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

⁴ For it is ^(A)impossible, in the case of those who have once been ^(B)enlightened and have tasted of ^(C)the heavenly gift and have been made ^(D)partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and ^(E)have tasted the good ^(F)word of God and the powers of ^(G)the age to come, ⁶ and then have ^[a]fallen away, to ^(H)restore them again to repentance, ^[b](I)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 ^[c]falls on it and produces vegetation useful to those ^(J)for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; ⁸ but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and ^[d](K)close to being cursed, and ^[e]it ends up being burned.

Better Things for You

⁹ But, ^(L)beloved, we are convinced of better things regarding you, and things that ^[f]accompany salvation, even though we are speaking in this way. ¹⁰ For ^(M)God is not unjust so as to forget ^(N)your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, by having ^(O)served and by still serving the ^[g]saints. ¹¹ And we desire that each one of you demonstrate the same diligence ^[h]so as to realize the ^(P)full assurance of ^(Q)hope until the end, ¹² so that you will not be sluggish, but ^(R)imitators of those who through ^(S)faith and endurance ^(T)inherit the promises.

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

Christ or Judgment

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 ignored the Law of Moses is put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ^29 (F)How much more severe punishment do you think he will deserve ^(G)who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean ^(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 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, ^[a]when, after being ^(P)enlightened, you endured a great ^(Q)conflict of sufferings, ³³ partly by being ^(R)made a public spectacle through insults and distress, and partly by becoming ^[b](S)companions with those who were so treated. ³⁴ For you ^(T)showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted ^(U)joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves ^(V)a better and lasting possession. ³⁵ Therefore, do not throw away your ^(W)confidence, 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 ^[c]what was promised.

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

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