Open Bible Data Home  About  News  OET Key

OETOET-RVOET-LVULTUSTBSBBLBAICNTOEBWEBBEWMBBNETLSVFBVTCNTT4TLEBBBEMoffJPSWymthASVDRAYLTDrbyRVWbstrKJB-1769KJB-1611BshpsGnvaCvdlTNTWyclSR-GNTUHBBrLXXBrTrRelatedTopicsParallelInterlinearReferenceDictionarySearch

BBE By Document By ChapterDetails

BBE GENEXOLEVNUMDEUJOSJDGRUTH1SA2SA1KI2KI1CH2CHEZRANEHESTJOBPSAPROECCSNGISAJERLAMEZEDANHOSJOELAMOSOBAYNAMICNAHHABZEPHAGZECMALMATMARKLUKEYHNACTsROM1COR2CORGALEPHPHPCOL1TH2TH1TIM2TIMTITPHMHEBYAC1PET2PET1YHN2YHN3YHNYUDREV

BBE HEB

HEB

The Letter to the Hebrews

1In times past the word of God came to our fathers through the prophets, in different parts and in different ways; 2But now, at the end of these days, it has come to us through his Son, to whom he has given all things for a heritage, and through whom he made the order of the generations; 3Who, being the outshining of his glory, the true image of his substance, supporting all things by the word of his power, having given himself as an offering making clean from sins, took his seat at the right hand of God in heaven; 4Having become by so much better than the angels, as the name which is his heritage is more noble than theirs. 5To which of the angels did God say at any time, You are my Son, this day I have given you being? or, I will be his Father, and he will be my Son? 6And again, when he is sending his only Son into the world, he says, Let all the angels of God give him worship. 7And of the angels he says, Who makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire: 8But of the Son he says, Your seat of power, O God, is for ever and ever; and the rod of your kingdom is a rod of righteousness. 9You have been a lover of righteousness and a hater of evil; and so God, your God, has put the oil of joy on your head more than on the heads of those who are with you. 10You, Lord, at the first did put the earth on its base, and the heavens are the works of your hands: 11They will come to their end; but you are for ever; they will become old as a robe; 12They will be rolled up like a cloth, even like a robe, and they will be changed: but you are the same and your years will have no end. 13But of which of the angels has he said at any time, Take your seat at my right hand till I put all those who are against you under your feet? 14Are they not all helping spirits, who are sent out as servants to those whose heritage will be salvation?

2For this reason there is the more need for us to give attention to the things which have come to our ears, for fear that by chance we might be slipping away. 2Because if the word which came through the angels was fixed, and in the past every evil act against God's orders was given its full punishment; 3What will come on us, if we do not give our minds to such a great salvation? a salvation of which our fathers first had knowledge through the words of the Lord, and which was made certain to us by those to whom his words came; 4And God was a witness with them, by signs and wonders, and by more than natural powers, and by his distribution of the Holy Spirit at his pleasure. 5For he did not make the angels rulers over the world to come, of which I am writing. 6But a certain writer has given his witness, saying, What is man, that you keep him in mind? what is the son of man, that you take him into account? 7You made him a little lower than the angels; you gave him a crown of glory and honour, and made him ruler over all the works of your hands: 8You put all things under his feet. For in making man the ruler over all things, God did not put anything outside his authority; though we do not see everything under him now. 9But we see him who was made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, crowned with glory and honour, because he let himself be put to death so that by the grace of God he might undergo death for all men. 10Because it was right for him, for whom and through whom all things have being, in guiding his sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation complete through pain. 11For he who makes holy and those who are made holy are all of one family; and for this reason it is no shame for him to give them the name of brothers, 12Saying, I will give the knowledge of your name to my brothers, I will make a song of praise to you before the church. 13And again he says, I will put my faith in him. And again, See, I am here, and the children which God has given to me. 14And because the children are flesh and blood, he took a body himself and became like them; so that by his death he might put an end to him who had the power of death, that is to say, the Evil One; 15And let those who all their lives were in chains because of their fear of death, go free. 16For, truly, he does not take on the life of angels, but that of the seed of Abraham. 17Because of this it was necessary for him to be made like his brothers in every way, so that he might be a high priest full of mercy and keeping faith in everything to do with God, making offerings for the sins of the people. 18For having been put to the test himself, he is able to give help to others when they are tested.

3For this reason, holy brothers, marked out to have a part in heaven, give thought to Jesus the representative and high priest of our faith; 2Who kept faith with God who gave him his place, even as Moses did in all his house. 3And it was right for this man to have more honour than Moses, even as the builder of a house has more honour than the house. 4For every house has a builder; but the builder of all things is God. 5And Moses certainly kept faith as a servant, in all his house, and as a witness of those things which were to be said later; 6But Christ as a son, over his house; whose house are we, if we keep our hearts fixed in the glad and certain hope till the end. 7And so, as the Holy Spirit says, Today if you let his voice come to your ears, 8Be not hard of heart, as when you made me angry, on the day of testing in the waste land, 9When your fathers put me to the test, and saw my works for forty years. 10So that I was angry with this generation, and I said, Their hearts are in error at all times, and they have no knowledge of my ways; 11And being angry I made an oath, saying, They may not come into my rest. 12My brothers, take care that there is not by chance in any one of you an evil heart without belief, turning away from the living God: 13But give comfort to one another every day as long as it is still Today; so that no one among you may be made hard by the deceit of sin: 14For if we keep the substance of the faith which we had at the start, even till the end, we have a part with Christ; 15As it is said, Today if you will let his voice come to your ears, be not hard of heart, as when you made him angry. 16Who made him angry when his voice came to them? was it not all those who came out of Egypt with Moses? 17And with whom was he angry for forty years? was it not with those who did evil, who came to their deaths in the waste land? 18And to whom did he make an oath that they might not come into his rest? was it not to those who went against his orders? 19So we see that they were not able to go in because they had no belief.

4Let us then, though we still have God's word that we may come into his rest, go in fear that some of you may be unable to do so. 2And, truly, the good news came to us, even as it did to them; but the hearing of the word did them no good, because they were not united in faith with the true hearers. 3For those of us who have belief come into his rest; even as he has said, As I said in my oath when I was angry, They may not come into my rest: though the works were done from the time of the making of the world. 4For in one place he has said of the seventh day, And God had rest from all his works on the seventh day; 5And in the same place he says again, They will not come into my rest. 6So that as it is clear that some have to go in, and that the first hearers of the good news were not able to go in because they went against God's orders, 7After a long time, again naming a certain day, he says in David, Today (as he had said before), Today if you will let his voice come to your ears, be not hard of heart, 8For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have said anything about another day. 9So that there is still a Sabbath-keeping for the people of God. 10For the man who comes into his rest has had rest from his works, as God did from his. 11Because of this, let us have a strong desire to come into that rest, and let no one go after the example of those who went against God's orders. 12For the word of God is living and full of power, and is sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting through and making a division even of the soul and the spirit, the bones and the muscles, and quick to see the thoughts and purposes of the heart. 13And there is nothing made which is not completely clear to him; there is nothing covered, but all things are open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 14Having then a great high priest, who has made his way through the heavens, even Jesus the Son of God, let us be strong in our faith. 15For we have not a high priest who is not able to be touched by the feelings of our feeble flesh; but we have one who has been tested in all points as we ourselves are tested, but without sin. 16Then let us come near to the seat of grace without fear, so that mercy may be given to us, and we may get grace for our help in time of need.

5Every high priest who is taken from among men is given his position to take care of the interests of men in those things which have to do with God, so that he may make offerings for sins. 2He is able to have feeling for those who have no knowledge and for those who are wandering from the true way, because he himself is feeble; 3And being feeble, he has to make sin-offerings for himself as well as for the people. 4And no man who is not given authority by God, as Aaron was, takes this honour for himself. 5In the same way Christ did not take for himself the glory of being made a high priest, but was given it by him who said, You are my Son, this day I have given you being: 6As he says in another place, You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. 7Who in the days of his flesh, having sent up prayers and requests with strong crying and weeping to him who was able to give him salvation from death, had his prayer answered because of his fear of God. 8And though he was a Son, through the pain which he underwent, the knowledge came to him of what it was to be under God's orders; 9And when he had been made complete, he became the giver of eternal salvation to all those who are under his orders; 10Being named by God a high priest of the order of Melchizedek. 11Of whom we have much to say which it is hard to make clear, because you are slow of hearing. 12And though by this time it would be right for you to be teachers, you still have need of someone to give you teaching about the first simple rules of God's revelation; you have become like babies who have need of milk, and not of solid food. 13For everyone who takes milk is without experience of the word of righteousness: he is a child. 14But solid food is for men of full growth, even for those whose senses are trained by use to see what is good and what is evil.

6For this reason let us go on from the first things about Christ to full growth; not building again that on which it is based, that is, the turning of the heart from dead works, and faith in God, 2The teaching of baptisms, and of the putting on of hands, and of the future life of the dead, and of the judging on the last day. 3Now we will do this, if God lets us. 4As for those who at one time saw the light, tasting the good things from heaven, and having their part in the Holy Spirit, 5With knowledge of the good word of God, and of the powers of the coming time, 6And then let themselves be turned away, it is not possible for their hearts to be made new a second time; because they themselves put the Son of God on the cross again, openly shaming him. 7For a land, drinking in the frequent rain and producing good plants for those for whom it is worked, has a blessing from God: 8But if it sends up thorns and evil plants, it is of no use and is ready to be cursed; its only end is to be burned. 9But, my loved ones, though we say this, we are certain that you have better things in you, things which go with salvation; 10For God is true, and will not put away from him the memory of your work and of your love for his name, in the help which you gave and still give to the saints. 11And it is our desire that you may all keep the same high purpose in certain hope to the end: 12So that you may not be slow in heart, but may take as your example those to whom God has given their heritage, because of their faith and their long waiting. 13For when God made his oath to Abraham, because there was no greater oath, he made it by himself, 14Saying, Be certain that I will give you my blessing, and make your numbers very great. 15And so, when he had been waiting calmly for a long time, God's word to him was put into effect. 16For men at all times make their oaths by what is greater; and any argument is ended by the decision of the oath. 17So that when it was God's desire to make it specially clear to those who by his word were to have the heritage, that his purpose was fixed, he made it more certain with an oath; 18So that we, who have gone in flight from danger to the hope which has been put before us, may have a strong comfort in two unchanging things, in which it is not possible for God to be false; 19And this hope is like a strong band for our souls, fixed and certain, and going in to that which is inside the veil; 20Where Jesus has gone before us, as a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

7For this Melchizedek, the king of Salem, a priest of the Most High God, who gave Abraham his blessing, meeting him when he came back after putting the kings to death, 2And to whom Abraham gave a tenth part of everything which he had, being first named King of righteousness, and then in addition, King of Salem, that is to say, King of peace; 3Being without father or mother, or family, having no birth or end to his life, being made like the Son of God, is a priest for ever. 4Now see how great this man was, to whom our father Abraham gave a tenth part of what he had got in the fight. 5And it is true that by the law, those of the sons of Levi who have the position of priests may take a tenth part of the people's goods; that is to say, they take it from their brothers though these are the sons of Abraham. 6But this man, who was not of their family, took the tenth from Abraham, and gave a blessing to him to whom God had given his undertaking. 7But there is no doubt that the less gets his blessing from the greater. 8Now at the present time, men over whom death has power take the tenth; but then it was taken by one of whom it is witnessed that he is living. 9And we may say that in Abraham, even Levi, who has a right to take the tenth part, gave it; 10Because he was still in his father's body when Melchizedek came to him. 11Now if it was possible for things to be made complete through the priests of the house of Levi (for the law was given to the people in connection with them), what need was there for another priest who was of the order of Melchizedek and not of the order of Aaron? 12Because if the priests are changed, it is necessary to make a change in the law. 13For he of whom these things are said comes of another tribe, of which no man has ever made offerings at the altar. 14Because it is clear that our Lord comes out of Judah, and Moses said nothing about priests from that tribe. 15And this is even more clear if a second priest has come up who is like Melchizedek, 16That is to say, not made by a law based on the flesh, but by the power of a life without end: 17For it has been witnessed of him, You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. 18So the law which went before is put on one side, because it was feeble and without profit. 19(Because the law made nothing complete), and in its place there is a better hope, through which we come near to God. 20And as this is not without the taking of an oath 21(For those were made priests without an oath, but this one was made a priest with an oath by him who says of him, The Lord gave his oath, which he will not take back, that you are a priest for ever); 22By so much is it a better agreement which we have through Jesus. 23And it is true that there have been a great number of those priests, because death does not let them go on for ever; 24But this priest, because his life goes on for ever, is unchanging. 25So that he is fully able to be the saviour of all who come to God through him, because he is ever living to make prayer to God for them. 26It was right for us to have such a high priest, one who is holy and without evil, doing no wrong, having no part with sinners, and made higher than the heavens: 27Who has no need to make offerings for sins every day, like those high priests, first for himself, and then for the people; because he did this once and for ever when he made an offering of himself. 28The law makes high priests of men who are feeble; but the word of the oath, which was made after the law, gives that position to a Son, in whom all good is for ever complete.

8Now of the things we are saying this is the chief point: We have such a high priest, who has taken his place at the right hand of God's high seat of glory in heaven, 2As a servant of the holy things and of the true Tent, which was put up by God, not by man. 3Now every high priest is given authority to take to God the things which are given and to make offerings; so that it is necessary for this man, like them, to have something for an offering. 4If he had been on earth he would not have been a priest at all, because there are other priests who make the offerings ordered by the law; 5Being servants of that which is a copy and an image of the things in heaven, as Moses, when he was about to make the Tent, had special orders from God: for, See, he said, that you make everything like the design which you saw in the mountain. 6But now his position as priest is higher. because through him God has made a better agreement with man, based on the giving of better things. 7For if that first agreement had been as good as possible, there would have been no place for a second. 8For, protesting against them, he says, See, the days are coming when I will make a new agreement with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; 9Not like the agreement which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand, to be their guide out of the land of Egypt; for they did not keep the agreement with me, and I gave them up, says the Lord. 10For this is the agreement which I will make with the people of Israel after those days: I will put my laws into their minds, writing them in their hearts: and I will be their God, and they will be my people: 11And there will be no need for every man to be teaching his brother, or his neighbour, saying, This is the knowledge of the Lord: for they will all have knowledge of me, great and small. 12And I will have mercy on their evil-doing, and I will not keep their sins in mind. 13When he says, A new agreement, he has made the first agreement old. But anything which is getting old and past use will not be seen much longer.

9Now the first agreement had its rules of worship, and a holy order. 2For the first Tent was made ready, having in it the vessels for the lights and the table and the ordering of the bread; and this is named the holy place. 3And inside the second veil was the place which is named the Holy of holies; 4Having a vessel of gold in it for burning perfumes, and the ark of the agreement, which was covered with gold and which had in it a pot made of gold for the manna, and Aaron's rod which put out buds, and the stones with the writing of the agreement; 5And over it were the winged ones of glory with their wings covering the mercy-seat; about which it is not possible now to say anything in detail. 6Now while these things were in existence, the priests went into the first Tent at all times, for prayer and the making of offerings. 7But only the high priest went into the second, once a year, not without making an offering of blood for himself and for the errors of the people: 8The Holy Spirit witnessing by this that the way into the holy place had not at that time been made open, while the first Tent was still in being; 9And this is an image of the present time; when the offerings which are given are not able to make the heart of the worshipper completely clean, 10Because they are only rules of the flesh, of meats and drinks and washings, which have their place till the time comes when things will be put right. 11But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things of the future, through this greater and better Tent, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this world, 12And has gone once and for ever into the holy place, having got eternal salvation, not through the blood of goats and young oxen, but through his blood. 13For if the blood of goats and oxen, and the dust from the burning of a young cow, being put on the unclean, make the flesh clean: 14How much more will the blood of Christ, who, being without sin, made an offering of himself to God through the Holy Spirit, make your hearts clean from dead works to be servants of the living God? 15And for this cause it is through him that a new agreement has come into being, so that after the errors under the first agreement had been taken away by his death, the word of God might have effect for those who were marked out for an eternal heritage. 16Because where there is a testament, there has to be the death of the man who made it. 17For a testament has effect after death; for what power has it while the man who made it is living? 18So that even the first agreement was not made without blood. 19For when Moses had given all the rules of the law to the people, he took the blood of goats and young oxen, with water and red wool and hyssop, and put it on the book itself and on all the people, 20Saying, This blood is the sign of the agreement which God has made with you. 21And the blood was put on the Tent and all the holy vessels in the same way. 22And by the law almost all things are made clean with blood, and without blood there is no forgiveness. 23For this cause it was necessary to make the copies of the things in heaven clean with these offerings; but the things themselves are made clean with better offerings than these. 24For Christ did not go into a holy place which had been made by men's hands as the copy of the true one; but he went into heaven itself, and now takes his place before the face of God for us. 25And he did not have to make an offering of himself again and again, as the high priest goes into the holy place every year with blood which is not his; 26For then he would have undergone a number of deaths from the time of the making of the world: but now he has come to us at the end of the old order, to put away sin by the offering of himself. 27And because by God's law death comes to men once, and after that they are judged; 28So Christ, having at his first coming taken on himself the sins of men, will be seen a second time, without sin, by those who are waiting for him, for their salvation.

10For the law, being only a poor copy of the future good things, and not the true image of those things, is never able to make the people who come to the altar every year with the same offerings completely clean. 2For if this had been possible, would there not have been an end of those offerings, because the worshippers would have been made completely clean and would have been no longer conscious of sins? 3But year by year there is a memory of sins in those offerings. 4Because it is not possible for the blood of oxen and goats to take away sins. 5So that when he comes into the world, he says, You had no desire for offerings, but you made a body ready for me; 6You had no joy in burned offerings or in offerings for sin. 7Then I said, See, I have come to do your pleasure, O God (as it is said of me in the roll of the book). 8After saying, You had no desire for offerings, for burned offerings or offerings for sin (which are made by the law) and you had no pleasure in them, 9Then he said, See, I have come to do your pleasure. He took away the old order, so that he might put the new order in its place. 10By that pleasure we have been made holy, by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for ever. 11And every priest takes his place at the altar day by day, doing what is necessary, and making again and again the same offerings which are never able to take away sins. 12But when Jesus had made one offering for sins for ever, he took his place at the right hand of God; 13And has been waiting there from that time, till all who are against him are made a foot-rest for his feet. 14Because by one offering he has made complete for ever those who are made holy. 15And the Holy Spirit is a witness for us: for after he had said, 16This is the agreement which I will make with them after those days, says the Lord; I will put my laws in their hearts, writing them in their minds; he said, 17And I will keep no more memory of their sins and of their evil-doings. 18Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no more offering for sin. 19So then, my brothers, being able to go into the holy place without fear, because of the blood of Jesus, 20By the new and living way which he made open for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21And having a great priest over the house of God, 22Let us go in with true hearts, in certain faith, having our hearts made free from the sense of sin and our bodies washed with clean water: 23Let us keep the witness of our hope strong and unshaking, for he is true who has given his word: 24And let us be moving one another at all times to love and good works; 25Not giving up our meetings, as is the way of some, but keeping one another strong in faith; and all the more because you see the day coming near. 26For if we do evil on purpose after we have had the knowledge of what is true, there is no more offering for sins, 27But only a great fear of being judged, and of the fire of wrath which will be the destruction of the haters of God. 28A man who has gone against the law of Moses is put to death without pity on the word of two or three witnesses: 29But will not the man by whom the Son of God has been crushed under foot, and the blood of the agreement with which he was washed clean has been taken as an unholy thing, and who has had no respect for the Spirit of grace, be judged bad enough for a very much worse punishment? 30For we have had experience of him who says, Punishment is mine, I will give reward. And again, The Lord will be judge of his people. 31We may well go in fear of falling into the hands of the living God. 32But give thought to the days after you had seen the light, when you went through a great war of troubles; 33In part, in being attacked by angry words and cruel acts, before the eyes of everyone, and in part, in being united with those who were attacked in this way. 34For you had pity on those who were in prison, and had joy in the loss of your property, in the knowledge that you still had a better property and one which you would keep for ever. 35So do not give up your hope which will be greatly rewarded. 36For, having done what was right in God's eyes, you have need of waiting before his word has effect for you. 37In a very little time he who is coming will come; he will not be slow. 38But the upright man will be living by his faith; and if he goes back, my soul will have no pleasure in him. 39But we are not of those who go back to destruction; but of those who have faith even to the salvation of the soul.

11Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the sign that the things not seen are true. 2For by it our fathers had God's approval. 3By faith it is clear to us that the order of events was fixed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made from things which only seem to be. 4By faith Abel made a better offering to God than Cain, and he had witness through it of his righteousness, God giving his approval of his offering: and his voice still comes to us through it though he is dead. 5By faith Enoch was taken up to heaven so that he did not see death; he was seen no longer, for God took him away: for before he was taken, witness had been given that he was well-pleasing to God: 6And without faith it is not possible to be well-pleasing to him, for it is necessary for anyone who comes to God to have the belief that God is, and that he is a rewarder of all those who make a serious search for him. 7By faith Noah, being moved by the fear of God, made ready an ark for the salvation of his family, because God had given him news of things which were not seen at the time; and through it the world was judged by him, and he got for his heritage the righteousness which is by faith. 8By faith Abraham did as God said when he was ordered to go out into a place which was to be given to him as a heritage, and went out without knowledge of where he was going. 9By faith he was a wanderer in the land of the agreement, as in a strange land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who had a part with him in the same heritage: 10For he was looking for the strong town, whose builder and maker is God. 11And by faith Sarah herself had power to give birth, when she was very old, because she had faith in him who gave his word; 12So that from one man, who was near to death, came children in number as the stars in heaven, or as the sand by the seaside, which may not be numbered. 13All these came to their end in faith, not having had the heritage; but having seen it with delight far away, they gave witness that they were wanderers and not of the earth. 14For those who say such things make it clear that they are searching for a country for themselves. 15And truly if they had kept in mind the country from which they went out, they would have had chances of turning back. 16But now their desire is for a better country, that is to say, for one in heaven; and so it is no shame to God to be named their God; for he has made ready a town for them. 17By faith Abraham made an offering of Isaac, when he was tested: and he with whom the agreement had been made gave up as an offering the only son of his body, 18Of whom it had been said, From Isaac will your seed take their name: 19Judging that God was able to give life even to the dead; and because of this he did get him back as if from death. 20By faith Isaac, blessing Jacob and Esau, gave news of things to come. 21By faith Jacob gave a blessing to the two sons of Joseph, when he was near to death; and gave God worship, supported by his stick. 22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, said that the children of Israel would go out of Egypt; and gave orders about his bones. 23By faith Moses was kept secretly by his father and mother for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a fair child; and they had no fear of the king's orders. 24By faith Moses, when he became a man, had no desire to be named the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25Feeling that it was better to undergo pain with the people of God, than for a short time to have a taste of the pleasures of sin; 26Judging a part in the shame of Christ to be better than all the wealth of Egypt; for he was looking forward to his reward. 27By faith he went out of Egypt, not being turned from his purpose by fear of the wrath of the king; for he kept on his way, as seeing him who is unseen. 28By faith he kept the Passover, and put the sign of the blood on the houses, so that the angel of destruction might not put their oldest sons to death. 29By faith they went through the Red Sea as if it had been dry land, though the Egyptians were overcome by the water when they made an attempt to do the same. 30By faith the walls of Jericho came down, after they had been circled for seven days. 31By faith Rahab, the loose woman, was not put to death with those who had gone against God's orders, because she had taken into her house in peace those sent to see the land. 32What more am I to say? For there would not be time to give the stories of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33Who through faith overcame kingdoms, did righteousness, got their reward, kept the mouths of lions shut, 34Put out the power of fire, got safely away from the edge of the sword, were made strong when they had been feeble, became full of power in war, and put to flight the armies of the nations. 35Women had their dead given back to them living; others let themselves be cruelly attacked, having no desire to go free, so that they might have a better life to come; 36And others were tested by being laughed at or by blows, and even with chains and prisons: 37They were stoned, they were cut up with knives, they were tested, they were put to death with the sword, they went about in sheepskins and in goatskins; being poor and in pain and cruelly attacked, 38Wandering in waste places and in mountains and in holes in the rocks; for whom the world was not good enough. 39And not one of these got the good things of the agreement, though they all had a good record through faith, 40Because God had kept some better thing for us, so that it was not possible for them to become complete without us.

12For this reason, as we are circled by so great a cloud of witnesses, putting off every weight, and the sin into which we come so readily, let us keep on running in the way which is marked out for us, 2Having our eyes fixed on Jesus, the guide and end of our faith, who went through the pains of the cross, not caring for the shame, because of the joy which was before him, and who has now taken his place at the right hand of God's seat of power. 3Give thought to him who has undergone so much of the hate of sinners against himself, so that you may not be tired and feeble of purpose. 4Till now you have not given your blood in your fight against sin: 5And you have not kept in mind the word which says to you as to sons, My son, do not make little of the Lord's punishment, and do not give up hope when you are judged by him; 6For the Lord sends punishment on his loved ones; everyone whom he takes as his son has experience of his rod. 7It is for your training that you undergo these things; God is acting to you as a father does to his sons; for what son does not have punishment from his father? 8But if you have not that punishment of which we all have our part, then you are not true sons, but children of shame. 9And again, if the fathers of our flesh gave us punishment and had our respect, how much more will we be under the authority of the Father of spirits, and have life? 10For they truly gave us punishment for a short time, as it seemed good to them; but he does it for our profit, so that we may become holy as he is. 11At the time all punishment seems to be pain and not joy: but after, those who have been trained by it get from it the peace-giving fruit of righteousness. 12For this cause let the hands which are hanging down be lifted up, and let the feeble knees be made strong, 13And make straight roads for your feet, so that the feeble may not be turned out of the way, but may be made strong. 14Let your desire be for peace with all men, and to be made holy, without which no man may see the Lord; 15Looking with care to see that no man among you in his behaviour comes short of the grace of God; for fear that some bitter root may come up to be a trouble to you, and that some of you may be made unclean by it; 16And that there may not be any evil liver, or any man without respect for God, like Esau, who let his birthright go for a plate of food. 17For you have knowledge that even long after, when he was desiring the blessing for his heritage, he was turned away, though he made his request frequently and with weeping; because the past might not be changed. 18You have not come to a mountain which may be touched, and is burning with fire, and to a black cloud, and a dark smoke, and a violent wind, 19And to the sound of a horn, and the voice of words, the hearers of which made request that not a word more might be said to them: 20For the order which said, If the mountain is touched even by a beast, the beast is to be stoned, seemed hard to them; 21And the vision was so overpowering that even Moses said, I am shaking and full of fear. 22But you have come to the mountain of Zion, to the place of the living God, to the Jerusalem which is in heaven, and to an army of angels which may not be numbered, 23To the great meeting and church of the first of those who are named in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of good men made complete, 24And to Jesus by whom the new agreement has been made between God and man, and to the sign of the blood which says better things than Abel's blood. 25See that you give ear to his voice which comes to you. For if those whose ears were shut to the voice which came to them on earth did not go free from punishment, what chance have we of going free if we give no attention to him whose voice comes from heaven? 26Whose voice was the cause of the shaking of the earth; but now he has made an oath, saying, There will be still one more shaking, not only of the earth, but of heaven. 27And the words, Still one more, make it clear that there will be a taking away of those things which are shaking, as of things which are made, so that there may be only those things of which no shaking is possible. 28If then, we have a kingdom which will never be moved, let us have grace, so that we may give God such worship as is pleasing to him with fear and respect: 29For our God is an all-burning fire.

13Go on loving your brothers in the faith. 2Take care to keep open house: because in this way some have had angels as their guests, without being conscious of it. 3Keep in mind those who are in chains, as if you were chained with them, and those who are in trouble, as being yourselves in the body. 4Let married life be honoured among all of you and not made unclean; for men untrue in married life will be judged by God. 5Be free from the love of money and pleased with the things which you have; for he himself has said, I will be with you at all times. 6So that we say with a good heart, The Lord is my helper; I will have no fear: what is man able to do to me? 7Keep in mind those who were over you, and who gave you the word of God; seeing the outcome of their way of life, let your faith be like theirs. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. 9Do not be turned away by different strange teachings, because it is good for your hearts to be made strong by grace, and not by meats, which were of no profit to those who took so much trouble over them. 10We have an altar from which those priests who are servants in the Tent may not take food. 11For the bodies of the beasts whose blood is taken into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin are burned outside the circle of the tents. 12For this reason Jesus was put to death outside the walls, so that he might make the people holy by his blood. 13Let us then go out to him outside the circle of the tents, taking his shame on ourselves. 14For here we have no fixed resting-place, but our search is for the one which is to come. 15Let us then make offerings of praise to God at all times through him, that is to say, the fruit of lips giving witness to his name. 16But go on doing good and giving to others, because God is well-pleased with such offerings. 17Give ear to those who are rulers over you, and do as they say: for they keep watch over your souls, ready to give an account of them; let them be able to do this with joy and not with grief, because that would be of no profit to you. 18Make prayers for us, for we are certain that our hearts are free from the sense of sin, desiring the right way of life in all things. 19I make this request more strongly, in the hope of coming back to you more quickly. 20Now may the God of peace, who made that great keeper of his flock, even our Lord Jesus, come back from the dead through the blood of the eternal agreement, 21Make you full of every good work and ready to do all his desires, working in us whatever is pleasing in his eyes through Jesus Christ; and may the glory be given to him for ever and ever. So be it. 22But, brothers, take kindly the words which I have said for your profit; for I have not sent you a long letter. 23Our brother Timothy has been let out of prison; and if he comes here in a short time, he and I will come to you together. 24Give words of love from me to those who are rulers over you, and to all the saints. Those who are in Italy send you their love. 25May grace be with you all.