²⁴ “But when a righteous man ^(A)turns away from his righteousness, does injustice, and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? ^(B)All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his ^(C)unfaithfulness which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.

⁴ For in the case of those once having been ^(A)enlightened and having tasted of ^(B)the heavenly gift and having become ^(C)partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and having ^(D)tasted the good ^(E)word of God and the powers of ^(F)the age to come, ⁶ and having fallen away, it is ^(G)impossible to renew them again to repentance, ^[a](H)since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. ⁷ For ground that drinks the rain which often ^[b]falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those ^(I)for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; ⁸ but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is unfit and ^(J)close ^[c]to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

The Inheritance of the Promises

⁹ But we are convinced about you, ^(K)beloved, of things that are better and that belong to salvation, though we are speaking in this way. ¹⁰ For ^(L)God is not unrighteous so as to forget ^(M)your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ^(N)ministered and continuing to minister to the ^[d]saints. ¹¹ And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence ^[e]so as to realize the ^(O)full assurance of ^(P)hope until the end, ¹² so that you may not become dull, but ^(Q)imitators of those who through ^(R)faith and patience ^(S)inherit the promises.

¹³ For ^(T)when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He ^(U)swore by Himself, ¹⁴ saying, “^(V)I will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply you.” ¹⁵ And so, ^(W)having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. ^16 (X)For men swear by ^[f]one greater than themselves, and with them ^(Y)an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. ^17 [g]In the same way God, desiring even more to show to ^(Z)the heirs of the promise ^(AA)the unchangeableness of His purpose, guaranteed it with an oath, ¹⁸ so that by two unchangeable things in which ^(AB)it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of ^(AC)the hope set before us. ^19 [h]This ^(AD)hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and confirmed and one which ^(AE)enters ^[i]within the veil, ^20 (AF)where a forerunner has entered for us—Jesus, having become a ^(AG)high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Warning Against Willful Sin

²⁶ For if we go on ^(A)sinning willfully after receiving ^(B)the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a terrifying expectation of ^(C)judgment and ^(D)the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. ^28 (E)Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy by the mouth of two or three witnesses. ^29 (F)How much worse punishment do you think he will deserve ^(G)who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as defiled ^(H)the blood of the covenant ^(I)by which he was sanctified, and has ^(J)insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, “^(K)Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “^(L)The ^[a]Lord will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a ^(M)terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the ^(N)living God.

³² But remember ^(O)the former days, ^[b]when, after being ^(P)enlightened, you endured a great ^(Q)conflict of sufferings, ³³ partly by being ^(R)made a public spectacle through reproaches and afflictions, and partly by becoming ^(S)sharers with those who were so treated. ³⁴ For you also ^(T)showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted with ^(U)joy the seizure of your possessions, knowing that you have for yourselves ^(V)a better and lasting possession. ³⁵ Therefore, do not throw away that ^(W)confidence of yours, which has a great ^(X)reward. ³⁶ For you have need of ^(Y)endurance, so that when you have ^(Z)done the will of God, you may ^(AA)receive the promise.

³⁹ But ^[c]we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the ^[d]preserving of the soul.

¹⁷ Therefore, ^(A)to one who knows to do the ^[a]right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin.