The Certainty of God's Promise

13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless yoʋ and multiply yoʋ.” 15 And so Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. 16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God wanted to show the unchangeable nature of his purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 19 We have this hope as a sure and steadfast anchor for the soul. It enters into the inner sanctuary behind the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, because he has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.