²⁴ “But when a righteous man ^(A)turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity 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)treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.

⁴ For in the case of those who have once been ^(A)enlightened and have tasted of ^(B)the heavenly gift and have been made ^(C)partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and ^(D)have tasted the good ^(E)word of God and the powers of ^(F)the age to come, ⁶ and then have 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 worthless and ^(J)close ^[c]to being cursed, and ^[d]it ends up being burned.

Better Things for You

⁹ But, ^(K)beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that ^[e]accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. ¹⁰ For ^(L)God is not unjust so as to forget ^(M)your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ^(N)ministered and in still ministering to the ^[f]saints. ¹¹ And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence ^[g]so as to realize the ^(O)full assurance of ^(P)hope until the end, ¹² so that you will not be sluggish, 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 surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.” ¹⁵ And so, ^(W)having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. ^16 (X)For men swear by ^[h]one greater than themselves, and with them ^(Y)an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. ^17 [i]In the same way God, desiring even more to show to ^(Z)the heirs of the promise ^(AA)the unchangeableness of His purpose, ^[j]interposed with an oath, ¹⁸ so that by two unchangeable things in which ^(AB)it is impossible for God to lie, we who have ^[k]taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of ^(AC)the hope set before us. ^19 [l]This ^(AD)hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which ^(AE)enters ^[m]within the veil, ^20 (AF)where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a ^(AG)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 set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ^29 (F)How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve ^(G)who has trampled under foot 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 reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming ^(S)sharers 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 possession and a lasting one. 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 ^[b]what was promised.

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 the ^[a]right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.