Hebrews

Hebrews

In many times and many ways,

God spoke long ago to our ancestors through the prophets.

But in these last days,

He has spoken to us through a Son—

whom He appointed heir of all things,

and through whom He also made the ages.

He is the radiance of God’s glory

and the exact imprint of His being,

and He upholds all things by the word of His power.

After making a purification for sins,

He sat down at the right hand of Majesty in the heights—

having become as much superior to the messengers

as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Greater Than Messengers

For to which of the messengers did God ever say:

“You are My Son;

today I have become Your Father”?

Or again:

“I will be a Father to Him,

and He will be a Son to Me”?

And again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says:

“Let all God’s messengers worship Him.”

Of the messengers He says:

“He makes His messengers winds,

His servants flames of fire.”

But of the Son He says:

“Your throne, O God,

is age-enduring and unshakable,

and a scepter of rightness is the scepter of Your reign.

You have loved what is right and hated lawlessness—

therefore God, Your God, has anointed You

with the oil of joy above Your companions.”

And:

“In the beginning, Master,

You laid the foundation of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

They will perish, but You remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

Like a robe You will roll them up,

and like clothing they will be changed.

But You remain the same,

and Your years will have no end.”

And to which of the messengers has He ever said:

“Sit at My right hand

until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”?

Are they not all serving spirits,

sent out to serve those

who are about to inherit the rescue?

———

Do Not Drift Away

For this reason,

we must pay even more careful attention to what we have heard,

so that we do not drift away.

For if the message spoken through messengers

proved firm,

and every violation and act of disobedience

received its just consequence,

how will we escape

if we neglect such a great rescue?

This rescue was first spoken by the Master,

then confirmed to us by those who heard Him.

God also bore witness

through signs, wonders, various powers,

and distributions of the Set-Apart Breath,

according to His will.

The Anointed One Made Lower Than Messengers — For a Time

It was not to messengers

that God subjected the world to come,

the one we are speaking about.

Instead, someone testified somewhere:

“What is humanity, that You are mindful of them,

or the son of man, that You care for him?

You made him for a little while lower than the messengers;

You crowned him with glory and honor

and appointed him over the works of Your hands.”

In subjecting everything to him,

God left nothing outside of his control.

Yet at present, we do not see everything subjected to him.

But we do see Jesus—

who was made for a little while lower than the messengers—

now crowned with glory and honor

because of the suffering of death,

so that by God’s grace He might taste death for everyone.

Leading Many Children to Glory

For it was fitting that God—

for whom and through whom all things exist—

in bringing many children to glory,

should make the pioneer of their rescue complete through sufferings.

For the One who makes them set apart

and those who are being set apart

are all from one family.

So He is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying:

“I will declare Your name to My brothers;

in the midst of the assembly I will sing Your praise.”

And again:

“I will put my trust in Him.”

And again:

“Here I am with the children God has given Me.”

He Shared Flesh and Blood to Defeat Death

Since the children share in flesh and blood,

He too shared in the same,

so that through death He might destroy

the one who holds the power of death—that is, the accuser—

and free those who were held in slavery all their lives

by fear of death.

For surely it is not messengers He helps,

but the seed of Abraham.

Therefore He had to be made like His brothers and sisters

in every way,

so that He might become a compassionate and trustworthy high priest

in matters relating to God—

to make atonement for the sins of the people.

Because He Himself suffered when tested,

He is able to help those who are being tested.

———

Fix Your Thoughts on the Anointed One

Therefore, set-apart brothers and sisters,

partners in a heavenly calling,

fix your thoughts on Jesus,

the sent one and high priest of what we confess.

He was faithful to the One who appointed Him,

just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.

But Jesus is worthy of greater honor than Moses,

just as the builder of a house

has more honor than the house itself.

Every house is built by someone,

but the builder of all things is God.

Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,

testifying to the things that would be spoken later.

But the Anointed One is faithful as a Son over God’s house—

and we are that house,

if we hold fast our confidence

and the hope in which we boast.

Do Not Harden Your Hearts

So, as the Set-Apart Breath says:

“Today, if you hear His voice,

do not harden your hearts

as they did in the rebellion,

on the day of testing in the wilderness,

where your ancestors tested Me and tried Me,

though they had seen My works for forty years.

Therefore I was angered with that generation,

and I said, ‘Their hearts are always astray,

and they have not known My ways.’

So I swore in My wrath,

‘They will never enter My rest.’”

Encourage One Another Daily

Watch out, brothers and sisters,

so that none of you has a corrupt and untrusting heart

that turns away from the living God.

But encourage one another daily,

as long as it is still called “Today,”

so that none of you may be hardened

by the deceitfulness of sin.

For we have become partners with the Anointed One,

if we hold firmly to the beginning of our trust

until the end.

As it is said:

“Today, if you hear His voice,

do not harden your hearts

as they did in the rebellion.”

Who Missed the Rest?

Who were those who heard and rebelled?

Were they not all those who came out of Egypt

under the leadership of Moses?

And with whom was He angry for forty years?

Was it not with those who sinned,

whose bodies fell in the wilderness?

And to whom did He swear

that they would not enter His rest,

if not to those who disobeyed?

So we see that they were not able to enter

because of lack of trust.

———

Entering the Rest by Trust

Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands,

let us be careful that none of you be found

to have fallen short of it.

For we also have had the good news announced to us,

just as they did;

but the message they heard

was of no benefit to them,

because they did not combine it with trust

in those who listened.

For we who have trusted

enter that rest, just as He has said:

“So I swore in My wrath,

‘They will never enter My rest.’”

And yet His works were finished

from the foundation of the world.

For somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this way:

“And on the seventh day

God rested from all His works.”

And again in the passage above He says:

“They will never enter My rest.”

Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it,

and those who formerly received the good news

did not enter because of disobedience,

God again set a certain day—calling it “Today.”

This He did when a long time later He spoke through David,

as already quoted:

“Today, if you hear His voice,

do not harden your hearts.”

A Rest Beyond Joshua’s

For if Joshua had given them rest,

God would not have spoken later about another day.

So then, there remains a Sabbath-rest for the people of God.

For the one who enters God’s rest

has also rested from their works,

just as God did from His.

Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest,

so that no one will fall

by following the same pattern of disobedience.

The Word That Divides

For the word of God is living and active,

sharper than any two-edged sword,

piercing to the division of soul and breath,

of joints and marrow;

it judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Nothing in all creation is hidden from His sight.

Everything is uncovered and laid bare

before the eyes of Him

to whom we must give account.

A Compassionate High Priest

Therefore, since we have a great high priest

who has passed through the heavens—

Jesus, the Son of God—

let us hold firmly to our confession.

For we do not have a high priest

who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses,

but One who has been tested in every way,

just as we are—yet without sin.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,

so that we may receive mercy

and find favor for help in time of need.

———

Earthly High Priests

Every high priest chosen from among men

is appointed to represent people

in matters related to God—

to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

He is able to deal gently

with those who are ignorant and wandering,

since he himself is subject to weakness.

Because of this,

he is required to offer sacrifices for his own sins,

as well as for the people.

And no one takes this honor for themselves,

but receives it when called by God—

just as Aaron was.

The Anointed One’s Appointment

In the same way, the Anointed One

did not exalt Himself to become high priest,

but was appointed by the One who said to Him:

“You are My Son;

today I have become Your Father.”

And in another place:

“You are a priest forever,

according to the order of Melchizedek.”

He Learned Obedience Through Suffering

In the days of His flesh,

He offered prayers and petitions

with loud cries and tears

to the One who was able to rescue Him from death,

and He was heard because of His reverence.

Although He was a Son,

He learned obedience through what He suffered.

And being made complete,

He became the source of age-enduring rescue

for all who obey Him—

having been designated by God

as high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

From Milk to Maturity

We have much to say about this,

but it is hard to explain

because you have become slow to hear.

Though by this time you ought to be teachers,

you still need someone to teach you

the basic elements of the words of God all over again.

You need milk, not solid food.

For everyone who lives on milk

is inexperienced in the message about rightness—

for they are still an infant.

But solid food is for the mature—

those who through practice

have trained their senses

to distinguish both good and evil.

———

Press On to Maturity

Therefore, let us leave behind

the elementary teachings about the Anointed One

and go on to maturity,

not laying again a foundation of:

turning from dead works,

trust in God,

teaching about immersions,

the laying on of hands,

the resurrection of the dead,

and age-enduring judgment.

And this we will do, if God permits.

A Serious Warning

For it is impossible—

in the case of those who have once been enlightened,

who have tasted the gift from above,

who have shared in the Set-Apart Breath,

who have tasted the good word of God

and the powers of the age to come—

and then have fallen away—

to restore them again to a changed mind,

because they are crucifying the Son of God

all over again to themselves

and holding Him up to public shame.

Fruit or Thorns

For the ground that drinks the rain

often falling on it

and produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated

receives a blessing from God.

But if it produces thorns and thistles,

it is worthless and near to being cursed—

its end is to be burned.

Encouragement and Assurance

Even though we speak like this, beloved,

we are convinced of better things regarding you—

things that accompany rescue.

For God is not unjust.

He will not forget your work

and the love you have shown for His name,

as you have served the set-apart ones—

and continue to do so.

We want each of you to show this same eagerness to the end,

so that your hope may be fully realized.

Do not become lazy,

but imitate those who through trust and endurance

inherit the promises.

The Unchanging Promise

When God made His promise to Abraham,

since there was no one greater to swear by,

He swore by Himself, saying:

“I will surely bless you

and multiply you greatly.”

And so, after waiting patiently,

Abraham obtained the promise.

People swear by someone greater than themselves,

and an oath confirms what is said

and ends every dispute.

So God, wanting to show even more clearly

to the heirs of the promise

the unchangeable nature of His purpose,

confirmed it with an oath—

so that by two unchangeable things,

in which it is impossible for God to lie,

we who have fled for refuge

may have strong encouragement

to take hold of the hope set before us.

Hope Anchored Beyond the Veil

This hope we have

is an anchor for the soul,

firm and secure.

It enters into the inner place

behind the veil,

where Jesus has gone ahead for us—

our forerunner—

having become a high priest forever,

according to the order of Melchizedek.

———

Who Is Melchizedek?

This Melchizedek was king of Salem

and priest of the Most High God.

He met Abraham as he returned from defeating the kings,

and he blessed him.

And Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.

First, the name Melchizedek means:

“King of Rightness,”

then also:

“King of Salem” — that is, “King of Peace.”

He is without father, without mother, without genealogy,

having neither beginning of days nor end of life—

but resembling the Son of God,

he remains a priest continually.

Greater Than Levi

Now consider how great this man was,

to whom even Abraham the patriarch

gave a tenth of the spoils.

And indeed, the sons of Levi—

who receive the priesthood—

have a command in the instruction

to collect a tenth from the people,

that is, from their brothers—

even though they also come from Abraham’s line.

But Melchizedek, who was not from their line,

received tithes from Abraham

and blessed the one who had the promises.

And without dispute,

the lesser is blessed by the greater.

Here, mortal men receive tithes,

but there it is testified that he lives on.

One might even say

that Levi himself, who receives tithes,

paid a tenth through Abraham—

for he was still in the body of his ancestor

when Melchizedek met him.

A Better Priesthood from a Better Tribe

Now if perfection could have come

through the Levitical priesthood—

for under it the people received the instruction—

what further need would there be

for another priest to arise,

according to the order of Melchizedek,

and not be named after the order of Aaron?

For when the priesthood is changed,

there must also be a change in the instruction.

The One of whom these things are spoken

belonged to another tribe,

from which no one has served at the altar.

For it is evident that our Master

came from the tribe of Judah,

and Moses said nothing about priests from that tribe.

And it is even more clear

when another priest arises like Melchizedek—

not according to a legal requirement of ancestry,

but according to the power of an indestructible life.

For it is written:

“You are a priest forever,

according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Set Aside for Something Better

For the former requirement is set aside

because it was weak and ineffective—

for the instruction made nothing complete—

but now a better hope is introduced,

through which we draw near to God.

And it was not without an oath.

Those who became priests formerly

did so without an oath,

but this One became a priest

with an oath made by the One who said:

“The Master has sworn

and will not change His mind:

You are a priest forever.”

Because of this oath,

Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

A Priest Who Lives Forever

Now there have been many priests,

because death prevented them from continuing in office.

But because He lives forever,

He holds His priesthood permanently.

Therefore He is able to completely rescue

those who come to God through Him,

because He always lives to intercede for them.

The Kind of High Priest We Needed

For such a high priest truly fits us—

set apart, innocent, undefiled,

separated from sinners,

and exalted above the heavens.

He does not need, like the other high priests,

to offer sacrifices day after day,

first for His own sins,

then for the sins of the people.

He did this once for all

when He offered up Himself.

For the instruction appoints as high priests

men who are weak,

but the word of the oath, which came later,

appointed the Son—

who has been made complete forever.

———

The Main Point

Now here is the main point of what we are saying:

We have such a high priest,

who is seated at the right hand of the throne

of the Majesty in the heavens—

a servant of the sanctuary

and of the true tent that the Master set up,

not man.

For every high priest is appointed

to offer both gifts and sacrifices.

So it was necessary for this One also to have something to offer.

If He were on earth,

He would not be a priest at all,

since there are already those

who offer the gifts according to the instruction.

They serve as a copy and shadow

of the heavenly things—

as Moses was warned

when he was about to set up the tent:

“See to it that you make everything

according to the pattern

that was shown to you on the mountain.”

A Superior Ministry with a Superior Covenant

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry,

just as the covenant He mediates is better—

since it is enacted on better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless,

there would have been no need

for a second one to take its place.

But God found fault with the people, and said:

“Look, the days are coming,” says the Master,

“when I will make a renewed covenant

with the house of Israel

and with the house of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant

I made with their ancestors

on the day I took them by the hand

to lead them out of the land of Egypt.

Because they did not continue in My covenant,

I turned away from them,” says the Master.

Written on Their Hearts

“For this is the covenant

that I will make with the house of Israel

after those days,” says the Master:

“I will put My instructions into their minds

and write them on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be My people.

No longer will they teach each one his fellow

or each one his brother, saying,

‘Know the Master,’

for they will all know Me,

from the least of them to the greatest.

For I will be merciful toward their wrongdoing,

and I will remember their sins no more.”

The First Is Fading

In speaking of a “renewed” covenant,

He has made the first one obsolete.

And what is becoming obsolete and aging

is soon to disappear.

———

The First Covenant and Its Earthly Sanctuary

Now even the first covenant

had regulations for worship

and an earthly set-apart place.

A tent was prepared:

In the first room were the lampstand,

the table, and the bread of presence.

This was called the Set-Apart Place.

Behind the second curtain was the room called

the Most Set-Apart Place,

which held the golden altar of incense

and the Ark of the Covenant,

covered entirely in gold.

Inside the ark were:

the golden jar holding manna,

Aaron’s staff that had budded,

and the tablets of the covenant.

Above it were the cherubim of glory,

overshadowing the atonement cover.

We cannot discuss these things in detail now.

The Priests Enter Repeatedly

With these things prepared like this,

the priests enter regularly

into the first room to carry out their duties.

But into the second room,

only the high priest enters—once a year,

and not without blood,

which he offers for himself

and for the unintentional sins of the people.

By this, the Set-Apart Breath shows

that the way into the Most Set-Apart Place

was not yet open

as long as the first tent was still in use.

This is a symbol for the present time—

when gifts and sacrifices are offered

that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper.

They are only outward regulations

about food and drink and various washings—

imposed until the time of reformation.

The Anointed One and the Greater Tent

But when the Anointed One came

as high priest of the good things that have come,

He passed through the greater and more perfect tent—

not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.

He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves,

but by His own blood

He entered the Most Set-Apart Place once for all,

and obtained age-enduring redemption.

For if the blood of goats and bulls

and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on the unclean

set them apart outwardly,

how much more will the blood of the Anointed One,

who through the age-enduring Breath

offered Himself without blemish to God,

cleanse our conscience from dead works

to serve the living God?

Mediator of a New Covenant

For this reason He is the mediator of a renewed covenant,

so that those who are called

may receive the promise of the age-enduring inheritance—

now that a death has taken place

to release them from the transgressions

under the first covenant.

A Covenant Requires Death

For where there is a covenant,

the death of the one who made it must be proven.

For a covenant is in force only after death;

it is not valid while the one who made it is alive.

That is why not even the first covenant

was inaugurated without blood.

For after Moses had proclaimed every command

of the instruction to all the people,

he took the blood of calves and goats,

along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop,

and sprinkled the scroll and all the people,

saying:

“This is the blood of the covenant

that God has commanded for you.”

In the same way,

he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the vessels of worship with blood.

According to the instruction,

almost everything is made clean with blood,

and without the shedding of blood,

there is no release from sin.

The True Heavenly Offering

So it was necessary

for the copies of the heavenly things

to be cleansed with these earthly sacrifices,

but the heavenly things themselves

with better sacrifices than these.

For the Anointed One did not enter

a Most Set-Apart Place made by hands,

a mere copy of the true one,

but into heaven itself,

now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

He did not offer Himself again and again,

as the high priest enters the earthly Most Set-Apart Place

every year with blood that is not his own.

Otherwise, He would have had to suffer many times

since the foundation of the world.

But now He has appeared once for all,

at the culmination of the ages,

to do away with sin

by the offering of Himself.

Once to Die — Then Judgment

And just as it is appointed

for people to die once,

and after that comes judgment,

so also the Anointed One,

having been offered once

to bear the sins of many,

will appear a second time—

not to bear sin,

but to bring rescue to those

who eagerly wait for Him.

———

The Instruction as a Shadow

For the instruction,

being only a shadow of the good things to come

and not the very form of those realities,

can never—by the same sacrifices

offered continually year after year—

make those who draw near complete.

If it could,

would they not have stopped being offered?

For the worshipers, once cleansed,

would no longer have any consciousness of sins.

But in those sacrifices

there is a reminder of sins year after year.

For it is impossible

for the blood of bulls and goats

to take away sins.

The Anointed One’s Offering

Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says:

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,

but a body You prepared for Me;

in burnt offerings and sin offerings

You took no pleasure.

Then I said, ‘Look, I have come

to do Your will, O God’—

it is written of Me in the scroll of the book.”

After saying above,

“You did not desire or take pleasure in sacrifices and offerings,”

which are offered according to the instruction,

then He says,

“Look, I have come to do Your will.”

He sets aside the first

in order to establish the second.

And by that will,

we have been made set-apart

through the offering of the body of Jesus the Anointed One,

once for all.

A Single Offering Perfected All

Every priest stands daily ministering

and offering again and again

the same sacrifices,

which can never take away sins.

But this One,

after offering one sacrifice for sins for all time,

sat down at the right hand of God—

waiting from that time onward

until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet.

For by one offering,

He has made complete forever

those who are being made set apart.

The Set-Apart Breath Bears Witness

The Set-Apart Breath also testifies to us, saying:

“This is the covenant I will make with them

after those days,” says the Master:

“I will put My instructions on their hearts

and write them on their minds.”

Then He adds:

“Their sins and lawless acts

I will remember no more.”

Where there is forgiveness of these,

there is no longer any offering for sin.

A New and Living Way

Therefore, brothers and sisters,

since we have boldness to enter the Most Set-Apart Place

by the blood of Jesus—

by a new and living way

opened for us through the curtain (that is, His body)—

and since we have a great priest

over the house of God,

let us draw near with a true heart,

in full assurance of trust,

with hearts sprinkled clean from a guilty conscience

and bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope

without wavering,

for the One who promised is faithful.

And let us consider how to stir one another

to love and good works—

not neglecting our gathering together,

as some are in the habit of doing,

but encouraging one another—

and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

A Warning Against Willful Sin

For if we go on sinning deliberately

after receiving the knowledge of the truth,

there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

but a fearful expectation of judgment,

and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

Anyone who rejected the instruction of Moses

died without mercy

on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved

by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God,

and has profaned the blood of the covenant

by which they were made set-apart,

and has outraged the Spirit of favor?

For we know the One who said:

“Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,”

and again:

“The Master will judge His people.”

It is a fearful thing

to fall into the hands of the living God.

Do Not Throw Away Your Confidence

But remember the former days

when, after being enlightened,

you endured a great struggle with sufferings—

sometimes being publicly exposed

to insults and afflictions,

and sometimes standing with those so treated.

For you had compassion on those in chains,

and you joyfully accepted the seizure of your possessions,

knowing that you have for yourselves

a better and lasting possession.

So do not throw away your confidence,

which has a great reward.

You need endurance,

so that after you have done the will of God,

you may receive what was promised.

“For in a little while,

He who is coming will come and will not delay;

but My righteous one will live by trust,

and if they shrink back,

My soul has no delight in them.”

But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction,

but of those who trust and preserve their life.

———

Surrounded by a Cloud of Witnesses

Therefore, since we are surrounded

by such a great cloud of witnesses,

let us lay aside every weight

and the sin that so easily entangles,

and let us run with endurance

the race that is set before us—

fixing our eyes on Jesus,

the pioneer and perfecter of trust,

who, for the joy set before Him,

endured the cross,

despising its shame,

and sat down at the right hand

of the throne of God.

Consider Him Who Endured

Consider Him who endured such hostility

from sinners against Himself,

so that you do not grow weary and lose heart.

In your struggle against sin,

you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

And have you forgotten the encouragement

that addresses you as sons and daughters?

“My child, do not take lightly

the discipline of the Master,

nor lose heart when He corrects you.

For the Master disciplines the one He loves,

and punishes every child He receives.”

Discipline for Your Good

Endure hardship as discipline—

God is treating you as His children.

For what child is not disciplined by their father?

If you are without discipline—

which all children receive—

then you are not true children, but illegitimate.

Moreover, we had earthly fathers who disciplined us,

and we respected them.

Should we not much more submit

to the Father of spirits and live?

They disciplined us for a short time

as seemed best to them,

but He disciplines us for our benefit,

so that we may share in His set-apartness.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time,

but painful.

Later, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of rightness

for those who have been trained by it.

Strengthen and Straighten

So, strengthen the weak hands

and steady the feeble knees.

Make straight paths for your feet,

so that what is lame may not be put out of joint,

but rather healed.

Pursue peace with everyone,

and the set-apart life

without which no one will see the Master.

See to it that no one falls short of the favor of God,

and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

See that no one is sexually immoral or godless like Esau,

who for a single meal

sold his birthright.

You know that afterward,

when he wanted to inherit the blessing,

he was rejected—

even though he sought it with tears,

he could not change what had been done.

You Have Come to the Heavenly Reality

For you have not come

to a mountain that can be touched,

that burned with fire,

to darkness, gloom, and storm,

to the sound of a trumpet

and a voice whose words

made those who heard it beg

that no further message be spoken to them.

They could not bear what was commanded:

“If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”

The sight was so terrifying

that Moses said,

“I am full of fear and trembling.”

The City of the Living God

Instead, you have come to Mount Zion,

to the city of the living God,

the heavenly Jerusalem.

You have come to myriads of messengers in joyful gathering,

to the assembly of the firstborn

who are enrolled in heaven,

to God, the Judge of all,

to the spirits of the righteous made complete,

to Jesus, the mediator of a renewed covenant,

and to the sprinkled blood

that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Do Not Refuse the Voice

See to it that you do not refuse

the One who is speaking.

For if they did not escape

when they refused Him who warned them on earth,

how much less will we,

if we turn away from the One who warns from heaven?

At that time His voice shook the earth,

but now He has promised:

“Yet once more I will shake

not only the earth but also the heavens.”

The phrase “yet once more”

indicates the removal of what can be shaken—

that is, created things—

so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom

that cannot be shaken,

let us be thankful,

and so worship God acceptably

with reverence and awe.

For our God is a consuming fire.

———

Let Love and Hospitality Continue

Let brotherly love continue.

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,

for by doing so some have hosted messengers without knowing it.

Remember those in chains,

as though you were chained with them—

and those who are mistreated,

since you yourselves are also in the body.

Purity, Contentment, and Trust

Let marriage be held in honor among all,

and let the marriage bed be undefiled,

for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

Keep your lives free from the love of money,

and be content with what you have,

for He has said:

“I will never leave you or abandon you.”

So we can say with confidence:

“The Master is my helper; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?”

Remember Your Leaders

Remember your leaders—

those who spoke the word of God to you.

Consider the outcome of their way of life,

and imitate their trust.

Jesus the Anointed One is the same—

yesterday, today, and forever.

Do not be carried away

by all kinds of strange teachings.

It is good for the heart to be strengthened by favor,

not by ceremonial foods,

which have not benefited those who have relied on them.

Outside the Camp

We have an altar

from which those who serve in the earthly tent

have no right to eat.

For the bodies of the animals

whose blood is brought into the most set-apart place by the high priest

as a sin offering

are burned outside the camp.

So Jesus also suffered outside the gate,

to make the people set apart through His own blood.

So then, let us go to Him outside the camp,

bearing the reproach He bore.

For here we do not have a lasting city,

but we seek the one that is to come.

A Sacrifice of Praise

Through Him, then,

let us continually offer up to God

a sacrifice of praise—

that is, the fruit of lips that openly confess His name.

Do not forget to do good and to share with others,

for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Obey Your Leaders and Pray

Obey your leaders and submit to them,

for they keep watch over your souls

as those who must give an account.

Let them do this with joy and not with grief,

for that would be of no benefit to you.

Pray for us,

for we are confident that we have a clear conscience,

desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.

And I urge you all the more

to do this so that I may be restored to you quickly.

A Blessing of Peace and Completion

Now may the God of peace,

who brought up from the dead

our Master Jesus—

the great shepherd of the sheep—

by the blood of the age-enduring covenant,

make you complete in every good work

to do His will,

working in us what is pleasing in His sight

through Jesus the Anointed One,

to whom be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

Final Encouragement and Greetings

I urge you, brothers and sisters,

bear with this word of encouragement,

for I have written to you briefly.

You should know that our brother Timothy has been released.

If he comes soon, I will see you with him.

Greet all your leaders

and all the set-apart ones.

Those from Italy send you greetings.

Favor be with you all.