Montgomery - Hebrews

Chapter 1

1:1  God, who in ancient days spoke to our ancestors in the prophets, at many different times and by various methods,

1:2  has at the end of these days spoken to us in a Son whom he appointed heir of all things; through whom also he made the universe.

1:3  He being an emanation of God’s glory and stamp of his substance, and upholding the universe by the utterances of his power, after by himself making purification of our sins, has taken his seat on the right hand of the Majesty on High.

1:4  He is as much superior to the angels as the name that he has inherited surpasses theirs.

1:5  For to what angel did God ever say, Thou art my son; this day have I become thy Father? and again, I will be a father to him, and he shall be to me a son?

1:6  And further, when he brought the firstborn into the habitable world, he said, Let all the angels of God worship him.

1:7  While of the angels he said, He makes his angels into winds, His ministering servants into flames of fire.

1:8  But to the Son he says. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the scepter of thy kingdom is the scepter of justice.

1:9  Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore did God, thy God, anoint thee with the oil of gladness beyond thy comrades.

1:10  And, Thou, O Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundations of the earth, And the heavens are the work of thy hands.

1:11  They will perish, but thou remainest; They all will grow old like a garment,

1:12  Like a mantle thou wilt fold them up, And like a garment they will be changed. But thou art the same, And thy years will never fail.

1:13  To which of the angels has he ever said, Sit at my right hand, Till I make thy foes a footstool for thy feet?

1:14  Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth for service in behalf of those who are about to inherit salvation?

Chapter 2

2:1  For this reason we must pay the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, for fear we should drift away.

2:2  For if the word uttered through angels stood firm, so that every transgression and act of disobedience met with its just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

2:3  Which having begun to be spoken by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him;

2:4  God himself corroborating their testimony by signs and wonders and a variety of miraculous powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit imparted in accordance with his own will.

2:5  It is not to angels that God subjected the age to be, of which we are speaking.

2:6  But some one, somewhere, testified, saying. What is Man, that thou art mindful of him? Or any man, that thou carest for him?

2:7  Thou hast made him only a little lower that the angels; With glory and honor hast thou crowned him; And hast set him to govern the works of thy hands;

2:8  Thou hast put all things under his feet. For this putting all things under man means leaving nothing not subject to him. But we do not yet see all things subject to him.

2:9  What we do see is Jesus, who was made for a time a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor, because of the suffering of death, in order that through God’s grace he might taste death for every man.

2:10  For it befitted him, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

2:11  For both he who sanctifies and those whom he is sanctifying are all from One; for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying.

2:12  I will proclaim thy name to my brothers; In the midst of the Church I will hymn thy praises.

2:13  And again, I myself will put my trust in God. And again, Lo, I and the children God has given me.

2:14  Therefore, since the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also similarly partook of the same, in order that through death he might render powerless him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

2:15  And might deliver those who through fear of death had been subject to life-long bondage.

2:16  For assuredly it is not angels, nay, it is the offspring of Abraham, whom he is ever taking by the hand.

2:17  And so it was necessary that he should in all points be made like his brothers, so that he might become a compassionate and faithful high priest, in all that relates to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

2:18  For inasmuch as he himself has suffered, being tempted, he is also able instantly to succor those who are tempted, he is also able instantly to succor those who are tempted.

Chapter 3

3:1  Therefore, holy brothers, comrades of a heavenly calling, fix your thoughts then upon Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.

3:2  How faithful he was to the God who appointed him! For while Moses also was faithful in all God’s house,

3:3  Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who has built a house has higher honor than the house itself.

3:4  For every house has its builder; but he who built the universe is God.

3:5  And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, bearing testimony to a witness about to be spoken;

3:6  but Christ as a Son in his own house; and we are that house, if we retain the cheerful courage and pride of our hope firm unto the end.

3:7  Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says. If you hear God’s voice today,

3:8  Continue not to harden your hearts as in the Provocation, On the day of temptation in the wilderness,

3:9  When your forefathers tried my forbearance And saw my deeds for forty years.

3:10  For this reason I was sore displeased with that generation, And said, "They are always wandering in their hearts; They have never learned my ways";

3:11  So I swore in my wrath, "They shall never enter into my rest."

3:12  See to it, brothers, that there shall never be in any one of you an evil and unbelieving heart, manifesting itself in apostasy from the living God.

3:13  On the contrary, encourage each other daily, so long as there is a "Today," so that no one of you is hindered by the deceitfulness of sin.

3:14  For we are become comrades of the Christ, if we hold our first title deed firm until the very end.

3:15  In the words of Scripture, Today, if you hear his voice, Do not continue to harden your hearts as at the Provocation.

3:16  For who were they that heard and yet provoked him? Was it not all who came out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses?

3:17  And with whom was he grieved for forty years? Was it not with those who had sinned, and whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness?

3:18  And to whom did he swear that they should never enter into his rest, if not to those who had proved faithless? So you see that it was through unbelief that they were not able to enter in.

Chapter 4

4:1  Let us be on our guard, then, though there is a promise still standing of being admitted to his rest, lest any one of you should be found to have come short of it.

4:2  For the Good News is come to us just as it did to them. But the message they heard was of no benefit to them, because they did not share the faith of those who gave heed to it.

4:3  We are actually entering into that rest, we who have believed, as God has said, -In my wrath I swore - "They shall not enter into my Rest," although his works were finished since the foundation of the world.

4:4  For he has said, somewhere, regarding the seventh day, And God rested on the seventh day from all his work.

4:5  And again in this passage, They shall not enter into my rest.

4:6  Since, then, it remains that some should enter into it, and since those who formerly had the Good News preached to them did not enter in because of unbelief,

4:7  he again fixes a day, saying long afterward by David’s lips, in words already quoted, Today if you hear his voice, Continue not to harden your hearts.

4:8  For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day.

4:9  So there remains a Sabbath Rest for the people of God.

4:10  For whoever has entered into his rest has rested from his works, just as God did from his.

4:11  Let us, then, be earnest to enter into that rest, so that no one may fall into the same example of disobedience.

4:12  For living is the Word of God, and active, and sharper than any two- edged sword, piercing even to the severance of soul form spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the very thoughts and conceptions of the heart.

4:13  And there is not a creature hidden form him, but all things are naked and laid prostrate before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

4:14  Inasmuch, then, as we have a great High Priest, Jesus, the Son of God, who has passed through the heavens, let us hold fast our confession of faith.

4:15  For we have not a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.

4:16  Let us, then, draw near with glad boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and find grace to help us in our times of need.

Chapter 5

5:1  For every high priest chosen from time to time from among men is appointed on behalf of men, in matters relating to God, to offer both gifts and sacrifices on behalf of sins.

5:2  He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and erring, since he himself also is encompassed with moral weakness,

5:3  and because of this weakness he is bound to offer sin-offerings not only for the people, but also for himself.

5:4  Again no one takes this honorable office for himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was.

5:5  So even the Christ was not raised to the high glory of the priesthood by himself, but on the contrary by Him who said to him. Thou art my Son; this day have I become thy Father;

5:6  and again, Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchisedek.

5:7  In the days of his flesh, with better cries and weeping Jesus offered up prayers and supplications to Him who was able to save him out of death; and he was heard because of his devout submission.

5:8  Though he was a son, yet learned he obedience through the things which he suffered;

5:9  and by being thus made perfect, he became the source of enduring salvation to all who obey him,

5:10  while God himself pronounced him High Priest according to the order of Melchisedek.

5:11  Concerning him I have much to say, and much that is hard to make clear to you, because you have grown dull of hearing.

5:12  And this too, although you ought by this time to be teaching others, you are still needing some one to teach you the very rudiments of divine revelation. You need milk, not solid food.

5:13  For every one who feeds on milk is inexperienced in the word of righteousness. He is still an infant.

5:14  But solid food is for adults, that is, for those who by constant practise have their faculties trained to discriminate between good and evil.

Chapter 6

6:1  So let us get beyond the teaching of the elementary doctrines of Christ, and let us be borne along toward what is mature. Let us not be continually laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works,

6:2  of faith in God, of the teaching regarding ablutions and the laying on of hands, of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

6:3  And this we will do, if God permit.

6:4  For in the case of those who have been once for all enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift,

6:5  and become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the Future Age,

6:6  and then fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance. For they repeatedly crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and expose him to an open shame.

6:7  For land that has drunk the showers that now and again fall upon it, and produced vegetation useful for those for whom it was tilled, receives a blessing from God;

6:8  but if it produces thorns and thistles, it is considered worthless, and is in danger of being cursed, and its end will be to be burned.

6:9  But though we thus speak, we are persuaded better things of you, beloved, and things that accompany salvation.

6:10  For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you showed for his cause, in sending help to your fellow Christians, as you are still doing.

6:11  but I am longing that each of you continue to show the same diligence to realize the fulness of your hope, even to the end.

6:12  Then do not become slack, but be imitators of those who through faith and patience are inheriting the promises.

6:13  For when God make the promise to Abraham, since he could swear by none greater, he swore by himself, saying.

6:14  Surely I will bless you, and bless you; I will increase you, and increase you.

6:15  And so by patiently waiting, Abraham obtained the promise.

6:16  I am referring to the oath because men swear by what is greater than themselves, and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation.

6:17  On which principle God, wishing to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his purpose, mediated with an oath;

6:18  that by means of two immutable things - his promise and his oath - in which it is impossible for God to break faith, we refugees may have strong encouragement to grasp the hope set before us.

6:19  This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, secure and strong, and passing into the sanctuary which is beyond the veil;

6:20  whither Jesus himself is entered as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a priest forever, after the order of Melchisedek.

Chapter 7

7:1  It was this Melchisedek, King of Salem and Priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him;

7:2  and it was to him that Abraham apportioned a tithe of all the spoil. He was first, as his name signifies, King of righteousness, and then King of Salem, that is, King of Peace;

7:3  without father or mother, without lineage, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest in perpetuity.

7:4  But observe how great this man was, to whom even Abraham, the Patriarch, gave a tenth part of the spoils.

7:5  Now those of the sons of Levi who are appointed to the priesthood, are authorized by the Law to take tithes of the people, that is, of their brothers, and that too, although these are descended from Abraham.

7:6  But this man who had no Levitical genealogy actually took tithes of Abraham, and blessed him to whom the promises belong.

7:7  Now it is beyond all controversy that the inferior is always blessed by the superior.

7:8  Again it is mortal men who receive tithes in the one case; while in the other it is he of whom it is attested, "He lives."

7:9  And even Levi, who is the receiver of tithes, so to speak, paid tithes through Abraham;

7:10  for Levi was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedek met Abraham.

7:11  Now if there were perfection through the Levitical priesthood, (and it was under it that the people received the Law) why was it still necessary for another kind of priest to arise, after the order of Melchisedek, instead of being reckoned according to the order of Aaron?

7:12  For when the priesthood changes, of necessity the law also changes.

7:13  He who is thus described belonged to another tribe, not one member of which has ever served at the altar.

7:14  For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe of which Moses said nothing concerning the priesthood.

7:15  And this is yet more abundantly clear if, after the likeness of Melchisedek, there arises another Priest,

7:16  who has become such, not according to the law of a transitory enactment, but according to the energy of an indissoluble life.

7:17  For the words are in evidence, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedek.

7:18  For there is a setting aside of a foregoing commandment, because of its weakness and unprofitableness

7:19  (for the Law brought nothing to perfection); and there is the bringing in of a better hope by which we draw near to God;

7:20  mightier because it was not promised apart from an oath.

7:21  For although those priests became such without an oath, He had an oath form God who said to him, The Lord hath sworn and will not change, Thou art a priest forever.

7:22  And by so much Jesus becomes the guarantor of a better covenant.

7:23  And they indeed have been made priests, many in number, because they have been prevented by death from continuing;

7:24  but he, because of his abiding forever, holds his priesthood inviolable.

7:25  Hence also he is able to continue saving to the uttermost those who are ever drawing near to God through him, seeing that he is ever living to intercede for them.

7:26  For we needed just such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens;

7:27  one who has no need, like the high priests, to offer up daily sacrifices, first for his own sins, then for those of the people. For his sacrifice was made once for all, when he offered up himself.

7:28  For the Law appoints human beings to be high priests, men with all their weakness; but the word of the oath, which was later than the Law, appoints a Son, perfected forevermore.

Chapter 8

8:1  The pith of all that we have been saying is this; we do have such a High Priest; and he has taken his seat on the right hand of the throne of Majesty in the heavens,

8:2  a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.

8:3  For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; whence it follows that this High Priest also must have some offering to make.

8:4  Now were he on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there are here those who present the gifts according to the Law -

8:5  those priests who serve a mere outline and shadow of the heavenly reality, just as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to build the Tabernacle. "See", he says, "that you make everything on the pattern showed you on the mountain."

8:6  But Jesus has obtained a better ministry, by so much as he is also Mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted upon better promises.

8:7  For if the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second.

8:8  But finding fault with them, He says. "There are days coming," says the Lord, "When I will establish with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant;

8:9  Not according tot he covenant which I made with their forefathers, On the day when I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in my covenant, And therefore I disregarded them," says the Lord.

8:10  "For this is the covenant which I will covenant with the house of Israel, After these days," says the Lord; "I will put my laws into their minds, And upon their hearts will I write them; And I will be their God, And they shall be my people;

8:11  And they shall not teach every man his fellow citizen, And every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; For all shall know me, From the least to the greatest of them.

8:12  For I will have mercy upon their wrong-doings, And their sins I will remember no more."

8:13  By calling the covenant "new," He has made the first one obsolete; and whatever is becoming obsolete and aged, is near to vanishing.

Chapter 9

9:1  Now even the first covenant had its ordinances of public worship, and its sanctuary, a material one.

9:2  For a tent was built, the outer one called the Holy Place, in which were the lamp and the table and the loaves of the Presence;

9:3  and behind the second veil was the tent called the Holy of Holies.

9:4  In it was the golden altar of incense, and also the Ark of the Covenant covered all over with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

9:5  while above it, overshadowing the mercy-seat, were the cherubim of glory. But I must not speak about these in detail.

9:6  Such then were the arrangements. Into the outer tent the priests enter continually in the performance of their duties;

9:7  but into the inner tent the high priest only goes alone, once a year, and that not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the ignorances of the people.

9:8  The Holy Spirit teaching by this that the way into the Holiest has not yet been disclosed while the first tent is still standing.

9:9  This is a parable, for the present time, according to which gifts and sacrifices are offered that are not able, as far as conscience is concerned, to perfect the worshiper;

9:10  since they consist only in meats and drinks and various ablutions, carnal ordinances, imposed until the time of reformation.

9:11  But when Christ came, a High Priest of good things to come, he passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is to say, not of this material creation,

9:12  not taking the blood of goats and oxen, but his own blood, and entered once for all into the Holy Place, obtaining for us an eternal redemption.

9:13  For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who have been defiled, sanctify to the cleansing of the flesh,

9:14  how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through his eternal spirit offered himself free from blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works unto the service of an ever-living God!

9:15  And because of this he is the Mediator of a new testament, in order that, since a death has taken place to atone for offenses committed under the first testament, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

9:16  For where there is a testament, there must also be brought forward in evidence the death of the testator.

9:17  For a testament is only of force in case of the dead, being never valid so long as the testator lives.

9:18  Accordingly we find that not without blood was the first testament enacted.

9:19  For after every commandment according to the law had been spoken by Moses to the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people.

9:20  saying, This is the blood of that testament which God commanded in regard to you.

9:21  Moreover the tabernacle and all the vessels of service he sprinkled likewise, and indeed, according to the Law,

9:22  almost everything is purified by blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.

9:23  While, then, it was necessary that the copies of the heavenly things should be cleansed by such sacrifices, the heavenly things themselves required nobler sacrifices than these.

9:24  For it was not into a Sanctuary made by hands, a mere type of the reality, that Christ entered, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the very presence of God on our behalf.

9:25  Nor did he enter to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest entered into the sanctuary, year after year, with blood that was not his own; (for in that case he would have needed to suffer repeatedly, ever since the foundation of the world;)but now, once for all, at the end of the ages, he has appeared to abolish sin, but the offering of himself.

9:27  And since it is appointed to men once to die, and after that the judgment;

9:28  so also the Christ, after being once for all offered to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who wait for him for salvation.

Chapter 10

10:1  For the Law, being only a shadow of the good things to come, and not their very substance, its priests cannot with the same sacrifice which year after year they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near.

10:2  Otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered? Because the worshippers having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sin.

10:3  But on the other hand, in these sacrifices sins are called to memory, year after year.

10:4  For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin.

10:5  It is for this reason that the Christ, on coming into the world, declared. Sacrifice and offerings thou dost not desire, But a body didst thou prepare for me;

10:6  In whole burnt offerings and sin offerings Thou hast taken no pleasure.

10:7  Then I said, "I am come - in the roll of the book it is written of me- -To do thy will, O God."

10:8  First when it is said, Thou hast no longing for, thou takest no delight in Sacrifices and offerings, or whole burnt offerings and sin offerings,

10:9  (offerings regularly made under the law), and then it is added, Lo, I come to do thy will, he does away with the first, in order that he may establish the second.

10:10  And it is by this will that we have been sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

10:11  For while every priest stands, day after day, at his ministrations, and many times repeats the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins,

10:12  this Priest, after offering one Sacrifice for sins, sat down forever on God’s right hand;

10:13  henceforth waiting until his enemies be put as the footstool of his feet.

10:14  For by one single offering he has perfected forever those whom he is sanctifying.

10:15  And the Holy Spirit also gives his testimony, when he said.

10:16  "This is the covenant I will make with them After those days," says the Lord. "I will set my laws upon their hearts, And I will inscribe them on their minds."

10:17  Then he adds, And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

10:18  But when these have been remitted, there is no more any offering for sin.

10:19  Since, then, we have a cheerful confidence, brothers, to enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,

10:20  by the way which he dedicated for us, that new and living way, through the veil (that is, his flesh);

10:21  and since we have a great High Priest over the house of God;

10:22  let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled from and evil conscience, and our bodies bathed in pure water.

10:23  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, unwavering (for He is faithful who promised);

10:24  and let us consider one another, to provoke unto love and good works;

10:25  not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the custom of some, but exhorting one another; all the more as you behold the Day drawing near.

10:26  For if we sin wilfully, after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains any other sacrifice for sins,

10:27  but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fiery indignation which is about to devour the adversaries.

10:28  Any one who set at naught the law of Moses was put to death without pity, on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

10:29  How much surer, think you, will be the punishment of one who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has profaned that covenant blood with which he was sanctified, and has done despite to the spirit of grace?

10:30  For we know Him who said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge his people.

10:31  IT IS A FEARFUL THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD!

10:32  But ever call to mind the former days, in which, after having been enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings;

10:33  partly by being made a public spectacle in reproaches and afflictions, and partly by sharing the fortunes of those that were so used.

10:34  For you did sympathize with the prisoners, and you did take joyfully the confiscation of your goods; conscious that you had for yourselves greater, even lasting possessions.

10:35  Now do not fling away your bold confidence, for it has a great recompense of reward.

10:36  For you need stedfastness, so that after having done the will of God, you may receive the promise,

10:37  For yet a very, very little while, and then The Coming One will have come, without delay.

10:38  But it is by faith that my Righteous One will live, And if he draws back, my soul takes no pleasure in him.

10:39  "But we are not of defections unto perdition, but of faith unto the gaining of the soul."

Chapter 11

11:1  Now faith is the title-deed of things hoped for; the putting to the proof of things not seen.

11:2  For by it men of old times had witness borne to them.

11:3  By faith we understand that the world was fashioned by the Word of God, so that what we see was not made out of what is visible.

11:4  By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice more acceptable than that of Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God giving the testimony by accepting his gifts; and through it he, although he is dead, still speaks.

11:5  By faith Enoch was translated so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. Before his translation he had witness borne to him that he pleased God.

11:6  now without faith it is impossible to please him; for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he ever rewards those who are seeking.

11:7  By faith Noah, warned of God of things not yet seen, reverently gave heed, and built an ark for the saving of his house; by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is of faith.

11:8  By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

11:9  It was by faith that he sojourned in the promised land as an alien, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, his fellow heirs of the same promise.

11:10  For he continually looked for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

11:11  By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed, although she was past the age for child-bearing, because she counted Him faithful who had promised;

11:12  and thus there sprang from one man, and him practically dead, a nation like the stars in the heavens in multitude, or grains of sand upon the seashore, innumerable.

11:13  These all died in faith, not having yet received the promises; nay, but they saw them from afar, and hailed them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

11:14  For those who say such things make it plain that they are seeking a Fatherland.

11:15  And if they had cherished the memory of that land from which they went out, they would have found an opportunity to return;

11:16  but now they are longing for a better homeland, that is, a heavenly. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; and he has prepared a city for them.

11:17  By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, was on the point of offering up Isaac; yes, he who had received the promise was about to offer up his only son,

11:18  of whom it had been said, It is through Isaac that your posterity will be traced.

11:19  For he accounted God able even to raise from the dead, from whence, figuratively speaking, he did indeed receive him back again.

11:20  By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come.

11:21  By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

11:22  By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of the exodus of the children of Israel, and gave instructions in regard to his bones.

11:23  By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s decree.

11:24  By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,

11:25  choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

11:26  He accounted the obloquy of Christ to be greater than the treasures of Egypt; for he fixed his eyes on the reward.

11:27  By faith he left Egypt, not because he feared the wrath of the king, but he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

11:28  By faith he established the Passover, and the sprinkling with blood, in order that the Destroying Angel might not touch the firstborn.

11:29  By faith the people crossed over the Red Sea as on dry land; and when the Egyptians tried to do this they were swallowed up.

11:30  By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled seven days.

11:31  By faith Rahab, the harlot, perished not with the disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.

11:32  And what more shall I say? for time would fail me to tell of Gideon, of Barak, of Samson, and of Jeptha; of David and Samuel and the prophets,

11:33  who through faith conquered kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

11:34  quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, proved valiant in warfare, and routed armies of aliens.

11:35  Woman received their dear ones alive from the dead; and others were broken on the wheel, not accepting the offered deliverance, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection.

11:36  Others again bore trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, even of chains and imprisonment.

11:37  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, persecuted, tormented -

11:38  of whom the world was not worthy - wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

11:39  Yet, though these all had witness borne to them by their faith, they received not the promise;

11:40  since it was for us that God had in store some better thing, so that apart from us they should not be perfected.

Chapter 12

12:1  Seeing then that we are encircled with this great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and the sin that clings about us. Let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

12:2  looking unto Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured a cross, despising shame, and has now taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

12:3  Compare yourselves with him who endured such hostility against himself at the hands of sinners, lest you grow weary, fainting in your souls.

12:4  Not yet have you resisted unto blood in your fight against sin;

12:5  and have you forgotten the exhortation which reasons with you as sons? My son, do not despise the training of the Lord, Nor faint when he corrects you;

12:6  For it is those whom he loves that he disciplines, And he scourges every son whom he acknowledges.

12:7  It is for discipline that you are enduring these sufferings. God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

12:8  If you are left without discipline, in which all children share, then are you bastards and not sons.

12:9  Furthermore, our earthly fathers used to discipline us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live?

12:10  For they only disciplined us for a few days, as seemed good to them; but he does it for our profit, that we may share his holiness.

12:11  Now no discipline seems for the present to be joyous, but grievous; but afterward it yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness to those who have been trained under it.

12:12  Wherefore lift up your listless hands, strengthen your feeble knees;

12:13  make straight path for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

12:14  Run swiftly after peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

12:15  Look carefully that there be no one who falls back from the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up to trouble you, and by its means many become defiled.

12:16  Take care lest there be any fornicator or scorner like Esau among you, who for one meal sold his birthright.

12:17  For you know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; he found no room for repentance, though he sought it earnestly, with tears.

12:18  For you are not come to a palpable and enkindled fire,

12:19  nor to gloom and darkness and tempest and the blare of a trumpet and an audible voice. Those who heard that voice entreated that no word more should be spoken to them.

12:20  For they could not endure that which was enjoined, Even if a wild beast touches the mountain it shall be stoned to death;

12:21  and so terrible was the scene that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and tremble.

12:22  On the contrary you are come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable hosts of angels,

12:23  to the festal assemblage and church of the firstborn, registered in heaven, to a Judge who is God of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

12:24  to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, and to his sprinkled Blood whose message cries louder than that of Abel.

12:25  See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape punishment when they refused to listen to their instructor on earth, much less shall we escape if we turn away from him who is teaching us from heaven;

12:26  whose voice then shook the earth, but now he has promised, saying, Once again, once for all, I make not only earth, but heaven also to tremble.

12:27  That phrase, "Once again," signifies the removal of the things which can be shaken, created things, in order that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

12:28  Wherefore since we are receiving a kingdom which is unshakable, let us give thanks, and so offer acceptable worship to God, with holy awe and fear,

12:29  FOR INDEED OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE.

Chapter 13

13:1  Let brotherly love continue.

13:2  Do not neglect to show hospitality; for by it some have even entertained angels unawares.

13:3  Remember those who are in prison, as if you were fellow prisoners; remember too, those who are being ill-treated, since you too, are in the body.

13:4  Let marriage be held in honor by all, and the marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers will God judge.

13:5  Let your life be untainted by love of money; be content with such things as you have; for God himself has said, I will never leave thee; I will never forsake thee.

13:6  So that we can say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

13:7  Remember your leaders, the men who spoke the message of God to you; consider the issue of their lives, and imitate their faith.

13:8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

13:9  Do not allow yourselves to be swept away by various and strange teachings. For it is a beautiful thing to be established in heart by grace, and not by regulations regarding food, from which those that occupied themselves with them have derived no benefit.

13:10  We Christians have an altar from which those have no right to eat who minister in the Tabernacle.

13:11  For the bodies of the animals whose blood is carried by the High Priest into the Holy Place are burned outside the camp,

13:12  and so Jesus suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood.

13:13  Let us then go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach.

13:14  For we have not here an abiding city, but we are earnestly seeking the city that is to be.

13:15  In his name, then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips that confess his name.

13:16  And forget not to be kind and liberal; for with that sort of sacrifice God is well pleased.

13:17  Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who must give account; that they may do thus with joy and not with lamentation, for this would be unprofitable to you.

13:18  Keep on praying for me. I am persuaded that I have a clear conscience, and I desire in every way to live nobly.

13:19  I the more earnestly ask for your prayers, that I may be the more speedily restored to you.

13:20  Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of an eternal covenant,

13:21  equip you in every good deed for the doing of his will, doing in you what is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory unto the ages of the ages! Amen!

13:22  But I entreat you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.

13:23  You know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he comes soon, I will see him with you.

13:24  Salute all your leaders and the saints. The brothers from Italy send you greeting.

13:25  Grace be with you all, Amen.