Murdock - Hebrews

Chapter 1

1:1  IN many ways, and many forms, God anciently conversed with our fathers, by the prophets:

1:2  But in these latter days, he hath conversed with us, by his Son; whom he hath constituted heir of all things, and by whom he made the worlds ;

1:3  who is the splendor of his glory, and the image of himself, and upholdeth all by the energy of his word; and by himself he made a purgation of sins, and sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.

1:4  And he is altogether superior to the angels, as he hath also inherited a name which excelleth theirs.

1:5  For to which of the angels did God ever say, Thou art my SON, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

1:6  And again, when bringing the first begotten into the world, he said: Let all the angels of God worship him.

1:7  But of the angels he thus said: Who made his angels a wind, and his ministers a flaming fire.

1:8  But of the Son he said: Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a righteous sceptre is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

1:9  Thou hast loved rectitude, and hated iniquity; therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness more than thy associates.

1:10  And again, Thou hast from the beginning laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands:

1:11  they will pass away, but thou endurest; and they all, like a robe, wax old;

1:12  and like a cloak, thou wilt fold them up. They will be changed; but thou wilt be as thou art, and thy years will not be finished.

1:13  And to which of the angels did he ever say : Sit thou at my right hand, until I shall place thy enemies a footstool under thy feet?

1:14  Are they not all spirits of ministration, who are sent to minister on account of them that are to inherit life?

Chapter 2

2:1  Therefore we ought to be exceedingly cautious, in regard to what we have heard, lest we fall away.

2:2  For if the word uttered by the medium of angels was confirmed, and every one who heard it, and transgressed it, received a just retribution;

2:3  how shall we escape, if we despise the things which are our life, things which began to be spoken by our Lord, and were confirmed to us by them who heard from him,

2:4  while God gave testimony concerning them, by signs and wonders, and by various miracles and distributions of the Holy Spirit, which were given according to his pleasure?

2:5  For to the angels he hath not subjected the world to come, of which we speak.

2:6  But as the scripture testifieth, and saith: What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou attendest to him?

2:7  Thou hast depressed him somewhat lower than the angels: glory and honor hast thou put on his head; and thou hast invested him with authority over the work of thy hand.

2:8  And all things hast thou subjected under his feet. And in this subjecting of all things to him, he omitted nothing, which he did not subject. But now, we do not yet see all things subjected to him.

2:9  But we see him, who was depressed somewhat lower than the angels, to be this Jesus, because of the passion of his death; and glory and honor are placed on his head; for God himself, in his grace, tasted death for all men.

2:10  For it became him, by whom are all things, and on account of whom are all things, and who bringeth many sons unto his glory, to perfect the prince of their life by suffering.

2:11  For he that sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one nature. Therefore he is not ashamed to call them brethren;

2:12  as he saith, I will announce thy name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly, I will praise thee.

2:13  And again, I will confide in him. And again, Behold me, and the children whom thou, God, hast given to me.

2:14  For because the children participated in flesh and blood, he also, in like manner, took part in the same; that, by his death, he might bring to naught him who held the dominion of death, namely Satan;

2:15  and might release them, who, through fear of death, are all their lives subject to bondage.

2:16  For he did not assume a nature from angels, but he assumed a nature from the seed of Abraham.

2:17  Wherefore it was right, that he should be in all respects like his brethren; that he might be merciful, and a high priest faithful in the things of God, and might make expiation for the sins of the people.

2:18  For, in that he himself hath suffered, and been tempted, he is able to succor them who are tempted.

Chapter 3

3:1  Wherefore, my holy brethren, who are called with a calling that is from heaven, consider this Legate and High Priest of our profession, Jesus the Messiah:

3:2  who was faithful to him that made him, as was Moses in all his house.

3:3  For much greater is the glory of this man, than that of Moses; just as the glory of the builder of a house, is greater than that of the edifice.

3:4  For every house is built by some man; but he who buildeth all things is God.

3:5  And Moses, as a servant, was faithful in all the house, for an attestation to those things that were to be spoken by him:

3:6  but the Messiah as the SON, is over his own house; and we are his house, if we retain unto the end assurance, and the triumph of hope in him.

3:7  Because the Holy Spirit hath said: To-day, if ye will hear his voice,

3:8  harden not your hearts to anger him, like the provocators, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness,

3:9  when your fathers tempted me, and proved, and saw my works forty years.

3:10  Therefore I was disgusted with that generation, and said: This is a people, whose heart wandereth, and they have not known my ways:

3:11  so that I swore in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest.

3:12  Beware, therefore, my brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart that believeth not, and ye depart from the living God.

3:13  But examine yourselves all the days, during the day which is called to-day; and let none of you be hardened, through the deceitfulness of sin.

3:14  For we have part with the Messiah, if we persevere in this firm confidence, from the beginning to the end:

3:15  as it is said, To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, to anger him.

3:16  But who were they that heard, and angered him? It was not all they, who came out of Egypt under Moses.

3:17  And with whom was he disgusted forty years, but with those who sinned, and whose carcasses fell in the wilderness?

3:18  and of whom swore he, that they should not enter into his rest, but of those who believed not?

3:19  So we see that they could not enter, because they believed not.

Chapter 4

4:1  Let us fear, therefore, lest while there is a firm promise of entering into his rest, any among you should be found coming short of entering.

4:2  For to us also is the announcement, as well as to them: but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not mingled with the faith of those who heard it.

4:3  But we, who have believed, do enter into rest. But as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my rest: for lo, the works of God existed from the foundation of the world.

4:4  As he said of the sabbath, God rested on the seventh day from all his works.

4:5  And here again, he said, They shall not enter into my rest.

4:6  Therefore, because there was a place, whither one and another might enter; and those earlier persons, to whom the announcement was made, entered not, because they believed not:

4:7  again he established another day, a long time afterwards; as above written, that David said, Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

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

4:9  Therefore it is established, that the people of God are to have a sabbath.

4:10  For he who had entered into his rest, hath also rested from his works, as God did from his.

4:11  Let us, therefore, strive to enter into that rest; lest we fall short, after the manner of them who believed not.

4:12  For the word of God is living, and all-efficient, and sharper than a two-edged sword, and entereth even to the severance of the soul and the spirit, and of the joints and the marrow and the bones, and judgeth the thoughts and reasonings of the heart:

4:13  neither is there any creature, which is concealed from before him; but every thing is naked and manifest before his eyes, to whom we are to give account.

4:14  Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, Jesus the Messiah, the son of God, who hath ascended to heaven; let us persevere in professing him.

4:15  For we have not a high priest, who cannot sympathize with our infirmity; but one who was tempted in all respects like us, aside from sin.

4:16  Let us, therefore, approach with assurance to the throne of his grace, that we may obtain mercy, and may find grace for assistance in the time of affliction.

Chapter 5

5:1  For every high priest, who is from among men, is established over the things of God, in behalf of men, that he may present the offering and the sacrifices for sin:

5:2  and he can humble himself, and sympathize with the ignorant and the erring, because he also is clothed with infirmity.

5:3  And, therefore, he is obliged as for the people, so also for himself, to present an offering for his sins.

5:4  And no one taketh this honor on himself, but he who is called of God, as Aaron was.

5:5  So also the Messiah did not exalt himself to become a High Priest; but He appointed him who said to him, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

5:6  As he said also in another place: Thou art a priest for ever, after the likeness of Melchisedec.

5:7  Likewise, when he was clothed in flesh, he presented supplication and entreaty with intense invocation, and with tears, to him who was able to resuscitate him from death; and he was heard.

5:8  And though he was a son, yet, from the fear and the sufferings he endured, he learned obedience.

5:9  And thus he was perfected and became the cause of eternal life to all them who obey him.

5:10  And he was named of God, the High Priest after the likeness of Melchisedec.

5:11  Now, concerning this person, Melchisedec, we have much discourse, which we might utter; but it is difficult to explain it, because ye are infirm in your hearing.

5:12  For ye ought to be teachers, seeing ye have been long in the doctrine. But now ye need to learn again the first lines of the commencement of the oracles of God: and ye have need of milk, and not of strong food.

5:13  For every one whose food is milk, is unversed in the language of righteousness, because he is a child.

5:14  But strong food belongeth to the mature who, being investigators, have trained their faculties to discriminate good and evil.

Chapter 6

6:1  Therefore let us leave the commencement of the word of the Messiah, and let us proceed to the completion. Or will ye again lay another foundation for the repentance which is from dead works, and for the faith in God,

6:2  and for the doctrine of baptism, and for the laying on of a hand, and for the resurrection from the dead, and for the eternal judgment?

6:3  We will do this, if the Lord permit.

6:4  But they who have once descended to baptism, and have tasted the gift from heaven, and have received the Holy Spirit,

6:5  and have tasted the good word of God, and the power of the world to come,

6:6  cannot again sin, and a second time be renewed to repentance; or a second time crucify and insult the Son of God.

6:7  For the earth that drinketh the rain which cometh often upon it, and produceth the herb that is of use to those for whom it is cultivated, receiveth a blessing from God.

6:8  But if it should put forth thorns and briers, it would have reprobation, and be not far from a curse, and its end would be a burning.

6:9  But, in regard to you, my brethren, we are persuaded better things, and things pertaining to life, although we thus speak.

6:10  For God is not unrighteous, to forget your works, and your charity which ye have shown in his name, in that ye have ministered and do minister to the saints.

6:11  And we desire, that each one of you may show this same activity, for the completion of your hope, even to the end:

6:12  and that ye faint not; but that ye be emulators of them who by faith and patience have become heirs of the promise.

6:13  For when God made the promise to Abraham, because there was none greater than himself by whom he could swear, he swore by himself;

6:14  and said: Blessing, I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.

6:15  And so he was patient, and obtained the promise.

6:16  For men swear by one greater than themselves: and in every controversy that occurs among them, the sure termination of it is by an oath.

6:17  Therefore, God, being abundantly willing to show to the heirs of the promise, that his promising was irreversible, bound it up in an oath;

6:18  so that, by two things which change not, and in which God cannot lie, we, who have sought refuge in him, might have great consolation, and might hold fast the hope promised to us;

6:19  which is to us as an anchor, that retaineth our soul, so that it swerveth not; and it entereth into that within the veil,

6:20  whither Jesus hath previously entered for us, and hath become a priest for ever, after the likeness of Melchisedec.

Chapter 7

7:1  Now this Melchisedec was king of Salem, a priest of the most high God: and he met Abraham, when returning from the slaughter of the kings; and blessed him.

7:2  And to him Abraham imparted tithes of all that he had with him. Moreover his name is interpreted king of righteousness; and again he is called King of Salem, that is King of Peace.

7:3  Of whom neither his father nor his mother are written in the genealogies; nor the commencement of his days, nor the end of his life; but, after the likeness of the Son of God, his priesthood remaineth for ever.

7:4  And consider ye, how great he was; to whom the patriarch Abraham gave tithes and first-fruits.

7:5  For they of the sons of Levi who received the priesthood, had a statute of the law, that they should take tithes from the people; they from their brethren, because they also are of the seed of Abraham.

7:6  But this man, who is not enrolled in their genealogies, took tithes from Abraham; and blessed him who had received the promise.

7:7  But it is beyond controversy, that the inferior is blessed by his superior.

7:8  And here, men who die, receive the tithes; but there he of whom the scripture testifieth that he liveth.

7:9  And through Abraham, as one may say, even Levi who receiveth tithes, was himself tithed.

7:10  For he was yet in the loins of his father, when he met Melchisedec.

7:11  If, therefore, perfection had been by means of the priesthood of the Levites, in which the law was enjoined on the people; why was another priest required, who should stand up after the likeness of Melchisedec? For it should have said, He shall be after the likeness of Aaron.

7:12  But as there is a change in the priesthood, so also is there a change in the law.

7:13  For he of whom these things were spoken, was born of another tribe, of which no one ever ministered at the altar.

7:14  For it is manifest that our Lord arose from Judah, from a tribe of which Moses said nothing concerning a priesthood.

7:15  And moreover this is further manifest, from his saying that another priest will stand up, after the likeness of Melchisedec,

7:16  who was not according to the law of corporeal injunctions, but according to the energy of an indissoluble life.

7:17  For he testified of him: Thou art a priest for ever, after the likeness of Melchisedec.

7:18  And the change which was made in the first statute, was on account of its impotency, and because their was no utility in it.

7:19  For the law perfected nothing; but in the place of it there came in a hope, which is better than it, and by which we draw near to God.

7:20  And he confirmed it to us by an oath.

7:21  For they became priests without an oath; but this man by an oath. As he said to him by David: The Lord hath sworn, and will not lie, Thou art a priest for ever, after the likeness of Melchisedec.

7:22  By all this, is that a better covenant of which Jesus is the sponsor.

7:23  And they as priests were numerous, because they were mortal, and were not permitted to continue:

7:24  but this man, because he standeth up for ever, his priesthood doth not pass away:

7:25  and he is able to vivify for ever, them who come to God by him; for he always liveth, and sendeth up prayers for them.

7:26  For, a priest like to him, was also suitable for us; one pure, and without evil and without stain; one separated from sins, and exalted higher than heaven;

7:27  and who is not obliged, every day, like the Aaronic high priest, to first offer sacrifices for his own sins, and then for the people; for this he did once, by offering up himself.

7:28  For the law constituted feeble men priests; but the word of the oath, which was subsequent to the law constituted the Son perfect for ever.

Chapter 8

8:1  Now the sum of the whole is this, we have a High Priest, who is seated on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven:

8:2  And he is the minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which God hath pitched, and not man.

8:3  For every high priest is established, to offer oblations and sacrifices; and therefore, it was proper that this one should also have something to offer.

8:4  And if he were on earth, he would not be a priest; because there are priests there, who offer oblations agreeably to the law:

8:5  namely they, who minister in the emblem and shadow of the things in heaven: as it was said to Moses, when he was about to build the tabernacle, See, and make every thing according to the pattern which was showed thee in the mount.

8:6  But now, Jesus the Messiah hath received a ministry which is better than that: as also the covenant, of which he is made the Mediator, is better, and is given with better promises than the former.

8:7  For, if the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no place for this second one.

8:8  For he chideth them and saith: Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will complete with the family of the house of Israel, and with the family of the house of Judah, a new covenant;

8:9  not like the covenant which I gave to their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand, and brought them out of the land of Egypt; and because they continued not in my covenant, I also rejected them, saith the Lord.

8:10  But this is the covenant which I will give to the family of the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will put my law in their minds, and inscribe it on their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.

8:11  And one shall not teach his fellow-citizen, nor his brother, nor say: Know thou the Lord: because they shall all know me, from the youngest of them to the oldest.

8:12  And I will forgive them their iniquity; and their sins will I remember no more.

8:13  In that he said a New Covenant, he made the first old; and that which is old and decaying, is near to dissolution.

Chapter 9

9:1  Now, under the first covenant, there were ordinances of ministration, and a worldly sanctuary.

9:2  For in the first tabernacle which was erected, there was the candlestick, and the table and the bread of the presence; and this was called the Sanctuary.

9:3  But the inner tabernacle, which was within the second veil, was called the Holy of Holies.

9:4  And there were in it the golden censer and the ark of the covenant, which was all over laid with gold; and in it were the golden urn which contained the manna and the rod of Aaron which sprouted, and the tables of the covenant;

9:5  and over it were the cherubim of glory, which overshadowed the mercy seat. But there is not time to speak particularly of each of the things which were so arranged.

9:6  And into the outer tabernacle the priests, at all times, entered, and performed their ministration.

9:7  But into the interior tabernacle, once a year only, the high priest entered, with the blood which he offered for himself and for the sins of the people.

9:8  And by this the Holy Spirit indicated, that the way to the holy places was not yet manifested, so long as the first tabernacle was standing:

9:9  and it was a symbol, for that time, during which oblation and sacrifices were offered that could not make perfect the conscience of him who offered them:

9:10  but they consisted only in food and drink, and in the ablutions of divers things; which were carnal ordinances, and were set up until the time of a reformation.

9:11  But the Messiah who came, was a High Priest of the good things which he wrought: and he entered into the great and perfect tabernacle, which was not made with hands and was not of these created things.

9:12  And he did not enter with the blood of goats and calves; but with the blood of himself, he entered once into the sanctuary, and obtained eternal redemption.

9:13  For if the blood of goats and calves, with the ashes of a heifer, was sprinkled upon them that were defiled, and sanctified them as to the purification of their flesh;

9:14  then how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who by the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purge our conscience from dead works, so that we may serve the living God?

9:15  And for this reason he became the Mediator of the new covenant, that he might by his death be redemption, to them who had transgressed the first covenant; so that they, who are called to the eternal inheritance, might receive the promise.

9:16  For where there is a testament, it indicateth the death of him who made it.

9:17  For it is valid, only of a deceased person; because it hath no use, so long as the maker of it liveth.

9:18  Therefore also the first covenant was not confirmed without blood.

9:19  For when the whole ordinance had been propounded by Moses to all the people, according to the law; Moses took the blood of a heifer, and water, with scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled upon the books and upon all the people;

9:20  and said to them, This is the blood of the covenant which is enjoined by God.

9:21  With that blood he also sprinkled upon the tabernacle, and upon all the vessels of ministration:

9:22  because every thing, according to the law, is purified with blood: and without the shedding of blood, there is no remission.

9:23  For it was necessary that these, the emblems of heavenly things, should be purified, with those things; but the heavenly things themselves, with sacrifices superior to them.

9:24  For the Messiah entered not into the sanctuary made with hands, which is the emblem of the true sanctuary: but he entered into heaven itself to appear in the presence of God for us.

9:25  Neither was it necessary, that he should offer himself many times, as the high priest entered every year into the sanctuary, with blood not his own:

9:26  otherwise, he must have suffered many times, since the commencement of the world; but now in the end of the world, he hath once offered himself in a self-sacrifice, to abolish sin.

9:27  And, as it is appointed to men, that they must once die, and after their death is the judgment;

9:28  so also the Messiah was once offered; and, by himself, he immolated the sins of many: and a second time, without sins, will he appear for the life of them who expect him.

Chapter 10

10:1  For in the law there was a shadow of the good things to come; not the substance of the things themselves. Therefore, although the same sacrifices were every year offered, they could never perfect those who offered them.

10:2  For, if they had perfected them, they would long ago have desisted from their offerings; because their conscience could no more disquiet them, who were once purified, on account of their sins.

10:3  But in those sacrifices, they every year recognized their sins.

10:4  For the blood of bulls and of goats cannot purge away sins.

10:5  Therefore, when entering the world, he said: In sacrifices and oblations, thou hast not had pleasure; but thou hast clothed me with a body.

10:6  And holocausts on account of sins, thou hast not asked.

10:7  Then I said: Behold I come, as it is written of me in the beginning of the books, to do thy pleasure, O God.

10:8  He first said: Sacrifices and oblations and holocausts for sins, which were offered according to the law, thou desiredst not;

10:9  and afterwards he said: Behold I come to do thy pleasure, O God: hereby, he abolished the former, that he might establish the latter.

10:10  For by this his pleasure, we are sanctified; through the offering of the body of Jesus the Messiah a single time.

10:11  For every high priest who stood and ministered daily, offered again and again the same sacrifices, which never were sufficient to purge away sins.

10:12  But this Priest offered one sacrifice for sins, and for ever sat down at the right hand of God;

10:13  and thenceforth waited, until his foes should be placed as a footstool under his feet.

10:14  For by one offering, he hath perfected for ever, them who are sanctified by him.

10:15  And the Holy Spirit also testifieth to us, by saying:

10:16  This is the covenant which I will give them after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my law into their minds, and inscribe it on their hearts;

10:17  and their iniquity and their sins, I will not remember against them.

10:18  Now, where there is a remission of sins, there is no offering for sin demanded.

10:19  We have therefore, my brethren, assurance in entering into the sanctuary, by the blood of Jesus, and by a way of life,

10:20  which he hath now consecrated for us, through the veil, that is his flesh.

10:21  And we have a high priest over the house of God.

10:22  Let us, therefore draw near, with a true heart, and with the confidence of faith, being sprinkled as to our hearts, and pure from an evil conscience, and our body being washed with pure water.

10:23  And let us persevere in the profession of our hope, and not waver; for he is faithful who hath made the promise to us.

10:24  And let us look on each other, for the excitement of love and good works.

10:25  And let us not forsake our meetings, as is the custom of some; but entreat ye one another; and the more, as ye see that day draw near.

10:26  For if a man sin, voluntarily, after he hath received a knowledge of the truth, there is no longer a sacrifice which may be offered for sins:

10:27  but the fearful judgment impendeth, and the zeal of fire that consumeth the adversaries.

10:28  For if he, who transgressed the law of Moses, died without mercies, at the mouth of two or three witnesses;

10:29  how much more, think ye, will he receive capital punishment, who hath trodden upon the Son of God, and hath accounted the blood of his covenant, by which he is sanctified, as the blood of all men, and hath treated the Spirit of grace with contumely?

10:30  For we know him who hath said, Retribution is mine; and I will repay: and again, The Lord will judge his people.

10:31  It is very terrible, to fall into the hands of the living God.

10:32  Therefore, recollect ye the former days, those in which ye received baptism, and endured a great conflict of sufferings, with reproach and affliction;

10:33  and ye were a gazing stock, and also were the associates of persons who endured these things:

10:34  and ye were grieved for those who were imprisoned; and ye cheerfully endured the plundering of your goods, because ye knew that ye had a possession in heaven, superior and not transitory.

10:35  Therefore cast not away your assurance which is to have a great reward.

10:36  For ye have need of patience; that ye may do the pleasure of God, and may receive the promise.

10:37  Because, yet a little,and it is a very little time,when he that cometh, will come, and will not delay.

10:38  Now the just by my faith, will live: but if he draw back, my soul will not have pleasure in him.

10:39  But we are not of that drawing-back, which leadeth to perdition; but of that faith, which maketh us possess our soul.

Chapter 11

11:1  Now faith is the persuasion of the things that are in hope, as if they were in act; and it is the manifestness of the things not seen.

11:2  And for it the ancients are well testified of.

11:3  For by faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God; and that things seen, originated from those that are not seen.

11:4  By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than that of Cain; and on account of it, he is testified of that he was righteous, and God bore testimony to his offering; and in consequence thereof, though dead he yet speaketh.

11:5  By faith, Enoch was translated, and did not taste death; and he was not found, because God had translated him: for, before he translated him, there was testimony of him, that he pleased God.

11:6  But, without faith, a man cannot please God. For he that draweth near to God, must believe his existence, and that he will recompense those who seek him.

11:7  By faith Noah, when he was told of things not seen, feared; and he made himself an ark, for the life of his household; whereby he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

11:8  By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed, and departed to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance: and he departed, while he knew not whither he was going.

11:9  By faith, he became a resident in the land that was promised him, as in a foreign land; and abode in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.

11:10  For he looked for the city that hath a foundation, of which the builder and maker is God.

11:11  By faith, Sarah also, who was barren, acquired energy to receive seed; and, out of the time of her years, she brought forth; because she firmly believed, that he was faithful who had promised her.

11:12  Therefore, from one man failing through age, numbers were born, like the stars in the heavens, and like the sand on the shore of the sea which is innumerable.

11:13  All these died in faith, and received not their promise; but they saw it afar off, and rejoiced in it; and they confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

11:14  Now they who say thus, show that they seek a city.

11:15  But if they had been seeking that city from which they came out, they had opportunity to return again and go to it.

11:16  But now it is manifest that they longed for a better city than that, namely, for that which is in heaven. Therefore God did not refuse to be called their God; for he prepared for them the city.

11:17  By faith Abraham, in his trial, offered up Isaac; and he laid on the altar his only son, whom he had received by promise.

11:18  For it had been said to him, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.

11:19  And he reasoned with himself, that God was able even to raise him from the dead: and therefore, in the similitude of a resurrection, he was restored to him.

11:20  By faith in what was to be, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.

11:21  By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and bowed himself on the top of his staff.

11:22  By faith Joseph, when dying, was mindful of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave direction concerning his bones.

11:23  By faith the parents of Moses, after he was born, hid him three months; because they saw he was a goodly child; and they were not deterred by the command of the king.

11:24  By faith Moses, when be became a man, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

11:25  And he chose to be in affliction with the people of God, and not to live luxuriously in sin for a short season:

11:26  and he esteemed the reproach of the Messiah a greater treasure than the hoarded riches of Egypt; for he looked upon the recompense of reward.

11:27  By faith, he left Egypt, and was not terrified by the wrath of the king; and he continued to hope, just as if he saw the invisible God.

11:28  By faith, they kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, that he who destroyed the first-born might not approach them.

11:29  By faith, they passed the Red Sea, as on dry land; and in it the Egyptians were swallowed up, when they dared to enter it.

11:30  By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down, when they had been encompassed seven days.

11:31  By faith Rahab, the harlot, perished not with them who believed not, when she received the spies in peace.

11:32  What more shall I say? For I have little time to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Sampson, and of Jephtha, and of David, and of Samuel, and of the other prophets:

11:33  who, by faith, subdued kingdoms, and wrought righteousness, and received promises, and shut the mouths of lions,

11:34  and quenched the force of fire, and were rescued from the edge of the sword, and were healed of diseases, and became strong in battle, and routed the camps of enemies,

11:35  and restored to women their children, by a resurrection from the dead. And some died under tortures, and did not hope to escape, that there might be for them a better resurrection;

11:36  and others endured mockings and, scourgings; others were delivered up to bonds and prisons;

11:37  others were stoned; others were sawed; others died by the edge of the sword; others roamed about clothed in sheep skins and goat skins, and were needy, and afflicted, and agitated;

11:38  persons of whom the world was not worthy, and yet they were as wanderers in the desert, and in mountains, and in caves, and in caverns of the earth.

11:39  And all these, of whose faith there is testimony, received not the promise:

11:40  because God had provided the aid for us; so that without us they should not be perfected.

Chapter 12

12:1  Therefore let us also, who have all these witnesses surrounding us like clouds, cast from us all encumbrances, and sin, which is always prepared for us; and let us run with patience the race that is appointed for us.

12:2  And let us look on Jesus, who hath become the commencement and the completion of our faith; who, on account of the joy there was for him, endured the cross, and surrendered himself to opprobrium; and is seated on the right hand of the throne of God.

12:3  Behold, therefore, how much he suffered from sinners, from them who are adversaries of their own soul, that ye may not be discouraged, nor your soul become remiss.

12:4  Ye have not yet come unto blood, in the contest against sin.

12:5  And ye have forgotten the monition, which saith to you, as to children, My son, disregard not the chastening of the Lord; nor let thy soul faint, when thou art rebuked by him.

12:6  For, whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth; and he scourgeth those sons, for whom he hath kind regards.

12:7  Therefore endure ye the chastisement; because God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there, whom his father chasteneth not?

12:8  But if ye are without that chastisement, with which every one is chastened, ye are become strangers and not sons.

12:9  And if our fathers of the flesh chastened us, and we revered them, how much more ought we to be submissive to our spiritual fathers, and live?

12:10  For they chastened us for a short time, according to their pleasure; but God, for our advantage, that we may become partakers of his holiness.

12:11  Now all chastisement, in the time of it, is not accounted a matter of joy, but of grief: yet, afterwards, it yieldeth the fruits of peace and righteousness to them who are exercised by it.

12:12  Wherefore, strengthen ye your relaxed hands, and your tottering knees:

12:13  and make straight paths for your feet, that the limb which is lame may not be wrenched, but may be healed.

12:14  Follow after peace with every man; and after holiness, without which a man will not see our Lord.

12:15  And be careful, lest any be found among you destitute of the grace of God; or lest some root of bitterness shoot forth germs, and trouble you; and thereby many be defiled:

12:16  or lest any one be found among you a fornicator; or a heedless one like Esau, who for one mess of food, sold his primogeniture.

12:17  For ye know that, afterwards when he wished to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found not a place for repentance, although he sought it with tears.

12:18  For ye have not come to the fire that burned, and the tangible mount; nor to the darkness and obscurity and tempest;

12:19  nor to the sound of the trumpet, and the voice of words, which they who heard, entreated that it might no more be spoken to them;

12:20  for they could not endure what was commanded. And even a beast, if it approached the mountain, was to be stoned.

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

12:22  But ye have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the Jerusalem that is in heaven; and to the assemblies of myriads of angels;

12:23  and to the church of the first-born, who are enrolled in heaven and to God the judge of all; and to the spirits of the just, who are perfected;

12:24  and to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant; and to the sprinkling, of his blood, which speaketh better than that of Abel.

12:25  Beware, therefore, lest ye refuse to hear him who speaketh with you. For if they escaped not, who refused to hear him who spake with them on the earth, how much more shall we not, if we refuse to hear him who speaketh with us from heaven?

12:26  Whose voice then shook the earth; but now he hath promised, and said, yet again once more, I will shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

12:27  And this his expression, Once more, indicateth the mutation of the things that are shaken, because they are fabricated; that the things which will not be shaken, may remain.

12:28  Since, therefore, we have received a kingdom that is unshaken, let us grasp the grace whereby we may serve and please God, with reverence and fear.

12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.

Chapter 13

13:1  Let love for the brethren dwell among you.

13:2  And forget not kindness to strangers; for thereby some have been privileged to entertain angels, unawares.

13:3  And remember those in bonds, as if ye were bound with them: and recollect those in affliction, as being yourselves clothed in flesh.

13:4  Marriage is honorable in all; and their bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers, God will judge.

13:5  Let not your mind love money; but let what ye have, satisfy you. For the Lord himself hath said, I will never leave thee, nor slacken the hand towards thee.

13:6  And it belongeth to us, to say confidently, My Lord is my aider, I will not fear. What can man do to me?

13:7  Remember your guides, who have spoken to you godly discourse ; examine the issue of their course, and imitate their faith.

13:8  Jesus the Messiah is the same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever.

13:9  Be not led away by strange and variable doctrines. For it is a good thing, that we strengthen our hearts with grace, and not with meats; for those have not been benefited, who walked in them.

13:10  And we have an altar, of which they who minister in the tabernacle have no right to eat.

13:11  For the flesh of those animals, whose blood the high priest brought into the sanctuary for sins, was burned without the camp.

13:12  For this reason, Jesus also, that he might sanctify his people with his blood, suffered without the city.

13:13  Therefore, let us also go forth to him, without the camp, clothed with his reproach:

13:14  (for we have here no abiding city; but we expect one that is future:)

13:15  and through him, let us at all times offer to God the sacrifices of praise, that is, the fruits of lips which give thanks to his name.

13:16  And forget not commiseration and communication with the poor; for with such sacrifices a man pleaseth God.

13:17  Confide in your guides, and hearken to them; for they watch for your souls, as men who must give an account of you, that they may do this with joy and not with anguish; for that would not be profitable to you.

13:18  Pray ye for us; for we trust we have a good consciousness, that in all things we desire to conduct ourselves well.

13:19  Especially do I request you to do this, that I may return to you speedily.

13:20  May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the flock, by the blood of the everlasting covenant, namely Jesus the Messiah, our Lord,

13:21  make you perfect in every good work, that ye may do his pleasure; and himself operate in you that which is pleasing In his sight, through Jesus the Messiah; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

13:22  And I beseech you, my brethren, that ye be patient under this word of exhortation; for it is in few words I have written to you.

13:23  And know ye, that our brother Timothy is set at liberty: and if he come soon, I, with him, shall see you.

13:24  Salute all your guides, and all the saints. All they of Italy salute you.

13:25  Grace be with you all. Amen.