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Hebrews 6
International Children’s Bible

6 So let us go on to grown-up teaching. Let us not go back over the beginning lessons we learned about Christ. We should not start over again with teaching about turning from acts that lead to death and about believing in God. 2 We should not return to the teaching of baptisms,[a] of laying on of hands,[b] of the raising of the dead and eternal judgment. 3 And we will go on to grown-up teaching if God allows.

4 Some people cannot be brought back again to a changed life. They were once in God’s light. They enjoyed heaven’s gift, and they shared in the Holy Spirit. 5 They found out how good God’s word is, and they received the powers of his new world. 6 And then they fell away from Christ! It is not possible to keep on bringing them back to a changed life again. For they are nailing the Son of God to a cross again and are shaming him in front of others.

7 Some people are like land that gets plenty of rain. The land produces a good crop for those who work it, and it receives God’s blessings. 8 Other people are like land that grows thorns and weeds and is worthless. It is about to be cursed by God. It will be destroyed by fire.

9 Dear friends, we are saying this to you. But we really expect better things from you that will lead to your salvation. 10 God is fair. He will not forget the work you did and the love you showed for him by helping his people. And he will remember that you are still helping them. 11 We want each of you to go on with the same hard work all your lives. Then you will surely get what you hope for. 12 We do not want you to become lazy. Be like those who have faith and patience. They will receive what God has promised.

13 God made a promise to Abraham. And as there is no one greater than God, he used himself when he swore to Abraham. 14 He said, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”[c] 15 Abraham waited patiently for this to happen. And he received what God promised.

16 People always use the name of someone greater than themselves when they swear. The oath proves that what they say is true. And this ends all arguing about what they say. 17 God wanted to prove that his promise was true. He wanted to prove this to those who would get what he promised. He wanted them to understand clearly that his purposes never change. So God proved his promise by also making an oath. 18 These two things cannot change. God cannot lie when he makes a promise, and he cannot lie when he makes an oath. These things encourage us who came to God for safety. They give us strength to hold on to the hope we have been given. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and strong. It enters behind the curtain in the Most Holy Place in heaven. 20 Jesus has gone in there ahead of us and for us. He has become the high priest forever, a priest like Melchizedek.[d]

Footnotes

  1. 6:2 baptisms The word here may refer to Christian baptism, or it may refer to the Jewish ceremonial washings.
  2. 6:2 laying on of hands Putting the hands on people showed that they were being given some special work or some spiritual gift or blessing.
  3. 6:14 “I . . . descendants.” Quotation from Genesis 22:17.
  4. 6:20; 7:1, 15 Melchizedek A priest and king who lived in the time of Abraham. (Read Genesis 14:17–24.)
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Hebrews 6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 6

1 Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance to maturity, without laying the foundation all over again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,(A) 2 instruction about baptisms[a] and laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.(B) 3 And we shall do this, if only God permits. 4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift[b] and shared in the holy Spirit(C) 5 and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,[c] 6 and then have fallen away, to bring them to repentance again, since they are recrucifying the Son of God for themselves[d] and holding him up to contempt.(D) 7 Ground that has absorbed the rain falling upon it repeatedly and brings forth crops useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God.(E) 8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is rejected; it will soon be cursed and finally burned.(F)

9 But we are sure in your regard, beloved, of better things related to salvation, even though we speak in this way. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones. 11 We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of hope until the end,(G) 12 so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who, through faith and patience,(H) are inheriting the promises.[e]

God’s Promise Immutable. 13 [f](I)When God made the promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, “he swore by himself,” 14 and said, “I will indeed bless you and multiply” you.(J) 15 And so, after patient waiting,(K) he obtained the promise.[g] 16 Human beings swear by someone greater than themselves; for them an oath serves as a guarantee and puts an end to all argument. 17 So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose, he intervened with an oath,(L) 18 so that by two immutable things,[h] in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to hold fast to the hope that lies before us.(M) 19 This we have as an anchor of the soul,(N) sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil,[i] 20 where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner, becoming high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.(O)

Footnotes

  1. 6:2 Instruction about baptisms: not simply about Christian baptism but about the difference between it and similar Jewish rites, such as proselyte baptism, John’s baptism, and the washings of the Qumran sectaries. Laying on of hands: in Acts 8:17; 19:6 this rite effects the infusion of the holy Spirit; in Acts 6:6; 13:3; 1 Tm 4:14; 5:22; 2 Tm 1:6 it is a means of conferring some ministry or mission in the early Christian community.
  2. 6:4 Enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift: this may refer to baptism and the Eucharist, respectively, but more probably means the neophytes’ enlightenment by faith and their experience of salvation.
  3. 6:5 Tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come: the proclamation of the word of God was accompanied by signs of the Spirit’s power (1 Thes 1:5; 1 Cor 2:4).
  4. 6:6 They are recrucifying the Son of God for themselves: a colorful description of the malice of apostasy, which is portrayed as again crucifying and deriding the Son of God.
  5. 6:12 Imitators of those…inheriting the promises: the author urges the addressees to imitate the faith of the holy people of the Old Testament, who now possess the promised goods of which they lived in hope. This theme will be treated fully in Hb 6:11.
  6. 6:13 He swore by himself: God’s promise to Abraham, which he confirmed by an oath (“I swear by myself,” Gn 22:16) was the basis for the hope of all Abraham’s descendants.
  7. 6:15 He obtained the promise: this probably refers not to Abraham’s temporary possession of the land but to the eschatological blessings that Abraham and the other patriarchs have now come to possess.
  8. 6:18 Two immutable things: the promise and the oath, both made by God.
  9. 6:19 Anchor…into the interior behind the veil: a mixed metaphor. The Holy of Holies, beyond the veil that separates it from the Holy Place (Ex 26:31–33), is seen as the earthly counterpart of the heavenly abode of God. This theme will be developed in Hb 9.
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Hebrews 6
New International Version

6 Therefore let us move beyond(A) the elementary teachings(B) about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,[a](C) and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites,[b](D) the laying on of hands,(E) the resurrection of the dead,(F) and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting,(G) we will do so.

4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened,(H) who have tasted the heavenly gift,(I) who have shared in the Holy Spirit,(J) 5 who have tasted the goodness(K) of the word of God(L) and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen[c] away, to be brought back to repentance.(M) To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God(N) all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed.(O) In the end it will be burned.

9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends,(P) we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. 10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.(Q) 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope(R) for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate(S) those who through faith and patience(T) inherit what has been promised.(U)

The Certainty of God’s Promise

13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,(V) 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”[d](W) 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.(X)

16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.(Y) 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging(Z) nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised,(AA) he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,(AB) we who have fled to take hold of the hope(AC) set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,(AD) 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.(AE) He has become a high priest(AF) forever, in the order of Melchizedek.(AG)

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 6:1 Or from useless rituals
  2. Hebrews 6:2 Or about baptisms
  3. Hebrews 6:6 Or age, 6 if they fall
  4. Hebrews 6:14 Gen. 22:17
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Hebrews 5
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