Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.

For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.

Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways.

Your life should be free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.

And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment—

not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works,

keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to the confession.

Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.

Therefore from one man—in fact, from one as good as dead—came offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as innumerable as the grains of sand by the seashore.

Therefore, He is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.

Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the Devil—

Marriage must be respected by all, and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge immoral people and adulterers.

Again, in that passage He says, They will never enter My rest.

Therefore, brothers, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus,

Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Let brotherly love continue.

Therefore, leaving the elementary message about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God,

In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him.

But we do see Jesus—made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace He might taste death for everyone—crowned with glory and honor because of His suffering in death.

For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy Spirit,

By faith we understand that the universe was created by God’s command, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.

For if we deliberately sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God?

but to the Son:

Your throne, God,
is forever and ever,
and the scepter of Your kingdom
is a scepter of justice.

We must, therefore, pay even more attention to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.

Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

they will perish, but You remain.
They will all wear out like clothing;

Since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,

and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed instead.

also said in another passage, You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

Therefore, through Him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess His name.

Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the actual form of those realities, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year.

For ground that has drunk the rain that has often fallen on it and that produces vegetation useful to those it is cultivated for receives a blessing from God.

And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons:

My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly
or faint when you are reproved by Him,

But the Messiah has appeared, high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation),

how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.

These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth.

Therefore, holy brothers and companions in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession;

Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food.

Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going.

Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—with the blood of the everlasting covenant,

Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels in festive gathering,

so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm,

In the one case, men who will die receive tenths, but in the other case, Scripture testifies that he lives.

Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.

By this will of God, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.

Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?

For the Messiah did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that He might now appear in the presence of God for us.

For in bringing many sons to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God—all things exist for Him and through Him—should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.

When He again brings His firstborn into the world, He says, And all God’s angels must worship Him.

During His earthly life, He offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.

But this 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 write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be My people.

Therefore, He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

not like the covenant
that I made with their ancestors
on the day I took them by their hands
to lead them out of the land of Egypt.
I disregarded them, says the Lord,
because they did not continue in My covenant.

You will roll them up like a cloak,
and they will be changed like a robe.
But You are the same,
and Your years will never end.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe,

Though He was God’s Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered.

Watch out, brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God.

Therefore, He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.

for the Lord disciplines the one He loves
and punishes every son He receives.

We have this hope as an anchor for our lives, safe and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.

But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree He is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been legally enacted on better promises.

He entered the most holy place once for all, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

Therefore, while the promise to enter His rest remains, let us fear that none of you should miss it.

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:

Today, if you hear His voice,

Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people.

Now the main point of what is being said is this: We have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and will be burned at the end.

If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return.

For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and he was offering his unique son,

Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future.

By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to God who is the Judge of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect,

For this Melchizedek—

King of Salem, priest of the Most High God,
who met Abraham and blessed him
as he returned from defeating the kings,

But solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.

So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

Therefore, as He was coming into the world, He said:

You did not want sacrifice and offering,
but You prepared a body for Me.

again, He specifies a certain day—today—speaking through David after such a long time, as previously stated:

Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts.

But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.

so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.

After He was perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him,

Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and by it, defiling many.

By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.

And in a sense Levi himself, who receives tenths, has paid tenths through Abraham,

Remember the prisoners, as though you were in prison with them, and the mistreated, as though you yourselves were suffering bodily.

By faith Enoch was taken away so he did not experience death, and he was not to be found because God took him away. For prior to his removal he was approved, since he had pleased God.

Otherwise, He would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,

No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

We have a great deal to say about this, and it’s difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand.

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.

But My righteous one will live by faith;
and if he draws back,
I have no pleasure in him.

For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Even though we are speaking this way, dear friends, in your case we are confident of the better things connected with salvation.

Pray for us; for we are convinced that we have a clear conscience, wanting to conduct ourselves honorably in everything.

for he was still within his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

He is now waiting until His enemies are made His footstool.

and He was declared by God a high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead, and as an illustration, he received him back.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

the one it had been said about, Your seed will be traced through Isaac.

equip you with all that is good to do His will, working in us what is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ. Glory belongs to Him forever and ever. Amen.

For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must be a change of law as well.

And each person will not teach his fellow citizen,
and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,”
because they will all know Me,
from the least to the greatest of them.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

For the One these things are spoken about belonged to a different tribe. No one from it has served at the altar.

where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
and saw My works

For you know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected because he didn’t find any opportunity for repentance, though he sought it with tears.

and subjected everything under his feet.

For in subjecting everything to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. As it is, we do not yet see everything subjected to him.

For the person who has entered His rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His.

Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

He adds:

I will never again remember
their sins and their lawless acts.

Where a will exists, the death of the one who made it must be established.

The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. For after He says:

By faith Joseph, as he was nearing the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones.

Now we want each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the final realization of your hope,

And make sure that there isn’t any immoral or irreverent person like Esau, who sold his birthright in exchange for one meal.

For he considered the reproach because of the Messiah to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since his attention was on the reward.

by a new and living way He has opened for us through the curtain (that is, His flesh),

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,

By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees Him who is invisible.

You made him lower than the angels
for a short time;
You crowned him with glory and honor

For a will is valid only when people die, since it is never in force while the one who made it is living.

By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites.

And I especially urge you to pray that I may be restored to you very soon.

for 40 years.
Therefore I was provoked with that generation
and said, “They always go astray in their hearts,
and they have not known My ways.”

saying, This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded for you.

to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. (Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them,

Brothers, I urge you to receive this message of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.

Now it is evident that our Lord came from Judah, and Moses said nothing about that tribe concerning priests.

For when every command had been proclaimed by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll itself and all the people,

and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin.

So I swore in My anger,
“They will not enter My rest.”

For it is clear that He does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring.

That is why even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood.

And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise.

and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.

I will indeed bless you,
and I will greatly multiply you.

In the same way, he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the articles of worship with blood.

but He became a priest with an oath made by the One who said to Him:

The Lord has sworn,
and He will not change His mind,
You are a priest forever.

The appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am terrified and trembling.)

For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment,

Be aware that our brother Timothy has been released. If he comes soon enough, he will be with me when I see you.

Grace be with all of you.

Again, I will trust in Him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave Me.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being encircled by the Israelites for seven days.

And this becomes clearer if another priest like Melchizedek appears,

He did not do this to offer Himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another.

and since we have a great high priest over the house of God,

So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable

For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but He does it for our benefit, so that we can share His holiness.

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

And on the seventh day
God rested from all His works.

Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

Because God wanted to show His unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath,

His voice shook the earth at that time, but now He has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven.

For men swear by something greater than themselves, and for them a confirming oath ends every dispute.

For who heard and rebelled? Wasn’t it really all who came out of Egypt under Moses?

As it is said:

Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.

And who did He swear to that they would not enter His rest, if not those who disobeyed?

Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who are from Italy greet you.

For it has been testified:

You are a priest forever
in the order of Melchizedek.

for they could not bear what was commanded: And if even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned!

Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves to be purified with better sacrifices than these.

For our ancestors won God’s approval by it.

By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise.

(for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

who did not become a priest based on a legal command concerning physical descent but based on the power of an indestructible life.

And who was He provoked with for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?

So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

and who have fallen away, because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding Him up to contempt.

teaching about ritual washings, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

So Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant.

He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was in all God’s household.

He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he is also subject to weakness.

and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything;
first, his name means king of righteousness,
then also, king of Salem,
meaning king of peace;

For Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder has more honor than the house.

For a tabernacle was set up, and in the first room, which is called the holy place, were the lampstand, the table, and the presentation loaves.

No one takes this honor on himself; instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was.

But the high priest alone enters the second room, and he does that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.

This is a symbol for the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper’s conscience.

If anyone disregards Moses’ law, he dies without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

It contained the gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant, covered with gold on all sides, in which there was a gold jar containing the manna, Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.

None of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without an oath,

Now consider how great this man was—even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the plunder to him!

The cherubim of glory were above it overshadowing the mercy seat. It is not possible to speak about these things in detail right now.

a minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that was set up by the Lord and not man.

With these things set up this way, the priests enter the first room repeatedly, performing their ministry.

but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries.

tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age,

This expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what is not shaken might remain.

The sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have a command according to the law to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their brothers—though they have also descended from Abraham.

And we will do this if God permits.

Behind the second curtain, the tabernacle was called the most holy place.

Now if He were on earth, He wouldn’t be a priest, since there are those offering the gifts prescribed by the law.

For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.

Without a doubt, the inferior is blessed by the superior.

Because of this, he must make a sin offering for himself as well as for the people.

For to which of the angels did He ever say, You are My Son; today I have become Your Father, or again, I will be His Father, and He will be My Son?

Now the first covenant also had regulations for ministry and an earthly sanctuary.

For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified.

For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, who has been perfected forever.

And:

In the beginning, Lord,
You established the earth,
and the heavens are the works of Your hands;

For God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you showed for His name when you served the saints—and you continue to serve them.

For He has not subjected to angels the world to come that we are talking about.

Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, so that He might sanctify the people by His own blood.

For every high priest taken from men is appointed in service to God for the people, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter

But one without this lineage collected tenths from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises.

For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.

For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested.

By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned.

By saying, a new covenant, He has declared that the first is old. And what is old and aging is about to disappear.

For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers,

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,

Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, once purified, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?

for our God is a consuming fire.

Then I said, “See—
it is written about Me
in the volume of the scroll—
I have come to do Your will, God!”

Therefore, we may boldly say:

The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised,

But finding fault with His people, He says:

Look, 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—

Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline?

Don’t be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by foods, since those involved in them have not benefited.

He then says, See, I have come to do Your will. He takes away the first to establish the second.

For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself:

How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart.

We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle do not have a right to eat.

But one has somewhere testified:

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

But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household. And we are that household if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope.

So He became higher in rank than the angels, just as the name He inherited is superior to theirs.

Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins.

They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated.

Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

without father, mother, or genealogy,
having neither beginning of days nor end of life,
but resembling the Son of God—

remains a priest forever.

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Let us then go to Him outside the camp, bearing His disgrace.

so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.

These serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was warned when he was about to complete the tabernacle. For God said, Be careful that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

This is the covenant I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws on their hearts
and write them on their minds,

By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the One who had promised was faithful.

After He says above, You did not want or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law),

For I will be merciful to their wrongdoing,
and I will never again remember their sins.

By faith, after Moses was born, he was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn’t fear the king’s edict.

The Holy Spirit was making it clear that the way into the most holy place had not yet been disclosed while the first tabernacle was still standing.

But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.

Furthermore, we had natural fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live?

and others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment.