Hebrews 6
Christian Standard Bible
Warning against Falling Away
6 Therefore, let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God,(A) 2 teaching about ritual washings,[a] laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.(B) 3 And we will do this if God permits.
4 For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit,(C) 5 who tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, 6 and who have fallen away. This is because,[b] to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt.(D) 7 For the ground that drinks the rain that often falls on it and that produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned.(E)
9 Even though we are speaking this way, dearly loved friends, in your case we are confident of things that are better and that pertain to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love[c] you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints—and by continuing to serve them.(F) 11 Now we desire each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end, 12 so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.(G)
Inheriting the Promise
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself: 14 I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply you.[d](H) 15 And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and for them a confirming oath ends every dispute. 17 Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath,(I) 18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.(J) 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.(K) 20 Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner,(L) because he has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.(M)
Hebrews 6
New English Translation
6 Therefore we must progress beyond[a] the elementary[b] instructions about Christ[c] and move on[d] to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works[e] and faith in God, 2 teaching about ritual washings,[f] laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this is what we intend to do,[g] if God permits. 4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, 6 and then have committed apostasy,[h] to renew them again to repentance, since[i] they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again[j] and holding him up to contempt. 7 For the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on[k] it and yields useful vegetation for those who tend it receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is useless and about to be cursed;[l] its fate is to be burned. 9 But in your case, dear friends, even though we speak like this, we are convinced of better things relating to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints. 11 But we passionately want each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of your hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish,[m] but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises.
13 Now when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you greatly and multiply your descendants abundantly.”[n] 15 And so by persevering, Abraham[o] inherited the promise. 16 For people[p] swear by something greater than themselves,[q] and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute.[r] 17 In the same way[s] God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable,[t] and so he intervened with an oath, 18 so that we who have found refuge in him[u] may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain,[v] 20 where Jesus our forerunner entered on our behalf, since he became a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.[w]
Footnotes
- Hebrews 6:1 tn Grk “Therefore leaving behind.” The implication is not of abandoning this elementary information, but of building on it.
- Hebrews 6:1 tn Or “basic.”
- Hebrews 6:1 tn Grk “the message of the beginning of Christ.”
- Hebrews 6:1 tn Grk “leaving behind…let us move on.”
- Hebrews 6:1 sn It is clear from the context that the phrase “dead works” are works that need to be repented from and thus are sins. The same phrase occurs in Heb 9:14 in which the author of Hebrews states that our consciences need to be purified from them. As Bruce states, they are works “that belong to the way of death and not the way of life” (F. F. Bruce, Hebrews [NICNT], 138).
- Hebrews 6:2 sn See Hebrews 9:10 and Mark 7:4 for other references to the Jewish practice of ritual washings.
- Hebrews 6:3 tn Grk “and we will do this.”
- Hebrews 6:6 tn Or “have fallen away.”
- Hebrews 6:6 tn Or “while”; Grk “crucifying…and holding.” The Greek participles here (“crucifying…and holding”) can be understood as either causal (“since”) or temporal (“while”).
- Hebrews 6:6 tn Grk “recrucifying the son of God for themselves.”
- Hebrews 6:7 tn Grk “comes upon.”
- Hebrews 6:8 tn Grk “near to a curse.”
- Hebrews 6:12 tn Or “dull.”
- Hebrews 6:14 tn Grk “in blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply you,” the Greek form of a Hebrew idiom showing intensity.sn A quotation from Gen 22:17.
- Hebrews 6:15 tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Abraham) has been specified for clarity.
- Hebrews 6:16 tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποι (anthrōpoi) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, and is thus translated “people.”
- Hebrews 6:16 tn Grk “by something greater”; the rest of the comparison (“than themselves”) is implied.
- Hebrews 6:16 tn Grk “the oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute.”
- Hebrews 6:17 tn Grk “in which.”
- Hebrews 6:17 tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”
- Hebrews 6:18 tn Grk “have taken refuge”; the basis of that refuge is implied in the preceding verse.
- Hebrews 6:19 sn The curtain refers to the veil or drape in the temple that separated the holy place from the holy of holies.
- Hebrews 6:20 sn A quotation from Ps 110:4, picked up again from Heb 5:6, 10.
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