Final Greetings

¹⁹ Greet ·Priscilla [^LPrisca] and Aquila [Acts 18:2, 18, 26; Rom. 16:3–4; 1 Cor. 16:19] and the family of Onesiphorus [1:17]. ²⁰ Erastus [Acts 19:22; Rom. 16:23] stayed in Corinth [^Ca major city in Achaia, present-day southern Greece; Acts 18; 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1], and I left Trophimus [Acts 20:4; 21:29] sick in Miletus [^Ca coastal city near Ephesus; Acts 20:15, 17]. ²¹ ·Try as hard as you can [Make every effort; Do your best] to come to me before winter.

Eubulus sends greetings to you. Also Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters in Christ greet you.

²² The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

God Spoke Through His Son

1 ·In the past [Long ago] God spoke to our ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers] through the prophets ·many times [or in a fragmentary/partial way; ^Lin many parts] and in many different ways. ² But now in these last days God has spoken to us through ·his Son [or a son; 1:3]. God has ·chosen [appointed] his Son to ·own [be heir/inheritor of] all things, and through him he made the ·world [universe; ages; ^Ccomprising both space and time; John 1:3]. ³ The Son ·reflects [or radiates; shines forth] the glory of God [John 1:14] and ·shows exactly what God is like [^Lis the exact representation/imprint/stamp of his being/essence/nature]. He ·holds everything together [sustains/upholds all things] with his powerful word. When the Son ·made people clean from their [^Lprovided purification/cleansing for] sins [9:14], he sat down at the right ·side [^Lhand; ^Cthe most honored position beside a king; Ps. 110:1] of ·God, the Great One in heaven [^Lthe Majesty/Preeminence in the highest places; ^Ca Jewish way to avoid saying the divine name of God]. ⁴ The Son became much ·greater [superior; better] than the angels, ·and [or just as; in the same way that] ·God gave him [^Lhe inherited] a name [^Ceither “Son” (v. 5), or referring to his nature or reputation] that is ·much greater than [far superior to] theirs.

⁵ This is because God never said to any of the angels,

·Nor did God say of any angel [^LAnd again],

⁶ And [^Lagain] when God brings ·his firstborn Son [^Lthe firstborn; Rom. 8:29] into the world, he says,

⁷ This is what God said about the angels:

⁸ But God said this about his Son:

¹⁰ God also says,

¹³ And God never said this to an angel:

¹⁴ ·All the angels are [^LAre they not…?] ·spirits who serve God [or ministering spirits] and are sent to ·help [serve] those who will ·receive [^Linherit] salvation.

Our Salvation Is Great

2 ·So [For this reason] we must ·be more careful to follow [pay even closer attention to] what we ·were taught [have heard]. Then we will not ·stray [drift] away from the truth. ² ·The teaching [^LIf/Since the message/word…] God spoke through angels [Acts 7:53] was shown to be ·true [firm; reliable], and ·anyone who did not follow it or obey it [every violation/transgression and disobedience] received the punishment that ·was earned [it deserved; was just]. ³ ·So surely we also will be punished [^LHow will we escape…?] if we ignore ·this [such a] great salvation. The Lord himself first ·told about [announced] this salvation, and those who heard him ·testified [confirmed to us] it was true. ⁴ God also ·testified to the truth of the message [joined in/confirmed their testimony] by using great signs, wonders, many kinds of ·miracles [acts of power], and by ·giving people [^Lthe distribution/apportioning of] gifts through the Holy Spirit, ·just as he wanted [or however he desired].

Christ Became like Us

⁵ [^LFor] God did not ·choose angels to be the rulers of the new world that was coming [^Lsubject the world to come to angels], which is what we have been talking about. ⁶ ·It is written in the Scriptures [^LSomeone has testified somewhere],

[^LFor] When God ·put everything under their control [^Lsubjected everything to him], there was nothing left ·that they did not rule [uncontrolled; not subjected]. Still, [^Lnow; at the present time] we do not yet see ·them [or him; ^Creferring to humanity] ruling over everything. ⁹ But we see Jesus, who for a short time was made lower than the angels. This was so that, by God’s grace, he could ·die [^Ltaste death] for everyone. And now, because he suffered and died, he is ·wearing a crown of [^Lcrowned with] glory and honor. [^CJesus fulfills humanity’s destiny: to be crowned with glory and honor; Ps. 8 (cited above).]

¹⁰ God is the One ·who made all things, and all things are for his glory [^Lthrough whom and for whom all things exist]. He wanted to ·have many children share his [lead/bring many children/sons to] glory, so [^Lit was fitting/appropriate that] he made the ·One who leads people to [Leader/Pioneer/Source of their] salvation perfect through suffering.

¹¹ [^LFor indeed] ·Jesus, [^Lthe one] who makes people holy, and those who are made holy ·are from the same family [or have the same Father; or have one origin; ^Lare all from one]. ·So [For this reason] he is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. ¹² He says,

¹³ He also says,

And he also says,

¹⁴ [^LTherefore] Since these children ·are people with physical bodies [have in common their flesh and blood], Jesus himself ·became like them [shared their humanity; ^Llikewise shared the same things]. He did this so that, by dying, he could destroy the one who has the power of death—the devil— ¹⁵ and free those who were ·like slaves [held in slavery] all their lives because of their fear of death. ¹⁶ [^LFor] Clearly, it is not angels that Jesus helps, but the ·people who are from [seed/descendants of] Abraham [^Cthe father of the Jewish nation; Gen. 12—25]. ¹⁷ For this reason Jesus had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way so he could ·be their [^Lbecome a] merciful and faithful high priest in ·service [^Lthe things pertaining] to God. Then Jesus could ·die in their place to take away [make atonement for; be the sacrifice that pays for; be the sacrifice that appeases God’s wrath against] ·their sins [^Lthe sins of the people]. ¹⁸ And now he can help those who are ·tempted [or tested], because he himself suffered and ·was tempted [or was tested; or passed the test].

Jesus Is Greater than Moses

3 ·So all of you [^LTherefore] holy brothers and sisters, who ·were called by God [are partners/partakers in a heavenly calling], ·think about [consider; focus on] Jesus, who ·was sent to us [or is our apostle; ^Ca commissioned messenger] and is the high priest ·of our faith [or whom we acknowledge/confess; ^Lof our confession]. ² Jesus was faithful to God who appointed him just as Moses was faithful in God’s ·family [household; house]. ³ Jesus ·has [deserves; is worthy of] more honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. ⁴ [^LFor] Every house is built by someone, but the builder of everything is God himself. ⁵ Moses was faithful in ·God’s family [^Lall of God’s house; Num. 12:7] as a servant, and he ·told [testified to] what God would say in the future. ⁶ But Christ is faithful as a Son over God’s house. And we are God’s house if we ·confidently maintain our hope [or maintain our courage and confident hope].

We Must Continue to Follow God

⁷ So it is as the Holy Spirit says:

¹² So brothers and sisters, ·be careful [see to it] that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart that will ·turn you away from [desert; forsake] the living God. ¹³ But encourage each other every day while it is “today” [^Cmeaning the time of opportunity to be saved; v. 7]. ·Help [Encourage] each other so none of you will become hardened ·because sin has tricked you [by sin’s deception]. ¹⁴ [^LFor] We all ·share in [or have become partners with] Christ if [indeed; in fact] we ·keep [hold firm] till the end the sure ·faith [conviction; confidence] we had in the beginning. ¹⁵ This is what the Scripture says:

¹⁶ Who heard God’s voice and ·was against [rebelled against; provoked] him? ·It was [^LWas it not…?] all those people Moses led out of Egypt. ¹⁷ And with whom was God angry for forty years? ·He was angry [^LWas it not…?] with those who sinned, ·who died [^Lwhose corpses/bodies fell] in the desert [Num. 14:29, 32]. ¹⁸ And to whom ·was God talking when he promised [^Ldid he swear] that they would never enter his rest [v. 11]? He was talking to those who did not ·obey [or believe] him. ¹⁹ So we see they were not allowed to enter [^Cthe Promised Land and God’s promised rest] because ·they did not believe [of unbelief/faithlessness].

4 ·Now [Therefore], since ·God has left us the promise [the promise remains/still stands] that we may enter his rest, let us ·be very careful [beware; be wary/afraid] so none of you will ·fail to enter [appear/be found to fall short]. ² [^LFor] The ·Good News [Gospel] was preached to us just as it was to them. But the ·teaching [message; word] they heard did not help them, because they heard it but did not ·accept [combine; join] it with faith.^{[b] 3} [^LFor; Now] We who have believed are able to enter ·and have God’s rest [^Lthe rest]. As God has said,

But God’s work was finished from the ·time he made [foundation/creation of] the world. ⁴ ·In the Scriptures [^LFor somewhere] he talked about the seventh day of the week: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his works [Gen. 2:2].” ⁵ And again in ·the Scripture [or this passage; ^CPsalm 95, the passage the author has been discussing] God said, “They will never enter my rest [Ps. 95:11].”

⁶ ·It is still true that some people will [or This passage shows that some can still] enter God’s rest, but those who ·first [or formerly] ·heard the way to be saved [^Lhad the Good News/Gospel proclaimed to them] did not enter, because they did not ·obey [believe; remain faithful]. ⁷ So God ·planned [set; established; ordained] another day, called “today” [3:13]. He spoke about that day through David a long time later in the ·same Scripture used before [words quoted before]:

  ⁸ [^LFor; Now] If Joshua [^CMoses’ successor, who led God’s people into the Promised Land; Josh. 3—4] had ·led the people into that [^Lgiven them] rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. ⁹ This shows that the ·rest [^LSabbath rest; ^Csharing in the rest God enjoyed after Creation] for God’s people ·is still coming [or is still available; ^Lremains]. ¹⁰ [^LFor] Anyone who enters God’s rest ·will rest [or has also rested] from his work as God did. ¹¹ Let us ·try as hard as we can [strive; make every effort] to enter ·God’s [^Lthat] rest so that no one will ·fail [be lost; ^Lfall] by following the example of those who ·refused to obey [or did not believe; were unfaithful].

¹² [^LFor] God’s word is alive and ·working [active; powerful; effective] and is sharper than a double-edged sword. It ·cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones [^Lpenetrates until it divides even soul and spirit, joints and marrow]. And it ·judges [discerns] the ·thoughts [ideas] and ·feelings [attitudes; intentions] in our hearts. ¹³ ·Nothing in all the world [Nothing in all creation; or No creature] can be hidden from God. Everything is ·clear [naked] and ·lies open before him [^Lexposed to his eyes], and to him we must ·explain the way we have lived [give an account; answer].