The Supremacy of God's Son

Long ago, at many times and (A)in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but (B)in these last days (C)he has spoken to us by (D)his Son, whom he appointed (E)the heir of all things, (F)through whom also he created (G)the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and (H)the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. (I)After making purification for sins, (J)he sat down (K)at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name (L)he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

For to which of the angels did God ever say,

(M)“You are my Son,
    today I have begotten you”?

Or again,

(N)“I will be to him a father,
    and he shall be to me a son”?

And again, when he brings (O)the firstborn into the world, he says,

(P)“Let all God's angels worship him.”

Of the angels he says,

(Q)“He makes his angels winds,
    and his ministers a flame of fire.”

But of the Son he says,

(R)“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, (S)has anointed you
    with (T)the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

10 And,

(U)“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands;
11 they will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment,
12 like a robe you will roll them up,
    like a garment they will be changed.[a]
But you are (V)the same,
    and your years will have no end.”

13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,

(W)“Sit at my right hand
    (X)until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits (Y)sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to (Z)inherit salvation?

Warning Against Neglecting Salvation

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since (AA)the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and (AB)every transgression or disobedience received a just (AC)retribution, (AD)how shall we escape if we (AE)neglect such a great salvation? It was (AF)declared at first by the Lord, and it was (AG)attested to us (AH)by those who heard, (AI)while God also bore witness (AJ)by signs and wonders and various miracles and by (AK)gifts of the Holy Spirit (AL)distributed according to his will.

The Founder of Salvation

For it was not to angels that God subjected the world (AM)to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere,

(AN)“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
    or the son of man, that you care for him?
You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
    you have crowned him with glory and honor,[b]
    putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, (AO)we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him (AP)who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, (AQ)crowned with glory and honor (AR)because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might (AS)taste death (AT)for everyone.

10 For it (AU)was fitting that he, (AV)for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons (AW)to glory, should make the (AX)founder of their salvation (AY)perfect through suffering. 11 For (AZ)he who sanctifies and (BA)those who are sanctified (BB)all have one source.[c] That is why he is not ashamed to call them (BC)brothers,[d] 12 saying,

(BD)“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
    in the midst of the (BE)congregation I will sing your praise.”

13 And again,

(BF)“I will put my trust in him.”

And again,

(BG)“Behold, I and the children (BH)God has given me.”

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise (BI)partook of the same things, that (BJ)through death he might (BK)destroy (BL)the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who (BM)through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he (BN)helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had (BO)to be made like his brothers in every respect, (BP)so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest (BQ)in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered (BR)when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus Greater Than Moses

Therefore, holy brothers,[e] you who share in (BS)a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, (BT)the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, (BU)just as Moses also was faithful in all God's[f] house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but (BV)the builder of all things is God.) (BW)Now Moses was faithful in all God's house (BX)as a servant, (BY)to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as (BZ)a son. And (CA)we are his house, if indeed we (CB)hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.[g]

A Rest for the People of God

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

(CC)“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
    on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers put me to the test
    and saw my works for (CD)forty years.
10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
    they have not known my ways.’
11 (CE)As I swore in my wrath,
    ‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from (CF)the living God. 13 But (CG)exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by (CH)the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, (CI)if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,

(CJ)“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

16 For (CK)who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not (CL)all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, (CM)whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that (CN)they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that (CO)they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem (CP)to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because (CQ)they were not united by faith with those who listened.[h] For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

(CR)“As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest,’”

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: (CS)“And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this passage he said,

(CT)“They shall not enter my rest.”

Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news (CU)failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

(CV)“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”

For if Joshua had given them rest, God[i] would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also (CW)rested from his works as God did from his.

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so (CX)that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For (CY)the word of God is living and (CZ)active, (DA)sharper than any (DB)two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and (DC)discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And (DD)no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are (DE)naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Jesus the Great High Priest

14 Since then we have (DF)a great high priest (DG)who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, (DH)let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest (DI)who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been (DJ)tempted as we are, (DK)yet without sin. 16 (DL)Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

For every high priest chosen from among men (DM)is appointed to act on behalf of men (DN)in relation to God, (DO)to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. (DP)He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself (DQ)is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins (DR)just as he does for those of the people. And (DS)no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, (DT)just as Aaron was.

So also Christ (DU)did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

(DV)“You are my Son,
    today I have begotten you”;

as he says also in another place,

(DW)“You are a priest forever,
    after the order of Melchizedek.”

In the days of his flesh, (DX)Jesus[j] offered up prayers and supplications, (DY)with loud cries and tears, to him (DZ)who was able to save him from death, and (EA)he was heard because of his reverence. Although (EB)he was a son, (EC)he learned obedience through what he suffered. And (ED)being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest (EE)after the order of Melchizedek.

Warning Against Apostasy

11 About this we have much to say, and it is (EF)hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again (EG)the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need (EH)milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is (EI)a child. 14 But solid food is for (EJ)the mature, for those who have their powers (EK)of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 1:12 Some manuscripts omit like a garment
  2. Hebrews 2:7 Some manuscripts insert and set him over the works of your hands
  3. Hebrews 2:11 Greek all are of one
  4. Hebrews 2:11 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verse 12
  5. Hebrews 3:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 12
  6. Hebrews 3:2 Greek his; also verses 5, 6
  7. Hebrews 3:6 Some manuscripts insert firm to the end
  8. Hebrews 4:2 Some manuscripts it did not meet with faith in the hearers
  9. Hebrews 4:8 Greek he
  10. Hebrews 5:7 Greek he

Bible Gateway Recommends

John, ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal
John, ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal
Retail: $6.99
Our Price: $4.79
Save: $2.20 (31%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
ESV Church Bible (Value Pew Bible) Black
ESV Church Bible (Value Pew Bible) Black
Retail: $12.99
Our Price: $7.49
Save: $5.50 (42%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
ESV Economy Bible, Giant Print Softcover
ESV Economy Bible, Giant Print Softcover
Retail: $11.99
Our Price: $8.99
Save: $3.00 (25%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Turquoise
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Turquoise
Retail: $44.99
Our Price: $28.99
Save: $16.00 (36%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
ESV Student Study Bible, TruTone, Navy Blue
ESV Student Study Bible, TruTone, Navy Blue
Retail: $44.99
Our Price: $20.99
Save: $24.00 (53%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars