶ 13 For when God made the promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, HE SWORE BY HIMSELF,
14 saying, “I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU GREATLY AND MULTIPLY YOU EXCEEDINGLY;”
15 and in this way, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise.
16 For men swear by one who is greater than themselves, and the oath sworn as confirmation for what was said ends every dispute for them;
17 in which case because God was intending even more to demonstrate to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his purpose guaranteed it with an oath,
18 in order that by means of two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we, who take refuge to take hold of the hope set before us, may have strong encouragement,
19 which hope we have as an anchor for the soul, both safe and secure and enters what is inside of the curtain,
20 where Jesus, who went before us, entered in our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the manner of Melchizedek.
D. Christ’s Superior High Priesthood Is in the Order of Melchizedek Hebrews 7:1-28
7
1 For this MELCHIZEDEK, KING OF SALEM, PRIEST OF THE MOST HIGH GOD, WHO MET ABRAHAM RETURNING FROM THE SLAUGHTER OF THE KINGS and BLESSED HIM,
2 to whom also ABRAHAM bestowed A TENTH OF ALL THE SPOILS, whose name on the one hand when translated means first of all king of righteousness and then on the other hand KING OF SALEM, which means king of peace,
3 without a father, without a mother, without a genealogy, having neither a beginning of days nor an end of life, but having been made like the Son of God, remains a priest forever.
¶ 4 Now start considering how great this man was to whom Abraham gave a tenth from the spoils – the patriarch no less!
5 And on the one hand those from the sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have a command to continue collecting a tithe from the people in accordance with the law, that is, from their brothers, although they have descended from the loins of Abraham;
6 but on the other hand Melchizedek who does not derive his descent from them has received a tithe from Abraham, and he has blessed Abraham who had the promises.
7 Now without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.
8 And in the one case men subject to death receive tithes, but in the other case a man having testimony that he goes on living received the tithe.
9 And one might almost say, even Levi, who received tithes, has paid the tithe through Abraham,
10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
¶ 11 If, then, completion was by means of the Levitical priesthood, for the people have received a law on the basis of it, why was there further need for another priest to arise after the manner of Melchizedek and not be called after the manner of Aaron?
12 For when the priesthood changes, of necessity a change of law also occurs.
13 For Jesus, of whom these things are said, has belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever occupied himself with the sacrificial altar;
14 for it is known to all that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with regard to which Moses said nothing about priests.
15 And what has been said is still even more evident if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek,
16 namely Jesus who has become priest not on the basis of a law of prescribed ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life,
17 for testimony is given of him that
“YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER
AFTER THE MANNER OF MELCHIZEDEK.”
18 For on the one hand a cancellation of the preceding commandment occurs because of its weakness and uselessness
19 (for the law brought nothing to its goal) but on the other hand a bringing in of a better hope occurs, through which we draw near to God.
20 And inasmuch as it was not without a swearing of an oath, (for to be sure they are priests by having become priests without a swearing of an oath,
21 but Jesus has become a priest with the swearing of an oath by him who said to him,
“THE LORD SWORE,
AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND,
‘YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER,’ ”)
22 by so much more Jesus has become a guarantee of a better covenant.
23 And to be sure the priests are more in number having become priests because of being prevented by death from continuing to remain;
24 but Jesus continues to have a permanent priesthood because he remains forever;
25 for which reason also he is able to keep saving for all time those who are drawing near to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
¶ 26 For such a high priest was indeed fitting for us, holy, blameless, pure, having separated himself from sinners, and became exalted above the heavens;
27 who does not have the necessity day after day, just as the high priests, to offer up a sacrifice first for his own sins, and afterwards for the sins of the people; for this he did once for all time when he offered up himself.
28 For the law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appointed a Son who has been made complete forever.
E. Christ Is a Superior High Priest in a Superior Sanctuary and of a Superior Covenant Hebrews 8:1-13
8
1 Now the main point in the present discussion is this: we have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of Majesty in the heavens,
2 a minister of the sanctuary, that is, of the true tabernacle, which the Lord set up, not man.
3 For every high priest is appointed to repeatedly offer both gifts and sacrifices; for this reason it is necessary that also this high priest have something that he may offer.
4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, because there are those who offer gifts according to the law;
5 who serve as a representation and foreshadowing of the heavenly things, just as Moses was divinely commanded when about to erect the tabernacle, namely, “SEE TO IT,” the Lord says, “YOU SHALL MAKE EVERYTHING ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN THAT WAS SHOWN TO YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN;”
6 but as a matter of fact Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as he is a mediator also of a better covenant, such as which had been enacted on the basis of better promises.
7 For if that first covenant were faultless, an occasion for a second would not be sought;
8 For finding fault with them, he says,
“BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD,
AND I WILL MAKE A NEW COVENANT
IN REGARD TO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND IN REGARD TO THE HOUSE OF JUDAH,
9 NOT ACCORDING TO THE COVENANT THAT I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS
IN THE DAY OF MY TAKING HOLD OF THEIR HAND
TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT,
FOR THEY DID NOT ABIDE BY MY COVENANT,
AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD.
10 FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL DECREE FOR THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD,
I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS,
AND I WILL WRITE THEM UPON THEIR HEARTS,
AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD
AND THEY WILL BE MY PEOPLE.
11 AND THEY SHALL ABSOLUTELY NOT TEACH EVERY MAN HIS FELLOW-CITIZEN
AND EACH MAN HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘COME TO KNOW THE LORD,’
FOR THEY ALL WILL KNOW ME
FROM THEIR YOUNG TO THEIR OLD.
12 FOR I WILL FORGIVE THEIR WICKEDNESS,
AND I WILL ABSOLUTELY REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.”
13 When he said “a new covenant,” he has declared the first covenant obsolete; now what is declared obsolete and obsolescent is near disappearing.
F. Christ Made the Superior Sacrifice for Sins Hebrews 9:1-10:18
9
1 Now to be sure even the first covenant had regulations for the worship of God and the earthly sanctuary.
2 For the first tabernacle was furnished, in which were both the lampstand and the table and the loaves of presentation, which is called the Holy Place;
3 and behind the second curtain there was a tabernacle that is called the Holy of Holies,
4 having a gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which are the golden jar containing the manna and the rod of Aaron that budded and the tablets of the covenant,
5 and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; concerning which things it is not possible now to report in detail.
¶ 6 Now when these things had been furnished in this fashion, on the one hand the priests go into the first tabernacle continually for the purpose of performing the religious services,
7 but the high priest goes into the second tabernacle only once during the year, not without blood, which he offers for himself and the sins of the people committed in ignorance,
8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holy Place in heaven has not yet been shown while the first tabernacle still exists,
9 which is a figure of the present time, according to which figure both gifts and sacrifices are offered although they are not able as far as the conscience is concerned to make perfect the one who worships,
10 merely, in addition to foods and drinks and various ceremonial washings, regulations being imposed for the body until the time of the new order.
¶ 11 But when Christ appeared as high priest of the good things to come by means of the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with human hands, that is not of this creation,
12 nor by means of the blood of goats and young bulls but by means of his own blood, he entered once for all time into the Holy Place in heaven, and obtained eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and ashes of a heifer being sprinkled on those who have been ceremonially defiled sanctify as far as the purity of the flesh is concerned,
14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who by the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
¶ 15 And for this reason he is the mediator of the new last will and testament, in order that, since a death has taken place for the deliverance from the transgressions at the time of the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
16 For where there is a last will and testament, it is necessary the death of the one who made the will be established;
17 For a last will and testament is valid only after men are dead, since it never has meaning when the one who made the will is living.
18 For this reason not even the first covenant has been inaugurated without blood;
19 for when every commandment was spoken by Moses according to the law to all the people, he took the blood of young bulls and goats along with water and 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 COMMANDED BE DELIVERED TO YOU;”
21 then in the same way he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels for its ministry.
22 Yes, almost everything is cleansed with blood according to the law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
23 It was necessary, then, on the one hand for the copies of the things in heaven to be cleansed by means of these, but for the heavenly things themselves to be cleansed with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made with human hands, a mere representation of the true one; on the contrary, he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God in our behalf;
25 and not to be offering himself again and again, just as the high priest enters into the Holy of Holies every year with blood that is not his own,
26 for otherwise he would have had to suffer again and again from the beginning of the world; but as a matter of fact he has appeared once at the end of the ages for the removal of sin by means of his sacrifice.
27 And inasmuch as it is destined for people once to die, and after that to face judgment,
28 in the same way also Christ, having been offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time apart from sin to those who eagerly await him for salvation.
7
1 For this MELCHIZEDEK, KING OF SALEM, PRIEST OF THE MOST HIGH GOD, WHO MET ABRAHAM RETURNING FROM THE SLAUGHTER OF THE KINGS and BLESSED HIM,
2 to whom also ABRAHAM bestowed A TENTH OF ALL THE SPOILS, whose name on the one hand when translated means first of all king of righteousness and then on the other hand KING OF SALEM, which means king of peace,
3 without a father, without a mother, without a genealogy, having neither a beginning of days nor an end of life, but having been made like the Son of God, remains a priest forever.
¶ 4 Now start considering how great this man was to whom Abraham gave a tenth from the spoils – the patriarch no less!
5 And on the one hand those from the sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have a command to continue collecting a tithe from the people in accordance with the law, that is, from their brothers, although they have descended from the loins of Abraham;
6 but on the other hand Melchizedek who does not derive his descent from them has received a tithe from Abraham, and he has blessed Abraham who had the promises.
7 Now without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.
8 And in the one case men subject to death receive tithes, but in the other case a man having testimony that he goes on living received the tithe.
9 And one might almost say, even Levi, who received tithes, has paid the tithe through Abraham,
10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
¶ 11 If, then, completion was by means of the Levitical priesthood, for the people have received a law on the basis of it, why was there further need for another priest to arise after the manner of Melchizedek and not be called after the manner of Aaron?
12 For when the priesthood changes, of necessity a change of law also occurs.
13 For Jesus, of whom these things are said, has belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever occupied himself with the sacrificial altar;
14 for it is known to all that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with regard to which Moses said nothing about priests.
15 And what has been said is still even more evident if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek,
16 namely Jesus who has become priest not on the basis of a law of prescribed ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life,
17 for testimony is given of him that
“YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER
AFTER THE MANNER OF MELCHIZEDEK.”
18 For on the one hand a cancellation of the preceding commandment occurs because of its weakness and uselessness
19 (for the law brought nothing to its goal) but on the other hand a bringing in of a better hope occurs, through which we draw near to God.
20 And inasmuch as it was not without a swearing of an oath, (for to be sure they are priests by having become priests without a swearing of an oath,
21 but Jesus has become a priest with the swearing of an oath by him who said to him,
“THE LORD SWORE,
AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND,
‘YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER,’ ”)
22 by so much more Jesus has become a guarantee of a better covenant.
23 And to be sure the priests are more in number having become priests because of being prevented by death from continuing to remain;
24 but Jesus continues to have a permanent priesthood because he remains forever;
25 for which reason also he is able to keep saving for all time those who are drawing near to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
¶ 26 For such a high priest was indeed fitting for us, holy, blameless, pure, having separated himself from sinners, and became exalted above the heavens;
27 who does not have the necessity day after day, just as the high priests, to offer up a sacrifice first for his own sins, and afterwards for the sins of the people; for this he did once for all time when he offered up himself.
28 For the law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appointed a Son who has been made complete forever.
E. Christ Is a Superior High Priest in a Superior Sanctuary and of a Superior Covenant Hebrews 8:1-13
8
1 Now the main point in the present discussion is this: we have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of Majesty in the heavens,
2 a minister of the sanctuary, that is, of the true tabernacle, which the Lord set up, not man.
3 For every high priest is appointed to repeatedly offer both gifts and sacrifices; for this reason it is necessary that also this high priest have something that he may offer.
4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, because there are those who offer gifts according to the law;
5 who serve as a representation and foreshadowing of the heavenly things, just as Moses was divinely commanded when about to erect the tabernacle, namely, “SEE TO IT,” the Lord says, “YOU SHALL MAKE EVERYTHING ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN THAT WAS SHOWN TO YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN;”
6 but as a matter of fact Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as he is a mediator also of a better covenant, such as which had been enacted on the basis of better promises.
7 For if that first covenant were faultless, an occasion for a second would not be sought;
8 For finding fault with them, he says,
“BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD,
AND I WILL MAKE A NEW COVENANT
IN REGARD TO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND IN REGARD TO THE HOUSE OF JUDAH,
9 NOT ACCORDING TO THE COVENANT THAT I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS
IN THE DAY OF MY TAKING HOLD OF THEIR HAND
TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT,
FOR THEY DID NOT ABIDE BY MY COVENANT,
AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD.
10 FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL DECREE FOR THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD,
I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS,
AND I WILL WRITE THEM UPON THEIR HEARTS,
AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD
AND THEY WILL BE MY PEOPLE.
11 AND THEY SHALL ABSOLUTELY NOT TEACH EVERY MAN HIS FELLOW-CITIZEN
AND EACH MAN HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘COME TO KNOW THE LORD,’
FOR THEY ALL WILL KNOW ME
FROM THEIR YOUNG TO THEIR OLD.
12 FOR I WILL FORGIVE THEIR WICKEDNESS,
AND I WILL ABSOLUTELY REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.”
13 When he said “a new covenant,” he has declared the first covenant obsolete; now what is declared obsolete and obsolescent is near disappearing.
F. Christ Made the Superior Sacrifice for Sins Hebrews 9:1-10:18
9
1 Now to be sure even the first covenant had regulations for the worship of God and the earthly sanctuary.
2 For the first tabernacle was furnished, in which were both the lampstand and the table and the loaves of presentation, which is called the Holy Place;
3 and behind the second curtain there was a tabernacle that is called the Holy of Holies,
4 having a gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which are the golden jar containing the manna and the rod of Aaron that budded and the tablets of the covenant,
5 and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; concerning which things it is not possible now to report in detail.
¶ 6 Now when these things had been furnished in this fashion, on the one hand the priests go into the first tabernacle continually for the purpose of performing the religious services,
7 but the high priest goes into the second tabernacle only once during the year, not without blood, which he offers for himself and the sins of the people committed in ignorance,
8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holy Place in heaven has not yet been shown while the first tabernacle still exists,
9 which is a figure of the present time, according to which figure both gifts and sacrifices are offered although they are not able as far as the conscience is concerned to make perfect the one who worships,
10 merely, in addition to foods and drinks and various ceremonial washings, regulations being imposed for the body until the time of the new order.
¶ 11 But when Christ appeared as high priest of the good things to come by means of the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with human hands, that is not of this creation,
12 nor by means of the blood of goats and young bulls but by means of his own blood, he entered once for all time into the Holy Place in heaven, and obtained eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and ashes of a heifer being sprinkled on those who have been ceremonially defiled sanctify as far as the purity of the flesh is concerned,
14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who by the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
¶ 15 And for this reason he is the mediator of the new last will and testament, in order that, since a death has taken place for the deliverance from the transgressions at the time of the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
16 For where there is a last will and testament, it is necessary the death of the one who made the will be established;
17 For a last will and testament is valid only after men are dead, since it never has meaning when the one who made the will is living.
18 For this reason not even the first covenant has been inaugurated without blood;
19 for when every commandment was spoken by Moses according to the law to all the people, he took the blood of young bulls and goats along with water and 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 COMMANDED BE DELIVERED TO YOU;”
21 then in the same way he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels for its ministry.
22 Yes, almost everything is cleansed with blood according to the law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
23 It was necessary, then, on the one hand for the copies of the things in heaven to be cleansed by means of these, but for the heavenly things themselves to be cleansed with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made with human hands, a mere representation of the true one; on the contrary, he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God in our behalf;
25 and not to be offering himself again and again, just as the high priest enters into the Holy of Holies every year with blood that is not his own,
26 for otherwise he would have had to suffer again and again from the beginning of the world; but as a matter of fact he has appeared once at the end of the ages for the removal of sin by means of his sacrifice.
27 And inasmuch as it is destined for people once to die, and after that to face judgment,
28 in the same way also Christ, having been offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time apart from sin to those who eagerly await him for salvation.
10
1 For the law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come, not the image itself of the heavenly things, can never with the same sacrifices which they are offering continually every year make perfect those who draw near;
2 otherwise would they not have ceased being offered, because once the worshipers have been cleansed, they would no longer have a consciousness of sins?
3 But in those yearly sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year,
4 for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 For this reason when Christ comes into the world, he says,
“SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED,
BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;
6 IN WHOLE-BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES FOR SIN
YOU HAVE NOT DELIGHTED,
7 THEN I SAID,
‘BEHOLD I HAVE COME,
(IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN ABOUT ME)
TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.’ ”
8 After saying earlier, “SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE-BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED NOR HAVE DELIGHTED IN”(which are offered according to the law),
9 THEN he has said, “BEHOLD I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL. ”He takes away the first in order to establish the second;
10 by which will we have been sanctified by means of the sacrificing of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.
¶11And surely every priest stands performing his religious services day by day and offering the same sacrifices again and again, which are never able to take away sins.
12 But this high priest after offering one sacrifice for sins for all time, 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 sacrifice he has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 Moreover, the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after having said,
16 “THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL DECREE to them
AFTER THESE DAYS,
SAYS THE LORD,
‘I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEARTS,
AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR MINDS,
17 AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS
I WILL ABSOLUTELY REMEMBER NO MORE.’ ”
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer a sacrificing for sins.
Part 3: Words of Exhortation Hebrews 10:19-12:29
¶ 19 Now since we have, brothers, confidence for entering the Holy Place in heaven by the blood of Jesus,
20 which he opened for us as a new and living way by means of the curtain, that is his body,
21 and having a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us keep drawing near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having been sprinkled to purify our hearts from an evil conscience and our body having been washed with pure water;
23 let us keep holding fast the confession of hope without wavering, for the one who promised is faithful;
24 let us keep considering how to encourage one another towards love and morally good works,
25 while not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as some have the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and by so much the more as you go on seeing the day approaching.
¶ 26 For if we continue sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, a sacrifice for sins no longer remains,
27 just a certain frightful expectation of condemnation and a blazing fire that will keep consuming the adversaries.
28 Anyone who set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy in the presence of two or three witnesses;
29 so how much more severely do you think the one who has trampled the Son of God underfoot will be considered worthy of punishment, and has regarded the blood of the last will and testament by which he was sanctified unclean, and has treated with contempt the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him who said,
“VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY;”
and again,
“THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”
31 It is a frightful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!
¶ 32 Now start recalling and considering the former days in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great struggle of sufferings,
33 at times being made a theatrical spectacle by means of both scoffing criticisms and oppressions, and at times having become sharers of those who were living under such circumstances;
34 for you also sympathized with the prisoners, and you joyfully put up with the plunder of your possessions, knowing that you have for yourselves a better and abiding possession.
35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward for you,
36 for you have need of patient endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what he has promised.
37 For, “IN YET A LITTLE WHILE – HOW VERY, VERY LITTLE!
HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME AND WILL NOT DELAY;
38 BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE AS A RESULT OF FAITH,
AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK,
MY SOUL TAKES NO PLEASURE IN HIM.”
39 But as for us, we are not part of such a shrinking back to eternal destruction; on the contrary, we are of a faith to the saving of the soul.
11
1 Now faith is a complete confidence in what is hoped for, an inner conviction in what is not seen.
2 For by this faith men of old were given favorable testimony.
¶ 3 By faith we understand the universe has been created by the spoken word of God, so that what is seen has come about not from things that are visible.
¶ 4 By faith Abel offered a better sacrifice to God than Cain, by which faith he was given favorable testimony that he was righteous, God testifying favorably on the basis of his gifts, and although he died, through faith he still speaks.
5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death; and he was not being found because God took him up; for before his being taken up he has been given favorable testimony that he has been pleasing to God,
6 and without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who comes to God must believe that he exists and gives a reward to those who seek him out.
7 By faith when Noah was warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly reverence he constructed the ark for saving his family, by means of which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness on the basis of faith.
¶ 8 By faith when Abraham was called, he obeyed to go out to a place which he was about to receive for an inheritance, and he went out, not knowing where he was going!
9 By faith he dwelt as an alien in the land of promise, having lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;
10 for he kept looking forward to the city having foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith Abraham, although he was beyond the proper stage of life, and in relations with Sarah – a barren woman, received the ability to deposit seed, since he regarded him who made the promise faithful;
12 therefore indeed from one man, (yes of one who had become dead!) there were begotten as many descendents as the stars of heaven in number and as innumerable as the sand on the shore of the sea.
¶ 13 Having faith all these men died, not having received the things promised to them, but only having seen and welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and foreigners upon the earth;
14 for those who say such things make known that they are wishing for their homeland.
15 And surely if they were thinking of that homeland from which they came out, they would have opportunity to return;
16 but as a matter of fact they long for a better homeland, that is 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 has offered up Isaac, when he was being put to the test. Indeed, he who had received the promises was offering up his only-begotten son!
18 He was offering him up although he was told, “IN ISAAC YOUR SEED WILL BE CALLED,”
19 because he considered that God was also able to raise him from the dead; from which he also did get him back as a type.
20 By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau with regard to things to come.
21 By faith Jacob, while he was dying, blessed each one of the sons of Joseph, and WORSHIPPED LEANING UPON THE TOP OF HIS STAFF.
22 By faith Joseph, while he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave orders concerning his bones.
¶ 23 By faith after Moses was born he was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s decree.
24 By faith, when Moses had grown up, he refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
25 having chosen rather to be mistreated together with the people of God than to have the enjoyment of sinful pleasures for a short time,
26 having considered disgrace for the sake of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he kept fixing his eyes on his reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt behind, having no fear of the wrath of the king, for he was solid because he saw him who is invisible.
28 By faith he has carried out the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, in order that the destroyer of the firstborn might not do violence to them.
29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as through dry land, which when the Egyptians took up the attempt, they were drowned.
¶ 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they were circled for seven days.
¶ 31 By faith Rahab, the prostitute, was not killed together with those who were disobedient, because she had welcomed the spies with peace.
¶ 32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me relating in full the details about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, both David and Samuel and the prophets,
33 who by means of faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions,
34 extinguished the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong from weakness, were raised up strong men in war, routed the enemies’ battle lines;
35 women received their dead back as a result of a resurrection; moreover others were tortured, because they did not accept being released for a ransom, in order to obtain a better resurrection;
36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, moreover chains and prison;
37 they were stoned, they were sawn in two, they died by being slaughtered with a sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, suffering want of basic necessities, being afflicted, being abused,
38 of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserted regions and mountains and caves and in holes in the ground.
¶ 39 And although all these people were given favorable testimony by means of faith, they did not receive what was promised,
40 because God provided what was better for us, namely that they may not be made perfect without us.
1 For the law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come, not the image itself of the heavenly things, can never with the same sacrifices which they are offering continually every year make perfect those who draw near;
2 otherwise would they not have ceased being offered, because once the worshipers have been cleansed, they would no longer have a consciousness of sins?
3 But in those yearly sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year,
4 for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 For this reason when Christ comes into the world, he says,
“SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED,
BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;
6 IN WHOLE-BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES FOR SIN
YOU HAVE NOT DELIGHTED,
7 THEN I SAID,
‘BEHOLD I HAVE COME,
(IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN ABOUT ME)
TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.’ ”
8 After saying earlier, “SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE-BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED NOR HAVE DELIGHTED IN”(which are offered according to the law),
9 THEN he has said, “BEHOLD I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL. ”He takes away the first in order to establish the second;
10 by which will we have been sanctified by means of the sacrificing of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.
¶11And surely every priest stands performing his religious services day by day and offering the same sacrifices again and again, which are never able to take away sins.
12 But this high priest after offering one sacrifice for sins for all time, 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 sacrifice he has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 Moreover, the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after having said,
16 “THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL DECREE to them
AFTER THESE DAYS,
SAYS THE LORD,
‘I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEARTS,
AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR MINDS,
17 AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS
I WILL ABSOLUTELY REMEMBER NO MORE.’ ”
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer a sacrificing for sins.
Part 3: Words of Exhortation Hebrews 10:19-12:29
¶ 19 Now since we have, brothers, confidence for entering the Holy Place in heaven by the blood of Jesus,
20 which he opened for us as a new and living way by means of the curtain, that is his body,
21 and having a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us keep drawing near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having been sprinkled to purify our hearts from an evil conscience and our body having been washed with pure water;
23 let us keep holding fast the confession of hope without wavering, for the one who promised is faithful;
24 let us keep considering how to encourage one another towards love and morally good works,
25 while not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as some have the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and by so much the more as you go on seeing the day approaching.
¶ 26 For if we continue sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, a sacrifice for sins no longer remains,
27 just a certain frightful expectation of condemnation and a blazing fire that will keep consuming the adversaries.
28 Anyone who set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy in the presence of two or three witnesses;
29 so how much more severely do you think the one who has trampled the Son of God underfoot will be considered worthy of punishment, and has regarded the blood of the last will and testament by which he was sanctified unclean, and has treated with contempt the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him who said,
“VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY;”
and again,
“THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”
31 It is a frightful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!
¶ 32 Now start recalling and considering the former days in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great struggle of sufferings,
33 at times being made a theatrical spectacle by means of both scoffing criticisms and oppressions, and at times having become sharers of those who were living under such circumstances;
34 for you also sympathized with the prisoners, and you joyfully put up with the plunder of your possessions, knowing that you have for yourselves a better and abiding possession.
35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward for you,
36 for you have need of patient endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what he has promised.
37 For, “IN YET A LITTLE WHILE – HOW VERY, VERY LITTLE!
HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME AND WILL NOT DELAY;
38 BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE AS A RESULT OF FAITH,
AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK,
MY SOUL TAKES NO PLEASURE IN HIM.”
39 But as for us, we are not part of such a shrinking back to eternal destruction; on the contrary, we are of a faith to the saving of the soul.
11
1 Now faith is a complete confidence in what is hoped for, an inner conviction in what is not seen.
2 For by this faith men of old were given favorable testimony.
¶ 3 By faith we understand the universe has been created by the spoken word of God, so that what is seen has come about not from things that are visible.
¶ 4 By faith Abel offered a better sacrifice to God than Cain, by which faith he was given favorable testimony that he was righteous, God testifying favorably on the basis of his gifts, and although he died, through faith he still speaks.
5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death; and he was not being found because God took him up; for before his being taken up he has been given favorable testimony that he has been pleasing to God,
6 and without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who comes to God must believe that he exists and gives a reward to those who seek him out.
7 By faith when Noah was warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly reverence he constructed the ark for saving his family, by means of which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness on the basis of faith.
¶ 8 By faith when Abraham was called, he obeyed to go out to a place which he was about to receive for an inheritance, and he went out, not knowing where he was going!
9 By faith he dwelt as an alien in the land of promise, having lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;
10 for he kept looking forward to the city having foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith Abraham, although he was beyond the proper stage of life, and in relations with Sarah – a barren woman, received the ability to deposit seed, since he regarded him who made the promise faithful;
12 therefore indeed from one man, (yes of one who had become dead!) there were begotten as many descendents as the stars of heaven in number and as innumerable as the sand on the shore of the sea.
¶ 13 Having faith all these men died, not having received the things promised to them, but only having seen and welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and foreigners upon the earth;
14 for those who say such things make known that they are wishing for their homeland.
15 And surely if they were thinking of that homeland from which they came out, they would have opportunity to return;
16 but as a matter of fact they long for a better homeland, that is 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 has offered up Isaac, when he was being put to the test. Indeed, he who had received the promises was offering up his only-begotten son!
18 He was offering him up although he was told, “IN ISAAC YOUR SEED WILL BE CALLED,”
19 because he considered that God was also able to raise him from the dead; from which he also did get him back as a type.
20 By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau with regard to things to come.
21 By faith Jacob, while he was dying, blessed each one of the sons of Joseph, and WORSHIPPED LEANING UPON THE TOP OF HIS STAFF.
22 By faith Joseph, while he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave orders concerning his bones.
¶ 23 By faith after Moses was born he was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s decree.
24 By faith, when Moses had grown up, he refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
25 having chosen rather to be mistreated together with the people of God than to have the enjoyment of sinful pleasures for a short time,
26 having considered disgrace for the sake of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he kept fixing his eyes on his reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt behind, having no fear of the wrath of the king, for he was solid because he saw him who is invisible.
28 By faith he has carried out the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, in order that the destroyer of the firstborn might not do violence to them.
29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as through dry land, which when the Egyptians took up the attempt, they were drowned.
¶ 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they were circled for seven days.
¶ 31 By faith Rahab, the prostitute, was not killed together with those who were disobedient, because she had welcomed the spies with peace.
¶ 32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me relating in full the details about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, both David and Samuel and the prophets,
33 who by means of faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions,
34 extinguished the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong from weakness, were raised up strong men in war, routed the enemies’ battle lines;
35 women received their dead back as a result of a resurrection; moreover others were tortured, because they did not accept being released for a ransom, in order to obtain a better resurrection;
36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, moreover chains and prison;
37 they were stoned, they were sawn in two, they died by being slaughtered with a sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, suffering want of basic necessities, being afflicted, being abused,
38 of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserted regions and mountains and caves and in holes in the ground.
¶ 39 And although all these people were given favorable testimony by means of faith, they did not receive what was promised,
40 because God provided what was better for us, namely that they may not be made perfect without us.
12
1 So, then, as for us also, since we have so great a host of witnesses surrounding us, having rid ourselves of every burden and the sin so easily entangling us, let us keep running the race set before us by means of patient endurance,
2 fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him who has endured such hostility to himself at the hands of sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and become faint-hearted in your souls.
¶ 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your fighting against sin,
5 and you have forgotten the encouragement that addresses you as sons,
“MY SON, STOP REGARDING THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD LIGHTLY,
AND STOP BEING FAINT-HEARTED WHEN YOU ARE BEING CORRECTED BY HIM;
6 FOR THE ONE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,
AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES AS HIS OWN.”
7 Keep holding on for the disciplining; God is dealing with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not discipline?
8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we, to be sure, customarily had earthly fathers who were disciplinarians, and we used to respect them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
10 For on the one hand they used to discipline us for a short time according to what seemed good to them, on the other hand he disciplines us for what is good for our sharing in his holiness.
11 Now on the one hand no discipline seems to be a cause for joy but for grief, on the other hand later it yields a peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who have been trained by it.
¶ 12 Therefore restore strength to the exhausted hands and the paralyzed knees,
13 and continue to make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame leg may not be dislocated, but rather be restored.
¶ 14 Always pursue peace with all people and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord,
15 while seeing to it that no one fails to become a partaker of the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up causing trouble and by it many are defiled,
16 that no one is a fornicator or ungodly person like Esau, who gave away his birthright for one meal.
17 For you know that even afterwards when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he did not find a place for a change of mind in Isaac, although he sought it out with tears.
¶ 18 For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and has been set ablaze with fire and to darkness and to blackness and to a whirlwind
19 and to a blast of a trumpet and to a loud declaration of words, of which those who heard them begged that no additional word be spoken to them;
20 for they were unable to bear what was being commanded, “IF EVEN A WILD ANIMAL TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN IT WILL BE STONED;”
21 indeed, the spectacle was so terrible, Moses said, “I AM TERRIFIED and trembling!”
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to tens of thousands of angels, to a joyous assembly
23 and to the church of the firstborn whose names have been recorded in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous people who have been made perfect,
24 and to Jesus the mediator of a new last will and testament, and to the sprinkling of blood that speaks better than the blood of Abel.
¶ 25 Be careful! Do not reject him who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused him who made known his divine commands upon the earth, how much less shall we ourselves escape who turn away from him who makes known his divine commands from heaven?
26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, saying, “ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE not only THE EARTH BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.”
27 Now the statement, “ONCE MORE” indicates the removing of those things that are shaken as things that have been made, in order that the things that are not shaken may remain.
28 Therefore since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be grateful, through which we serve God in an acceptable manner with reverence and awe;
29 for our God is a consuming fire.
Part 4: Words of Exhortation to Love One Another Hebrews 13:1-17
13
1 Let brotherly love continue to remain.
2 Do not be neglecting the showing of love to strangers, for by means of this love some unknowingly received angels as guests.
3 Continue to be mindful: of the prisoners as though you have been imprisoned with them, of those who are being abused since also you yourselves are in the body.
4 Let marriage continue to be held in honor among all persons and the marriage-bed be undefiled, for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
5 Let your way of life continue to be without a love of money, while being content with the things at hand; for he himself has said, “NEVER WILL I LEAVE YOU; NEVER WILL I FORSAKE YOU;”
6 so that we say with confidence,
“THE LORD IS MY HELPER,
I WILL NOT BE AFRAID;
WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”
¶ 7 Continue to remember your leaders, such ones as spoke the word of God to you; keep imitating their faith, considering the outcome of their way of life.
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9 Do not be carried away by various and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, with which those who live were not benefited.
10 We have a sacrificial altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle do not have authority to eat.
11 For the blood of those sacrificial animals is brought into the Holy of Holies for sin by the high priest, the bodies of which animals are burned outside the camp.
12 Therefore also Jesus, in order that he may sanctify the people by means of his own blood, suffered outside of the gate.
13 Accordingly, let us keep going out to him outside the camp, bearing his disgrace;
14 for we do not have a lasting city here; on the contrary, we are craving the city about to come.
15 Consequently through him let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing his name.
16 Moreover do not be neglecting the doing of good and fellowship, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
¶ 17 Always obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they may continue doing this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you.
¶ 18 Keep praying for us, for we are certain that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves well in all things.
19 I am urging you even more to do this in order that I may be brought back to you sooner.
Part 5: The Closing Hebrews 13:20-25
¶ 20 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus,
21 make you complete in all love for the doing of his will, working in us what is well pleasing in his sight by means of Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
¶ 22 Now I urge you, brothers, bear with this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
23 Know that our brother Timothy has left, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you.
¶ 24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.
25 Grace be with you all. Amen.
1 So, then, as for us also, since we have so great a host of witnesses surrounding us, having rid ourselves of every burden and the sin so easily entangling us, let us keep running the race set before us by means of patient endurance,
2 fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him who has endured such hostility to himself at the hands of sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and become faint-hearted in your souls.
¶ 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your fighting against sin,
5 and you have forgotten the encouragement that addresses you as sons,
“MY SON, STOP REGARDING THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD LIGHTLY,
AND STOP BEING FAINT-HEARTED WHEN YOU ARE BEING CORRECTED BY HIM;
6 FOR THE ONE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,
AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES AS HIS OWN.”
7 Keep holding on for the disciplining; God is dealing with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not discipline?
8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we, to be sure, customarily had earthly fathers who were disciplinarians, and we used to respect them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
10 For on the one hand they used to discipline us for a short time according to what seemed good to them, on the other hand he disciplines us for what is good for our sharing in his holiness.
11 Now on the one hand no discipline seems to be a cause for joy but for grief, on the other hand later it yields a peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who have been trained by it.
¶ 12 Therefore restore strength to the exhausted hands and the paralyzed knees,
13 and continue to make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame leg may not be dislocated, but rather be restored.
¶ 14 Always pursue peace with all people and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord,
15 while seeing to it that no one fails to become a partaker of the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up causing trouble and by it many are defiled,
16 that no one is a fornicator or ungodly person like Esau, who gave away his birthright for one meal.
17 For you know that even afterwards when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he did not find a place for a change of mind in Isaac, although he sought it out with tears.
¶ 18 For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and has been set ablaze with fire and to darkness and to blackness and to a whirlwind
19 and to a blast of a trumpet and to a loud declaration of words, of which those who heard them begged that no additional word be spoken to them;
20 for they were unable to bear what was being commanded, “IF EVEN A WILD ANIMAL TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN IT WILL BE STONED;”
21 indeed, the spectacle was so terrible, Moses said, “I AM TERRIFIED and trembling!”
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to tens of thousands of angels, to a joyous assembly
23 and to the church of the firstborn whose names have been recorded in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous people who have been made perfect,
24 and to Jesus the mediator of a new last will and testament, and to the sprinkling of blood that speaks better than the blood of Abel.
¶ 25 Be careful! Do not reject him who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused him who made known his divine commands upon the earth, how much less shall we ourselves escape who turn away from him who makes known his divine commands from heaven?
26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, saying, “ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE not only THE EARTH BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.”
27 Now the statement, “ONCE MORE” indicates the removing of those things that are shaken as things that have been made, in order that the things that are not shaken may remain.
28 Therefore since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be grateful, through which we serve God in an acceptable manner with reverence and awe;
29 for our God is a consuming fire.
Part 4: Words of Exhortation to Love One Another Hebrews 13:1-17
13
1 Let brotherly love continue to remain.
2 Do not be neglecting the showing of love to strangers, for by means of this love some unknowingly received angels as guests.
3 Continue to be mindful: of the prisoners as though you have been imprisoned with them, of those who are being abused since also you yourselves are in the body.
4 Let marriage continue to be held in honor among all persons and the marriage-bed be undefiled, for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
5 Let your way of life continue to be without a love of money, while being content with the things at hand; for he himself has said, “NEVER WILL I LEAVE YOU; NEVER WILL I FORSAKE YOU;”
6 so that we say with confidence,
“THE LORD IS MY HELPER,
I WILL NOT BE AFRAID;
WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”
¶ 7 Continue to remember your leaders, such ones as spoke the word of God to you; keep imitating their faith, considering the outcome of their way of life.
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9 Do not be carried away by various and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, with which those who live were not benefited.
10 We have a sacrificial altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle do not have authority to eat.
11 For the blood of those sacrificial animals is brought into the Holy of Holies for sin by the high priest, the bodies of which animals are burned outside the camp.
12 Therefore also Jesus, in order that he may sanctify the people by means of his own blood, suffered outside of the gate.
13 Accordingly, let us keep going out to him outside the camp, bearing his disgrace;
14 for we do not have a lasting city here; on the contrary, we are craving the city about to come.
15 Consequently through him let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing his name.
16 Moreover do not be neglecting the doing of good and fellowship, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
¶ 17 Always obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they may continue doing this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you.
¶ 18 Keep praying for us, for we are certain that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves well in all things.
19 I am urging you even more to do this in order that I may be brought back to you sooner.
Part 5: The Closing Hebrews 13:20-25
¶ 20 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus,
21 make you complete in all love for the doing of his will, working in us what is well pleasing in his sight by means of Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
¶ 22 Now I urge you, brothers, bear with this word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.
23 Know that our brother Timothy has left, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you.
¶ 24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.
25 Grace be with you all. Amen.
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