Chapter 1

Christ Superior to Angels

1 God, who at various times and ^a in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,

2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the universe.

3 And ^b He is the brightness of His glory and the exact ^c image of His nature, ^d upholding all things by the word of His power. ^e When He had by Himself purified our sins, ^f He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high;

4 having become so much better than the angels, as ^g He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, ^h “You are My Son, this day I have begotten You?” And again, ⁱ “I will be to Him a Father and He will be to Me a Son?”

6 And again, when He brings ^j the firstborn into the world, He says, “And ^k let all the angels of God worship Him.”

7 And of the angels He says, ^l “He makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.”

8 But of the Son He says, ^m “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

9 You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore, God, Your God, ⁿ has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions.”

10 And, ^o “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

11 ^p They will perish, but You remain; and ^q they will all grow old as a garment.

12 And as a mantle You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the ^r same, and Your years will not fail.”

13 But to which of the angels did He ever say, ^s “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool?”

14 ^t Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who will ^u inherit salvation?

Chapter 2

Give Attention / Incarnation & Coronation

1 Therefore, we must give more earnest attention to the things that we have heard so that we do not drift away.

2 For if the word ^a spoken through angels proved steadfast, and ^b every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment,

3 ^c how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation, ^d which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was ^e confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

4 ^f God also bearing witness with them, ^g both with signs and ^h wonders and with various powers and gifts of the Holy Spirit, ⁱ according to His own will?

Incarnation & Coronation

5 For He did not subject ^j the world to come to angels, concerning which we are speaking.

6 But one has testified somewhere, saying, ^k “What is man, that You are mindful of him? Or the son of man, that You care about him?

7 You have made him a little lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of Your hands.

8 ^l You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in subjecting all things to Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now ^m we do not yet see all things put under Him.

9 But we see Jesus ⁿ who was made a little lower than the angels because of the suffering of death, ^o crowned with glory and honor, so that He by the grace of God might taste death ^p for everyone.

10 For it was fitting for Him, ^q for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the author of their salvation ^r perfect through sufferings.

11 For ^s both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified ^t are all of one, for which reason ^u He is not ashamed to call them brothers,

12 saying, ^v “I will declare Your name to My brothers, in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”

13 And again, ^w “I will put My trust in Him.” And again, ^x “Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”

14 Therefore, since the children are partakers of flesh and blood, ^y He also Himself likewise partook of the same, ^z so that through death He might destroy him who had the power of ^a death, that is, the devil,

15 and deliver those who ^b through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

16 For assuredly, He does not give aid to angels. But He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.

17 Therefore, in all things He had ^c to be made like His brethren, so that He might be ^d a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the people.

18 ^e For since He Himself has suffered while being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Chapter 3

Christ Superior to Moses

1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,

2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as ^a Moses also was faithful in all His house.

3 For this One was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as ^b He who built the house has more honor than the house.

4 For every house is built by someone. But ^c He who built all things is God.

5 And ^d Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as ^e a servant, ^f for a testimony of those things that were to be spoken later.

6 But Christ was faithful as ^g a Son over His own house, ^h whose house we are ⁱ if we hold fast to the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

Unbelief Results in Disobedience

7 Therefore, as ^j the Holy Spirit says, ^k “Today if you will hear His voice,

8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of temptation in the wilderness,

9 when your fathers tried Me, tested Me, and saw My works forty years.

10 Therefore, I was grieved with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart. And they have not known My ways.’

11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They will not enter into My rest.’”

12 Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold to the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,

15 while it is said, ^l “Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

16 ^m For who were those who heard and rebelled? Indeed, was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?

17 But with whom was He grieved forty years? Was it not with those who had sinned, ⁿ whose bodies fell in the wilderness?

18 And ^o to whom did He swear that they would not enter into His rest, but to those who were disobedient?

19 So we see that they could not enter in because of ^p unbelief.

Chapter 4

The Promised Rest

1 Therefore, ^a since a promise remains of entering into His rest, let us fear lest any of you may seem to come short of it.

2 For to us was the gospel preached, as well as to them. But the preached word did not profit them, because it was not united with faith in those who heard.

3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as He has said, ^b “As I have sworn in My wrath, they will not enter into My rest,” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this manner, ^c “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;

5 and again in this passage, ^d “They will not enter into My rest.”

6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of disobedience,

7 again He designates a certain day, saying through David, “Today,” after so long a time, as it has been said, ^e “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had ^f given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.

9 There remains, therefore, a rest for the people of God.

10 For he who has entered into His rest has also ceased from his own works, as God did from His.

11 ^g Therefore, let us labor to enter into that rest lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience.

12 For the word of God is ^h living and powerful, and ⁱ sharper than any ^j two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and ^k able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart.

13 ^l And there is no creature that is hidden from His sight. But all things are ^m naked and opened to the eyes of Him to whom we have to give account.

Priesthood of Jesus

14 Seeing then that we have a great ⁿ high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, ^o let us hold fast to our confession.

15 For ^p we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but ^q was in all things tempted as we are, ^r yet without sin.

16 Therefore, ^s let us come boldly to the throne of grace so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Chapter 5

The High Priesthood of Christ

1 For every high priest taken from among men ^a is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, so that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

2 He can have compassion on the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is subject to ^b weakness.

3 And because of this, he is obligated for the people, so also for ^c himself, to offer sacrifices for sins.

4 And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called of God, even as ^d Aaron was.

5 ^e So also Christ did not glorify Himself to be made a high priest, but He who said to Him, ^f “You are My Son. Today, I have begotten You.”

6 As He says also in another place, ^g “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

7 In the days of His flesh, He ^h offered up prayers and supplications ⁱ with strong crying and tears to Him ^j who was able to save Him from death. And He was heard ^k because of His reverent submission.

8 Though He was a Son, He learned ^l obedience by the things that He suffered.

9 And ^m having been made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him,

10 being designated by God a high priest ⁿ after the order of Melchizedek.

Responsibility to Teach

11 About whom ^o we have many things to say, and hard to explain, seeing you have become ^p dull of hearing.

12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God. And you have come to need ^q milk and not solid food.

13 For everyone who partakes of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is ^r a babe.

14 But solid food belongs to those who are mature, to those who by reason of use have their senses exercised ^s to discern both good and evil.

Chapter 6

Moving Toward Maturity

1 Therefore, ^a leaving the elementary principles of the Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from ^b dead works and of faith toward God,

2 ^c of the teaching about baptisms, and ^d of laying on of hands, and ^e of resurrection of the dead, ^f and of eternal judgment.

3 And this we will do if God permits.

4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of ^g the heavenly gift, and ^h have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,

5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, ⁱ since they crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and brings forth herbs useful for those by whom it is dressed, ^j receives blessing from God.

8 ^k But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

Encouragement Toward Diligence

9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.

10 For ^l God is not unjust to forget ^m your work and labor of love that you have shown toward His name, in that you have ⁿ ministered to the saints, and still are ministering.

11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence ^o to the full assurance of hope unto the end,

12 so that you not be sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience ^p inherit the promises.

Certainty of God’s Promises

13 For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no greater, ^q He swore by Himself,

14 saying, ^r “Surely blessing I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you.”

15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the ^s promise.

16 For indeed men swear by the greater, and ^t an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all dispute.

17 Therefore, God, desiring even more to show to ^u the heirs of promise ^v the unchangeableness of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,

18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to ^w lie, we might have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope ^x set before us.

19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, ^y and which enters within the veil,

20 ^z where Jesus, the forerunner, has entered for us, ^a having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Chapter 7

Melchizedek and the Priesthood of Christ

1 For this ^a Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,

2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth of everything, first being by interpretation king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, which is, king of peace,

3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

4 Now consider how great this man was to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.

5 And indeed ^b those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take a tenth from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they come from the loins of Abraham.

6 But he whose genealogy is not traced from them received tithes from Abraham ^c and blessed ^d him who had the promises.

7 And without all dispute the lesser is blessed by the better.

8 Now here mortal men receive a tenth, but there he receives a tenth, ^e of whom it is witnessed that he lives.

9 And so to speak, even Levi who receives a tenth paid a tenth through Abraham,

10 for he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

Jesus and Melchizedek

11 ^f Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?

12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.

13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, of which no one has officiated at the altar.

14 For it is evident that ^g our Lord descended from ^h Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.

15 And it is yet far more evident if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek,

16 who is made, not according to the law of a carnal commandment, but according to the power of an endless life.

17 For He testifies, ⁱ “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of ^j its weakness and unprofitableness,

19 for ^k the law made nothing perfect. But on the other hand there is a bringing in of ^l a better hope through which ^m we draw near to God.

20 And inasmuch as it was not without an oath,

21 (for those priests were made without an oath, but this with an oath by Him who said to Him, ⁿ “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’”),

22 by so much was Jesus made a guarantee of a ^o better covenant.

23 Now there were many of those priests because they were prevented by death from continuing.

24 But this One, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.

25 Therefore, He is ^p able also to save those to the uttermost who come to God through Him, seeing He always lives ^q to make intercession for them.

26 For such a High Priest was appropriate for us, ^r who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, ^s and exalted above the heavens,

27 who does not need daily as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His ^t own sins, and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

28 For the law appoints men as high priests who have weakness, but the word of the oath which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

Chapter 8

Priesthood of the New Covenant

1 Now the main point concerning the things we have spoken is this: We have such a High Priest ^a who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

2 a minister of ^b the sanctuary and of ^c the true tabernacle that the Lord pitched, and not man.

3 For ^d every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, ^e it is necessary that this High Priest also have something to offer.

4 For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.

5 They serve ^f a copy and ^g shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was warned when he was about to make the tabernacle. ^h “See,” He says, “that you make all things according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”

6 But now ⁱ He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a ^j better covenant that was established on better promises.

7 For if that ^k first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for the second.

8 For finding fault with them, He says, ^l “Behold, 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—

9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not continue in My covenant and I turned away from them, says the Lord.

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the ^m Lord. I will put my laws into their mind and write them on their hearts. And ⁿ I will be to them a God and they will be to Me a people.

11 ^o And they will not teach every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the ^p Lord,’ for all will know Me, from the least to the greatest of them.

12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, ^q and their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more.”

13 ^r In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now that which is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Chapter 9

The Earthly Tabernacle

1 Then indeed the first covenant also had ordinances of divine service and ^a an earthly sanctuary.

2 For there was a tabernacle prepared, the first part, in which were the lampstand and the table and the showbread, that is called the sanctuary.

3 And ^b behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle that is called the Holy of Holies,

4 that had the ^c golden censer and ^d the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, in which were ^e the golden pot that had manna, and ^f Aaron’s rod that budded, and ^g the tables of the covenant.

5 And ^h over it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

6 Now when these things had been so prepared, ⁱ the priests went continually into the first tabernacle performing the service.

7 But into the second, only the high priest entered ^j once a year, not without blood, which he offered for ^k himself and the sins of the people committed in ignorance.

8 The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that ^l the way into the holy place was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.

9 It was a symbol for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered ^m that cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience,

10 since they relate only to ⁿ foods and drinks and ^o various washings ^p and carnal ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

11 But Christ appeared as a High Priest of ^q good things to come, with a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation.

12 Not ^r by the blood of goats and calves, but ^s by His own blood He entered ^t once for all into the holy place, ^u having obtained eternal redemption.

13 For if ^v the blood of goats and bulls and ^w the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,

14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, ^x cleanse your conscience from ^y dead works ^z to serve the living God?

15 And for this reason ^a He is the mediator of the new covenant, so that by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions committed under the first covenant, ^b those who have been called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

16 For where a covenant is, the death of the one who made it must be established.

17 For ^c a covenant is ratified upon death, since it has no force while the one who made it lives.

18 ^d Therefore, not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.

19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, ^e he took the blood of calves and of goats, ^f with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the scroll and all the people,

20 saying, ^g “This is the ^h blood of the covenant that God has commanded you.”

21 Moreover, ⁱ he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry.

22 And according to the law, almost everything is to be cleansed with blood, and ^j without shedding of blood there is no remission.

23 Therefore, it was necessary that ^k the copies of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

24 For ^l Christ has not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of ^m the true, but into heaven itself, now ⁿ to appear in the presence of God for us.

25 Nor was it that He should offer Himself often, as ^o the high priest enters into the holy place every year with the blood of another.

26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

27 And ^p as it is appointed for men to die once, ^q but after this the judgment,

28 so ^r Christ was ^s offered once to bear the sins ^t of many. And to those ^u who look for Him He will appear the second time, not to bear sin, but for salvation.

Chapter 10

The Final Sacrifice

1 For the law, having ^a a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, ^b can never with the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year make perfect those who draw near.

2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins?

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

4 For ^c it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, ^d “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.

6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have had no pleasure.

7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—in the volume of the scroll it is written of Me—to do Your will, O God.’”

8 Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law),

9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second.

10 ^e By that will we have been sanctified ^f through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 And every priest stands daily ^g ministering and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

12 But ^h this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down ⁱ at the right hand of God,

13 from that time waiting ^j till His enemies are made His footstool.

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

15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after saying,

16 “^k This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”

17 then He adds, “^l Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

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

Remain Faithful to Jesus

19 Therefore, brethren, having ^m boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,

20 by a new and ^o living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,

21 and having a High Priest over the house of God,

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

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for ^r He who promised is faithful.

24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

25 ^s not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and ^t so much the more as you see ^u the Day approaching.

26 For ^v if we sin willfully ^w after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there ^x no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and ^y fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three ^z witnesses.

29 ^a Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, ^b counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and ^c insulted the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know Him who said, “^d Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “^e The Lord will judge His people.”

31 ^f It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 But ^g recall the former days in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great struggle with sufferings:

33 partly while you were made ^h a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while ⁱ you became companions of those who were so treated.

34 For you had compassion on me ^j in my chains, and joyfully accepted ^k the plundering of your goods, knowing that ^l you have a better and enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.

35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, ^m which has great reward.

36 For ⁿ you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, ^o you may receive the promise:

37 “^p For yet a little while, and ^q He who is coming will come and will not tarry.

38 Now ^r the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

39 But we are not of those ^s who draw back to perdition, but of those who ^t believe to the saving of the soul.

Chapter 11

Heroes of Faith

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence ^a of things not seen.

2 For by it the ancients obtained a good testimony.

3 By faith we understand that ^b the universe was formed by the word of God, so that the things that are seen were not made of things that are visible.

4 By faith ^c Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts. And by faith he being dead still ^d speaks.

5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death, ^e “and was not found because God had taken him.” For before he was taken up he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

7 By faith ^f Noah, being warned by God of things not yet seen, moved with fear, ^g prepared an ark for the saving of his house, by which he condemned the world and became heir of ^h the righteousness that is according to faith.

8 By faith ⁱ Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place that he would later receive as an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

9 By faith he journeyed in the land of promise as in a foreign country, ^j dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, ^k the heirs with him of the same promise,

10 for he was looking for ^l a city that has foundations, ^m whose builder and maker is God.

11 Through faith even ⁿ Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed. And ^o she bore a child when she was past age because she judged Him ^p faithful who had promised.

12 Therefore, from one man, and him as good as ^q dead, were born as many as the ^r stars of the sky in multitude and innumerable as the sand that is by the sea shore.

13 These all died in faith, ^s not having received the ^t promises. But ^u having seen them afar off were assured of them and embraced them, and ^v confessed that they were foreigners and pilgrims on the earth.

14 For those who say such things ^w declare plainly that they seek a homeland.

15 And indeed if they had been thinking of ^x that country from which they came out, they would have had opportunity to return.

16 But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly. Therefore, God is not ashamed ^y to be called their God, for He has ^z prepared a city for them.

17 By faith Abraham, ^a when he was tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son,

18 of whom it was said, ^b “In Isaac your seed will be called.”

19 He concluded that God ^c was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also figuratively received him back.

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

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

22 By faith ^f Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

23 By faith ^g Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child. And they were not afraid of the king’s ^h commandment.

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

25 choosing rather to suffer mistreatment with the people of God than to temporarily enjoy the pleasures of sin,

26 considering ^j the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he was looking to the ^k reward.

27 By faith ^l he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

28 By faith ^m he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

29 By faith ⁿ they passed through the Red Sea as on dry land. But when the Egyptians attempted to do so, they were drowned.

30 By faith ^o the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.

31 By faith ^p the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when ^q she had received the spies with peace.

32 And what more will I say? For the time would fail me to tell of ^r Gideon and ^s Barak and ^t Samson and ^u Jephthah, also ^v David and ^w Samuel and the prophets,

33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, ^x stopped the mouths of lions,

34 ^y quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword. From weakness they were made strong, became valiant in war and turned to flight foreign armies.

35 ^z Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were ^a tortured, not accepting deliverance, so that they might obtain a better resurrection.

36 And others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, also ^b of bonds and imprisonment.

37 ^c They were stoned. They were sawn asunder. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. ^d They wandered about ^e in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—

38 men of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains and ^f dens and caves of the earth.

39 And all these, ^g having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,

40 God having provided some better thing for us, so that they apart from us would not be ^h made perfect.

Chapter 12

Disciplines of God’s Children

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, ^a let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and ^b let us run ^c with endurance the race that is set before us,

2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, ^d who for the joy that was set before Him ^e endured the cross, despising the shame, and ^f sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 ^g For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so ^h that you do not grow weary or lose heart.

4 ⁱ You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in striving against sin.

5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ^j “My son, do not despise the discipline of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6 For ^k whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and scourges every son whom He receives.”

7 ^l If you endure discipline, God deals with you as with sons; for what ^m son is there whom a father does not discipline?

8 But if you are without discipline, ⁿ of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we respected them. Shall we not much more be in subjection to ^o the Father of spirits and live?

10 For they indeed for a few days disciplined us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, so that ^p we may be partakers of His holiness.

11 Now no discipline seems joyful at the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields ^q the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore, ^r strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees,

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

Caution Against Unbelief

14 ^s Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, ^t without which no one will see the Lord;

15 looking carefully lest anyone ^u fall short of the grace of God; lest any ^v root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

16 lest there be any ^w fornicator or profane person like Esau, who ^x for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was ^y rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

18 For you have not come to ^z the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest,

19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it ^a begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.

20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: ^b “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.”)

21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ^c “I exceedingly fear and tremble.”

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,

23 to the general assembly and church of ^d the firstborn who are ^e registered in heaven, to God ^f the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men ^g made perfect,

24 to Jesus ^h the Mediator of the new covenant, and to ⁱ the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things ^j than that of Abel.

25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. ^k For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much less shall we escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,

26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ^l “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”

27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the ^m removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may ⁿ serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

29 For ^o our God is a consuming fire.

Chapter 13

Farewell Exhortations

1 Let ^a brotherly love continue.

2 ^b Do not neglect to entertain strangers, for by this ^c some have entertained angels without knowing it.

3 ^d Remember those who are in chains as though bound with them, and those who suffer ill-treatment, since you yourselves also are in the body.

4 ^e Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled. ^f But fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

5 Let your behavior be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ^g “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

6 So we may boldly say, ^h “The Lord is my helper and I will not fear. What will man do to me?”

7 Remember those who are leading you, who have spoken to you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their behavior.

8 Jesus Christ is ⁱ the same yesterday and today and forever.

9 Do not be carried about with various and strange teachings. For it is a good thing that the heart be established by grace, not with foods that have not profited those who have been preoccupied with them.

10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.

11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned outside the camp.

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

13 Therefore, let us go forth to Him outside the camp, bearing ^j His reproach.

14 For here we do not have a continuing city, but we seek one to come.

15 ^k Therefore, by Him let us continually offer ^l the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, ^m the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

16 ⁿ But do not forget doing good and sharing, for ^o with such sacrifices God is well-pleased.

17 ^p Obey those who lead you and be submissive, for ^q they watch for your souls as those who must give account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

18 ^r Pray for us. For we are sure we have ^s a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.

19 But I urge you all the more to do this so that I may be restored to you the sooner.

20 Now ^t the God of peace ^u who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, ^v that great Shepherd of the sheep, ^w through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

21 equip you in every good work to do His will, ^x working in you what is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

22 And I urge you, brethren, bear this word of exhortation, for I have written a letter to you in few words.

23 Know that our brother Timothy is set at liberty, with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you.

24 Greet all those who lead you, and all the saints. Those from Italy salute you.

25 Grace be with you all. Amen.