Hebrews 1:1-10:18

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

God Has Spoken by His Son

1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,^[a] whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.^{(A) 3} He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains^[b] all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for^[c] sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,^{(B) 4} having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.^(C)

The Son Is Superior to Angels

⁵ For to which of the angels did God^[d] ever say,

Or again,

⁶ And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

⁷ Of the angels he says,

⁸ But of the Son he says,

¹⁰ And,

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

¹⁴ Are not all angels^[i] spirits in the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?^(K)

Warning to Pay Attention

2 Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. ² For if the message declared through angels proved valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty,^{(L) 3} how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was confirmed for us by those who heard him,^{(M) 4} while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will.^(N)

Exaltation through Abasement

⁵ Now God^[j] did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels.^{(O) 6} But someone has testified somewhere,

Now in subjecting all things to them, God^[o] left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them,^{(Q) 9} but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower^[p] than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God^[q] he might taste death for everyone.^(R)

¹⁰ It was fitting that God,^[r] for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.^{(S) 11} For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father.^[s] For this reason Jesus^[t] is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,^{(T) 12} saying,

¹³ And again,

And again,

¹⁴ Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,^{(W) 15} and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.^{(X) 16} For it is clear that he did not come to help angels but the descendants of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.^{(Y) 18} Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.^(Z)

Moses a Servant, Christ a Son

3 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partners in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,^{(AA) 2} who was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses also “was faithful in all^[u] God’s^[v] house.” ³ Yet Jesus^[w] is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.^{(AB) 4} (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)^{(AC) 5} Now Moses was faithful in all God’s^[x] house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken later.^{(AD) 6} Christ, however, was faithful over God’s^[y] house as a son, and we are his house if we hold firm^[z] the boldness and the pride inspired by hope.^(AE)

Warning against Unbelief

⁷ Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

¹² Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³ But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end. ¹⁵ As it is said,

¹⁶ Now who were they who heard and rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses?^{(AH) 17} And with whom was he angry forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?^{(AI) 18} And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who were disobedient?^{(AJ) 19} So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.^(AK)

The Rest That God Promised

4 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it.^{(AL) 2} For indeed the good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them because they were not united by faith with those who listened.^{[ab](AM) 3} For we who have believed are entering that rest, just as God^[ac] has said,

though his works were finished since the foundation of the world. ⁴ For somewhere it speaks about the seventh day as follows, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.”^{(AN) 5} And again in this place it says, “They shall not enter my rest.” ⁶ Since therefore it remains open for some to enter it and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, ⁷ again he sets a certain day—“today”—saying through David much later, in the words already quoted,

⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, God^[ad] would not speak later about another day. ⁹ So then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God, ¹⁰ for those who enter God’s^[ae] rest also rest from their labors as God did from his. ¹¹ Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.

¹² Indeed, the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.^{(AP) 13} And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.^(AQ)

Jesus the Great High Priest

¹⁴ Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.^{(AR) 15} For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested^[af] as we are, yet without sin.^{(AS) 16} Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

5 Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness,^{(AT) 3} and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. ⁴ And one does not presume to take this honor but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.^(AU)

⁵ So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest but was appointed by^[ag] the one who said to him,

⁶ as he says also in another place,

⁷ In the days of his flesh, Jesus^[ah] offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.^{(AX) 8} Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered,^{(AY) 9} and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,^{(AZ) 10} having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Warning against Falling Away

¹¹ About this^[ai] we have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become sluggish in hearing. ¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,^{(BA) 13} for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.^(BB)

The Peril of Falling Away

6 Therefore let us go on^[aj] toward perfection,^[ak] leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith toward God,^{(BC) 2} instruction about baptisms and laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.^{(BD) 3} And we will do^[al] this, if God permits. ⁴ For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit^{(BE) 5} and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come^{(BF) 6} and then have fallen away, since they are crucifying again the Son of God to their own harm and are holding him up to contempt.^{(BG) 7} Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God.^{(BH) 8} But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and on the verge of being cursed; its end is to be burned over.^(BI)

⁹ Even though we speak in this way, beloved, we are confident of better things in your case, things that belong to salvation. ¹⁰ For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the^[am] love that you showed for his sake^[an] in serving the saints, as you still do.^{(BJ) 11} And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end,^{(BK) 12} so that you may not become sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.^(BL)

The Certainty of God’s Promise

¹³ When God made a promise to Abraham, because he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,^{(BM) 14} saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply you.” ¹⁵ And thus Abraham,^[ao] having patiently endured, obtained the promise. ¹⁶ Humans, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute among them.^{(BN) 17} In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath,^{(BO) 18} so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us.^{(BP) 19} We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain,^{(BQ) 20} where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.^(BR)

The Priestly Order of Melchizedek

7 This “Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him,”^{(BS) 2} and to him Abraham apportioned “one-tenth of everything.” His name, in the first place, means “king of righteousness”; next, he is also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.” ³ Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.^(BT)

⁴ See how great he is! Even^[ap] Abraham the patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils.^{(BU) 5} And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to collect tithes^[aq] from the people, that is, from their kindred, though these also are descended from Abraham.^{(BV) 6} But this man, who does not belong to their ancestry, collected tithes^[ar] from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises.^{(BW) 7} It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. ⁸ In the one case, tithes are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.^{(BX) 9} One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Another Priest, Like Melchizedek

¹¹ Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood—for the people received the law under this priesthood—what further need would there have been to speak of another priest arising according to the order of Melchizedek rather than one according to the order of Aaron?^{(BY) 12} For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. ¹³ Now the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.^(BZ)

¹⁵ It is even more obvious when another priest arises, resembling Melchizedek, ¹⁶ one who has become a priest, not through a legal requirement concerning physical descent but through the power of an indestructible life.^{(CA) 17} For it is attested of him,

¹⁸ There is, on the one hand, the abrogation of an earlier commandment because it was weak and ineffectual^{(CC) 19} (for the law made nothing perfect); there is, on the other hand, the introduction of a better hope through which we approach God.^(CD)

²⁰ This was confirmed with an oath, for others have become priests without an oath, ²¹ but this one became a priest with an oath because of the one who said to him,

²² accordingly Jesus has also become the guarantor of a better covenant.^(CF)

²³ Furthermore, the former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, ²⁴ but he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. ²⁵ Consequently, he is able for all time to save^[at] those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.^(CG)

²⁶ For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.^{(CH) 27} Unlike the other^[au] high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself.^{(CI) 28} For the law appoints as high priests humans, who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.^(CJ)

Mediator of a Better Covenant

8 Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,^{(CK) 2} a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent^[av] that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up.^{(CL) 3} For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.^{(CM) 4} Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are already those^[aw] who offer gifts according to the law. ⁵ They offer worship in a sanctuary that is^[ax] a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one, just as Moses was warned when he was about to erect the tent.^[ay] For, God^[az] said, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”^{(CN) 6} But Jesus^[ba] has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on the basis of better promises.^{(CO) 7} For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one.^(CP)

⁸ God^[bb] finds fault with them when he says:

¹³ In speaking of a new covenant, he has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear.^(CU)

The Earthly and the Heavenly Sanctuaries

9 Now^[be] the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. ² For a tent^[bf] was constructed, the first one, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of the Presence;^[bg] this is called the holy place.^{(CV) 3} Behind the second curtain was a tent^[bh] called the holy of holies.^{(CW) 4} In it stood the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which there were a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;^{(CX) 5} above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat.^[bi] Of these things we cannot speak now in detail.^(CY)

⁶ These preparations having thus been made, the priests go continually into the first tent^[bj] to carry out their ritual duties, ⁷ but only the high priest goes into the second, and he but once a year and not without taking the blood that he offers for himself and for the sins committed unintentionally by the people.^{(CZ) 8} By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary has not yet been disclosed as long as the first tent^[bk] is still standing.^{(DA) 9} This is a symbol^[bl] of the present time, indicating that gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper^{(DB) 10} but deal only with food and drink and various baptisms, regulations for the body imposed until the time comes to set things right.^(DC)

¹¹ But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come,^[bm] then through the greater and more perfect tent^[bn] (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation),^{(DD) 12} he entered once for all into the holy place, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.^{(DE) 13} For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified,^{(DF) 14} how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit^[bo] offered himself without blemish to God, purify our^[bp] conscience from dead works to worship the living God!^(DG)

¹⁵ For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.^{[bq](DH) 16} Where a will^[br] is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. ¹⁷ For a will^[bs] takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. ¹⁸ Hence not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.^{(DI) 19} For when every commandment had been told to all the people by Moses in accordance with the law, he took the blood of calves and goats,^[bt] with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the scroll itself and all the people,^{(DJ) 20} saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has ordained for you.” ²¹ And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent^[bu] and all the vessels used in worship.^{(DK) 22} Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.^(DL)

Christ’s Sacrifice Takes Away Sin

²³ Thus it was necessary for the sketches of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves need better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.^{(DM) 25} Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the holy place year after year with blood that is not his own, ²⁶ for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself.^{(DN) 27} And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once and after that the judgment,^{(DO) 28} so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.^(DP)

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

10 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it^[bv] can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who approach.^{(DQ) 2} Otherwise, would they not have ceased being offered, since the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? ³ But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year.^{(DR) 4} For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.^{(DS) 5} Consequently, when Christ^[bw] came into the world, he said,

⁸ When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), ⁹ then he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. ¹⁰ And it is by God’s will^[by] that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.^(DV)

¹¹ And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins.^{(DW) 12} But when Christ^[bz] had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God,” ¹³ and since then has been waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.”^{(DX) 14} For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. ¹⁵ And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,

¹⁷ and he adds,

¹⁸ Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.