Bible

Hebrews

Chapter 1

¹Long ago God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in many ways.²But in these last days, he has spoken to us through a Son, whom he appointed to be the heir of all things. It is through him that God also made the universe.³He is the brightness of God's glory, the exact representation of his being. He even holds everything together by the word of his power. After he had made cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

⁴He has become just as superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than their name.⁵For to which of the angels did God ever say,

"You are my Son,

today I have become your Father"?

Or to which of the angels did God ever say,

"I will be a Father to him,

and he will be a Son to me"?

⁶But again, when God brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

"All God's angels must worship him."

⁷About the angels he says,

"He is the one who makes his angels spirits,

and his servants flames of fire."

⁸But to the Son he says,

"Your throne, God, is forever and ever.

The scepter of justice is the scepter of your kingdom.

⁹You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of joy more than your companions."

¹⁰"In the beginning, Lord, you laid the earth's foundation.

The heavens are the work of your hands.

¹¹They will perish, but you will continue.

They will all wear out like a piece of clothing.

¹²You will roll them up like a cloak,

and they will be changed like a piece of clothing.

But you are the same,

and your years do not end."

¹³But to which of the angels has God said at any time,

"Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"?

¹⁴Are not all angels spirits who serve, and who are sent to care for those who will inherit salvation?

Chapter 2

¹Therefore, we must give far more attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.

²For if the message that was spoken through the angels proved to be so reliable, and every transgression and disobedience receives just repayment,³how then can we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This is salvation that was first announced by the Lord and confirmed to us by those who heard it.⁴At the same time God testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his will.

⁵For it was not to the angels that God subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.⁶But someone has somewhere testified, saying,

"What is man, that you are mindful of him?

Or a son of man, that you care for him?

⁷You made man a little lower than the angels;

you crowned him with glory and honor. ¹

⁸You put everything in subjection under his feet."

For it was to him that God has subjected all things. He did not leave anything not subjected to him. But now we do not yet see everything subjected to him.

⁹But we see him who was made lower than the angels for a little while, Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of his suffering and death, so that by God's grace he might taste death for everyone.¹⁰For it was proper for God, because everything exists for him and through him, to bring many sons to glory. It was proper for him to make the founder of their salvation complete through his sufferings.

¹¹For both the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have one source. So he is not ashamed to call them brothers.¹²He says,

"I will proclaim your name to my brothers,

I will sing about you from inside the assembly."

¹³And again,

"I will trust in him."

And again,

"See, here am I and the children whom God has given me."

¹⁴Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he shared in those things in the same way, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.¹⁵This was so that he would free all those who through fear of death lived all their lives subject to slavery.

¹⁶For surely it is not the angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants.¹⁷So it was necessary for him to become like his brothers in all ways, so that he could be a merciful and faithful high priest in relation to the things of God, and so that he could make atonement for the sins of the people.¹⁸Because Jesus himself has suffered and was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

¹Some important and ancient Greek copies add and you have put him over the works of your hands .

Chapter 3

¹Therefore, holy brothers, you share in a heavenly calling. Think about Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.²He was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses was also faithful in all the house of God.³For Jesus has been considered worthy of greater glory than Moses, because the one who builds a house has more honor than the house itself.⁴For every house is built by someone, but the one who built everything is God.

⁵For Moses was faithful as a servant in God's entire house, bearing witness about the things that were to be spoken of in the future.⁶But Christ is faithful as a Son who is in charge of the house of God. We are his house if we hold firmly to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

⁷Therefore, it is just as the Holy Spirit says:

"Today, if you hear his voice

⁸do not harden your hearts

as in the rebellion,

in the time of testing in the wilderness.

⁹This was when your ancestors rebelled by testing me,

after they had seen my deeds for forty years.

¹⁰Therefore I was angry with that generation.

I said, 'They have always gone astray in their hearts.

They have not known my ways.'

¹¹It is just as I swore in my wrath:

'They will never enter my rest.'"

¹²Be careful, brothers, that none of you has an evil heart of unbelief, a heart that turns away from the living God.¹³But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called "today," so that no one among you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

¹⁴For we have become partners of Christ if we firmly hold to our confidence in him from the beginning to the end.¹⁵About this it has been said,

"Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts,

as in the rebellion."

¹⁶Who was it who heard God and rebelled? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt through Moses?¹⁷With whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness?¹⁸To whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if it was not to those who disobeyed him?¹⁹We see that they were not able to enter his rest because of unbelief.

Chapter 4

¹Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest is still allowed to stand, let us fear, so that none of you may seem to have fallen short of it.²For we were told the good news just as they were. But that message did not benefit those who did not unite in faith with those who obeyed. ¹

³For we who have believed enter that rest, just as he said,

"As I swore in my wrath,

They will never enter my rest."

Even so, his works were finished from the foundation of the world.

⁴For he has somewhere spoken about the seventh day:

"And God rested on the seventh day from all his works."

⁵And again in this same passage he said,

"They will never enter my rest."

⁶Therefore, it remains for some to enter that rest, and those who previously had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience.⁷So God again appointed a certain day, calling it "Today," when he spoke through David much later in words already quoted:

"Today if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts."

⁸For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken about another day.⁹So there remains a Sabbath rest reserved for God's people.¹⁰For he who enters into God's rest has himself also rested from his deeds, just as God did from his.¹¹Therefore let us be eager to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the kind of disobedience that they did.

¹²For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.¹³No thing that has been created is hidden before God, but everything is bare and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give an account.

¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us firmly hold to our confession.¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. Rather, we have someone who has in all ways been tempted as we are, except that he is without sin.¹⁶Let us then go with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

¹Some important and ancient copies read, But that message did not benefit those who heard it without joining faith to it .

Chapter 5

¹For every high priest, chosen from among people, is appointed to act on the behalf of people in the things concerning God, so that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.²He can deal gently with those who are ignorant and who have been deceived, because he himself is subject to weakness.³Because of this, he also is required to offer sacrifices for his own sins, just as he does for the people's sins.

⁴No one takes this honor for himself. Rather, he is called by God, just as Aaron was.⁵In the same way, neither did Christ glorify himself by making himself high priest. Instead, the one speaking to him said,

"You are my Son;

today I have become your Father."

⁶It is just as he also says in another place,

"You are a priest forever

after the manner of Melchizedek."

⁷During the days of his flesh, Christ offered up both prayers and requests with loud cries and tears to God, the one able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his godly life.⁸Even though he was a Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.

⁹He was made perfect and became, for everyone who obeys him, the cause of eternal salvation.¹⁰He was designated by God as high priest after the manner of Melchizedek.

¹¹We have much to say about Jesus, but it is hard to explain since you have become dull in hearing.

¹²For though by this time you should be teachers, you still have need for someone to teach you the elementary principles of God's messages. You need milk, not solid food!¹³For anyone who only takes milk is inexperienced with the message of righteousness, because he is still a little child.¹⁴But solid food is for the mature. These are those who, because of their maturity, have their understanding trained for distinguishing good from evil.

Chapter 6

¹So then, let us leave the beginning of the message of Christ and move forward to maturity. Let us not lay again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith in God,²nor the foundation of teaching about baptisms, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.³We will also do this if God permits.

⁴For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who were sharers of the Holy Spirit,⁵and who tasted God's good word and the powers of the age to come,⁶but who then fell away—it is impossible to restore them again to repentance. This is because they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and publicly shame him.

⁷For the land that drinks in the rain that often comes on it, and that gives birth to the plants useful to those for whom the land was worked—this is the land that receives a blessing from God.⁸But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and is near to a curse. Its end is in burning.

⁹But we are convinced about better things concerning you, beloved ones—things that concern salvation—even though we speak like this.¹⁰For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you showed for his name, because you served his holy people, and you are still serving them.

¹¹We greatly desire that each of you may show the same diligence to the end, in order to make your hope certain.¹²This is so that you will not become lazy, but imitators of those who by faith and patience inherit the promises.

¹³For when God made his promise to Abraham, he swore by himself, since he could not swear by anyone greater.¹⁴He said, "I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants."¹⁵In this way, Abraham obtained what was promised after he had patiently waited.

¹⁶For people swear by someone greater than themselves. At the end of each of their disputes, an oath serves as confirmation.¹⁷When God decided to show more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable quality of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath.¹⁸He did this so that by two unchangeable things—with which it is impossible for God to lie—we, who have fled for refuge, will have a strong encouragement to hold firmly to the hope set before us.

¹⁹We have this as a secure and reliable anchor for the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,²⁰where Jesus, who went before us, has entered into that place on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Chapter 7

¹It was this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him.²It was to him that Abraham gave a tenth of everything. First, the translation of his name means "king of righteousness"; then he is also "king of Salem," that is, "king of peace."³He is without father, without mother, without ancestors, with neither beginning of days nor end of life. And resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

⁴See how great this man was to whom the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the things that he had taken in battle.⁵The descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a command according to the law to collect tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, even though they, too, are descended from Abraham.⁶But Melchizedek, whose descent was not traced from them, received tithes from Abraham, and blessed him, the one who had the promises.

⁷There is no denying that the lesser person is blessed by the greater person.⁸In this case, mortal men receive tithes, but in that case, it is testified that he lives on.⁹And, in a manner of speaking, Levi, who received tithes, also paid tithes through Abraham,¹⁰because Levi was in the body of his ancestor when Melchizedek met Abraham.

¹¹Now if perfection were possible through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the manner of Melchizedek, and not be considered to be after the manner of Aaron?¹²For when the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed.

¹³For the one about whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar.¹⁴Now clearly it is from Judah that our Lord was born, a tribe that Moses never mentioned concerning priests.

¹⁵What we say is even clearer when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek.¹⁶This one became a priest, not based on a law of physical requirement, but by the power of an everlasting life.¹⁷For scripture witnesses about him:

"You are a priest forever

according to the order of Melchizedek."

¹⁸For not only has the former command been set aside because it is weak and useless—¹⁹for the law made nothing perfect—but also a better hope is introduced, through which we come near to God.

²⁰And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath,²¹but he became a priest with an oath by the one who said to him,

"The Lord has sworn and he will not change his mind:

'You are a priest forever.'"

²²By this also Jesus has given the guarantee of a better covenant.²³The former priests were many in number, since death prevented them from continuing in office.²⁴But because Jesus continues to live forever, he has a permanent priesthood.

²⁵Therefore he is also able to save completely those who approach God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.²⁶For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, who is holy, innocent, pure, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

²⁷He does not need, unlike the high priests, to offer up daily sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He did this once for all when he offered himself.²⁸For the law appoints as high priests men who have weaknesses. But the word of the oath, which came after the law, appointed a Son, who has been made perfect forever.

Chapter 8

¹Now the point of what we are saying is this: We have a high priest who has sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.²He is a servant in the holy place, the true tabernacle that the Lord, not a man, set up.

³For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary to have something to offer.⁴Now if Christ were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the law.⁵They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. It is just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to construct the tabernacle: God said, "See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain."

⁶But now Christ has received a much better ministry, just as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which is based on better promises.⁷For if that first covenant had been faultless, no occasion for a second would have been sought.

⁸For when God found fault with the people, he said,

"See, the days are coming—says the Lord—

when I will make a new covenant

with the house of Israel

and with the house of Judah.

⁹It will not be like the covenant

that I made with their ancestors

on the day that I took them by their hand

to lead them out of the land of Egypt.

For they did not carefully obey my covenant,

and I disregarded them—

says the Lord.

¹⁰This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel

after those days, says the Lord.

I will put my laws into their minds,

and I will also write them on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

¹¹They will not teach each one his fellow citizen

and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord.'

For they will all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest.

¹²For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds,

and their sins I will not remember any longer."

¹³By calling this covenant "new," he declared the first covenant to be obsolete, and what has become obsolete and old will soon disappear.

Chapter 9

¹Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary.²For a tabernacle was prepared. The first room, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of the presence, was called the holy place.

³Behind the second curtain was another room in the tabernacle, called the most holy place.⁴It had a golden altar for incense. It also had the ark of the covenant, which was completely overlaid with gold. Inside it was a golden jar that held the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.⁵Above the ark of the covenant, glorious cherubim overshadowed the atonement lid, which we cannot now talk about in detail.

⁶After these things were prepared, the priests always entered the outer room of the tabernacle to perform their services.⁷But only the high priest entered the second room, once each year, and not without blood that he offered for himself and for the people's unintentional sins.

⁸The Holy Spirit showed that as long as the first tabernacle was still standing, the way into the most holy place had not yet appeared.⁹This was an illustration for the present time. Both the gifts and sacrifices that are now being offered are not able to perfect the worshiper's conscience.¹⁰They are only concerned with food and drink and various ceremonial washings, regulations for the body until the time of the new order.

¹¹Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come. He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that was not made by human hands, one not belonging to this created world. ¹¹²It was not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood that he entered into the most holy place once for all and secured our eternal redemption.

¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes on those who have been defiled sanctifies them for the cleansing of their flesh,¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?¹⁵For this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant. This is so that, since a death has taken place to redeem those under the first covenant from their transgressions, those who are called will receive the promise of an eternal inheritance.

¹⁶For where there is a will, the death of the person who made it must be proven.¹⁷For a will is only valid when there has been a death, because it has no force while the one who made it is still alive.

¹⁸So not even the first covenant was established without blood.¹⁹For when Moses had given every command in the law to all the people, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water, red wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the scroll itself and all the people.²⁰Then he said, "This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded for you."

²¹In the same manner, he sprinkled the blood on the tabernacle and all the containers used in the ministry.²²According to the law, almost everything is cleansed with blood. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

²³Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in heaven should be cleansed with these animal sacrifices. However, the heavenly things themselves had to be cleansed with much better sacrifices.²⁴For Christ did not enter into the most holy place made with hands, which is only a copy of the true one. Rather, he entered into heaven itself, to appear now in God's presence for us.

²⁵He did not go there in order to offer himself many times, as does the high priest, who enters the most holy place year by year with the blood of another.²⁶If that had been the case, then he would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.

²⁷Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that comes judgment,²⁸so also, Christ was offered once to take away the sins of many, and will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but for the salvation of those who are waiting for him.

¹Some important and ancient Greek copies read, Christ came as a high priest of the good things that are to come .

Chapter 10

¹For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the real forms of those things themselves. Those who approach God can never be made perfect by the same sacrifices that the priests continually bring year after year.²Otherwise, would the sacrifices not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed one time and would no longer have any consciousness of sin.³But with those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year.⁴For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵When Christ came into the world, he said,

"Sacrifices and offerings you did not desire,

but a body you have prepared for me;

⁶with burnt offerings and sin offerings

you did not take pleasure.

⁷Then I said, 'See, here I am—as it is written about me in the scroll—

to do your will, God.'"

⁸First he said, "It was neither sacrifices, nor offerings, nor whole burnt offerings, nor sin offerings that you desired. Nor did you take pleasure in them." These are sacrifices that are offered according to the law.⁹Then he said, "See, here I am to do your will." He takes away the first practice in order to establish the second practice.¹⁰By that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹Day after day every priest stands and ministers, offering the same sacrifices again and again—sacrifices that can never take away sins.¹²But when Christ offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.¹³He is waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet.¹⁴For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

¹⁵The Holy Spirit also testifies to us. First he says,

¹⁶"This is the covenant that I will make with them

after those days, says the Lord.

I will put my laws in their hearts,

and I will write them on their minds."

¹⁷Then he adds,

"Their sins and lawlessness

I will remember no longer."

¹⁸Now where there is forgiveness for these, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

¹⁹Therefore, brothers, we have confidence to enter into the most holy place by the blood of Jesus.²⁰That is the new and living way that he has established for us through the curtain, that is, by means of his flesh.²¹Because we have a great priest over the house of God,²²let us approach with true hearts in the full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

²³Let us also hold firmly to the hope we confess, for he who promised is faithful.²⁴Let us think carefully about how to motivate one another to love and good deeds.²⁵Let us not abandon meeting together, as some have done. Instead, encourage one another, and all the more as you see the day coming closer.

²⁶For if we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, a sacrifice for sins no longer remains.²⁷Instead, there is only a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume God's enemies.

²⁸Anyone who has rejected the law of Moses dies without mercy at the testimony of two or three witnesses.²⁹How much worse punishment do you think one deserves who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, who has regarded the blood of the covenant as unholy—the blood by which he was sanctified—and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

³⁰For we know the one who said, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will pay back." And again, "The Lord will judge his people."³¹It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

³²But remember the former days, after you were enlightened, how you endured a great struggle in suffering.³³Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution, and other times you shared with those who were so treated.³⁴For you had compassion on those who were prisoners, and you accepted with joy the seizure of your possessions. You knew that you yourselves had a better and everlasting possession. ¹

³⁵So do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.³⁶For you need perseverance so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

³⁷"For in a very little while,

the one who is coming will indeed come and not delay.

³⁸My righteous one will live by faith.

If he shrinks back, my soul will not be pleased with him."

³⁹But we are not any of those who turn back to destruction, but we are among those who have faith and preserve their souls.

¹Some important and ancient Greek copies read, For you had compassion on me in my chains .

Chapter 11

¹Now faith is being sure of the things hoped for and certain of things that are not seen.²For because of this the ancestors were approved for their faith.³By faith we understand that the universe was created by God's command, so that what is visible was not made out of things that were visible.

⁴It was by faith that Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was attested to be righteous, and God spoke well of him because of his offerings, and by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

⁵It was by faith that Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death. "He was not found, because God took him away." For before he was taken up, it was testified that he had pleased God.⁶Now without faith it is impossible to please him. For it is necessary that anyone coming to God must believe that he exists and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

⁷It was by faith that Noah, having been given a divine message about things not yet seen, with godly reverence built an ark to save his household. By doing this, he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that is according to faith.

⁸It was by faith that Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to the place that he was to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going.⁹It was by faith that he lived in the land of promise as a foreigner. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise.¹⁰For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

¹¹It was by faith, even though Sarah herself was barren, that she received ability to conceive. This happened even though she was too old, since she considered as faithful the one who had given the promise.¹²Therefore, from this one man—and he was almost dead—were born descendants as many as the stars in the sky and as countless as sand by the seashore.

¹³It was in faith that all these died without receiving the promises. Rather, they saw and greeted them from far off, and they acknowledged that they were foreigners and exiles on earth.¹⁴For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

¹⁵If they had been thinking of the country from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, since he has prepared a city for them.

¹⁷It was by faith that Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac. It was his only son whom he offered, he who had received the promises.¹⁸It was Abraham to whom it had been said, "It is through Isaac that your descendants will be named."¹⁹Abraham reasoned that God was able to raise up Isaac from the dead, and figuratively speaking, it was from them that he received him back.

²⁰It was also by faith about things to come that Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.²¹It was by faith that Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons. Jacob worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.²²It was by faith that Joseph, when his end was near, spoke of the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt and instructed them about his bones.

²³It was by faith that Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child. They were not afraid of the king's command.²⁴It was by faith that Moses, after he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.²⁵He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a while.²⁶He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward.

²⁷It was by faith that Moses left Egypt. He did not fear the king's anger, for he endured as if he were seeing the one who is invisible.²⁸It was by faith that he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch the Israelites' firstborn sons.

²⁹It was by faith that they passed through the Sea of Reeds as if over dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do this, they were swallowed up.³⁰It was by faith that Jericho's walls fell down, after they had been circled around for seven days.³¹It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute did not die with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.

³²What more can I say? For the time will fail me if I give a full account of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and about the prophets.³³It was through faith that they conquered kingdoms, committed righteousness, and received promises. They stopped the mouths of lions,³⁴quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong when they were weak, became mighty in battle, and defeated foreign armies.

³⁵Women received back their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might experience a better resurrection.³⁶Others experienced mocking and whippings, and even chains and imprisonment.³⁷They were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were killed with the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins. They were destitute, oppressed, mistreated. ¹³⁸The world was not worthy of them. They were always wandering about in the deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

³⁹Although all these people were approved by God because of their faith, they did not receive the promise.⁴⁰God planned something better for us, so that without us, they would not be made perfect.

¹Some important and ancient Greek copies read, They were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were put to the test. They were killed with the sword .

Chapter 12

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a large cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and easily entangling sin. Let us run with perseverance the race that is placed before us.²Let us pay attention to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of the faith. For the joy that was placed before him, he endured the cross, despised its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.³So think about him, the one who has endured such opposition from sinners against himself, so that you do not become weary and lose heart.

⁴You have not yet resisted or struggled against sin to the point of blood;⁵and you have forgotten the encouragement that instructs you as sons:

"My son, do not think lightly of the Lord's discipline,

nor grow weary when you are corrected by him.

⁶For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and he punishes every son he receives."

⁷Endure suffering as discipline. God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?⁸But if you are without discipline, which all people share in, then you are illegitimate and not his sons.

⁹Furthermore, we had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!¹⁰Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best. But God disciplines us for our benefit, so that we can share in his holiness.¹¹No discipline at the time seems to give joy, but to give sorrow. But later it produces the peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who have been trained by it.

¹²So strengthen your hands that hang down and your weak knees.¹³Make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame will not be sprained but rather be healed.

¹⁴Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, for without it no one will see the Lord.¹⁵Be careful so that no one lacks God's grace, and that no root of bitterness grows up to cause trouble, so that many do not become defiled by it,¹⁶and that there is no one who is sexually immoral or profane, such as Esau, who for one meal sold his own birthright.¹⁷For you know that afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, because he found no opportunity for repentance, even though he sought it with tears.

¹⁸For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched, a mountain of burning fire, darkness, gloom, and storm.¹⁹You have not come to a trumpet blast, nor to a voice that speaks words whose hearers begged that not another word be spoken to them.²⁰For they could not endure what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." ¹²¹So fearful was this sight that Moses said, "I am terrified and am trembling."

²²Rather, you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to tens of thousands of angels in joyful assembly.²³You have come to the congregation of the firstborn, who have been registered in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous ones who have been made perfect.²⁴And you have come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better than Abel's blood.

²⁵See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we turn away from the one who is warning from heaven.²⁶At one time, his voice shook the earth. But now he has promised and said, "One more time I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens."

²⁷These words, "One more time," mean the removal of those things that can be shaken, that is, of the things that have been created, so that the things that cannot be shaken will remain.²⁸Therefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and in this manner worship God with reverence and awe.²⁹For our God is a consuming fire.

¹Some important and ancient Greek copies read, If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned or shot with an arrow .

Chapter 13

¹Let brotherly love continue.²Do not forget hospitality for strangers. For through this, some have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

³Remember prisoners as if you were bound with them. Remember those who are mistreated since you yourselves also are in the body.⁴Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept pure, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers.

⁵Let your conduct be free from the love of money. Be content with the things you have, for God himself has said,

"I will never leave you,

nor will I abandon you."

⁶Let us be content so that we may have courage to say,

"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

What can a man do to me?"

⁷Consider your leaders, those who spoke God's word to you, and consider the result of their conduct. Imitate their faith.⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

⁹Do not be carried away by various strange teachings. For it is good that the heart should be strengthened by grace, not by foods that do not help those who walk by them.¹⁰We have an altar from which those who serve in the tabernacle have no right to eat.¹¹For the blood of the animals killed for sins is brought by the high priest into the holy place, while their bodies are burned outside the camp.

¹²So Jesus also suffered outside the city gate, in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.¹³Let us therefore go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he endured.¹⁴For we do not have a permanent city here. Rather, we are looking for the one that is to come.

¹⁵Through him, then, let us always offer up sacrifices of praise to God, praise that is the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.¹⁶Let us not forget doing good and sharing, for it is with such sacrifices that God is very pleased.¹⁷Obey and submit to your leaders, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give account. Obey so that your leaders will do this with joy, and not with groaning, which would be useless to you.

¹⁸Pray for us, for we are convinced that we have a good conscience and that we desire to live rightly in all things.¹⁹I encourage you even more to do this, so that I will be returned to you sooner.

²⁰Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, by the blood of the eternal covenant,²¹equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

²²Now I encourage you, brothers, to bear with the word of encouragement that I have briefly written to you.²³Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I will see you if he comes soon.

²⁴Greet all your leaders and all God's holy people. Those from Italy greet you.

²⁵May grace be with you all.

English: Unlocked Literal Bible for Hebrews

Formatted for Translators

Hebrews