Abram Blessed by Melchizedek

¹⁷ After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the ^(A)King's Valley). ¹⁸ And ^(B)Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was ^(C)priest of ^(D)God Most High.) ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said,

And Abram gave him ^(G)a tenth of everything. ²¹ And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” ²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, ^(H)“I have lifted my hand^[b] to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that ^(I)I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let ^(J)Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”

God's Covenant with Abram

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ^(K)“Fear not, Abram, I am ^(L)your shield; your reward shall be very great.” ² But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue^[c] childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and ^(M)a member of my household will be my heir.” ⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; ^(N)your very own son^[d] shall be your heir.” ⁵ And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and ^(O)number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, ^(P)“So shall your offspring be.” ⁶ And ^(Q)he believed the Lord, and ^(R)he counted it to him as righteousness.

⁷ And he said to him, “I am the Lord who ^(S)brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans ^(T)to give you this land to possess.” ⁸ But he said, “O Lord God, ^(U)how am I to know that I shall possess it?” ⁹ He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ And he brought him all these, ^(V)cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But ^(W)he did not cut the birds in half. ¹¹ And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

¹² As the sun was going down, a ^(X)deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain ^(Y)that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and ^(Z)they will be afflicted for ^(AA)four hundred years. ¹⁴ But ^(AB)I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward ^(AC)they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; ^(AD)you shall be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶ And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for ^(AE)the iniquity of the Amorites ^(AF)is not yet complete.”

¹⁷ When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ^(AG)“To your offspring I give^[e] this land, from ^(AH)the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah.

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and ^(A)sin which clings so closely, and ^(B)let us run ^(C)with endurance the race that is ^(D)set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, ^(E)who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising ^(F)the shame, and ^(G)is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Do Not Grow Weary

^3 (H)Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or ^(I)fainthearted. ⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

⁷ It is for discipline that you have to endure. ^(M)God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ If you are left without discipline, ^(N)in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹ Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to ^(O)the Father of spirits ^(P)and live? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, ^(Q)that we may share his holiness. ^11 (R)For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields ^(S)the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

¹² Therefore ^(T)lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, ¹³ and ^(U)make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint ^(V)but rather be healed. ^14 (W)Strive for peace with everyone, and for the ^(X)holiness ^(Y)without which no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one ^(Z)fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ^(AA)“root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; ¹⁶ that no one is ^(AB)sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. ¹⁷ For you know that ^(AC)afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

¹⁸ For you have not come to ^(AD)what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest ¹⁹ and ^(AE)the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words ^(AF)made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. ²⁰ For they could not endure the order that was given, ^(AG)“If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” ²¹ Indeed, ^(AH)so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” ²² But you have come to ^(AI)Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, ^(AJ)the heavenly Jerusalem, and to ^(AK)innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³ and to ^(AL)the assembly^[a] of the firstborn who are ^(AM)enrolled in heaven, and to ^(AN)God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ and to Jesus, ^(AO)the mediator of a new covenant, and to ^(AP)the sprinkled blood ^(AQ)that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵ See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For ^(AR)if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. ²⁶ At that time ^(AS)his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ^(AT)“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷ This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates ^(AU)the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore let us be grateful for receiving ^(AV)a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus ^(AW)let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our ^(AX)God is a consuming fire.

Sacrifices Pleasing to God

13 Let ^(AY)brotherly love continue. ^2 (AZ)Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby ^(BA)some have entertained angels unawares. ^3 (BB)Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. ^4 (BC)Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge ^(BD)the sexually immoral and adulterous. ⁵ Keep your life ^(BE)free from love of money, and ^(BF)be content with what you have, for he has said, ^(BG)“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶ So we can confidently say,

⁷ Remember ^(BJ)your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and ^(BK)imitate their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is ^(BL)the same yesterday and today and forever. ⁹ Do not be ^(BM)led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, ^(BN)not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. ¹⁰ We have an altar ^(BO)from which those who serve the tent^[b] have no right to eat. ¹¹ For ^(BP)the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned ^(BQ)outside the camp. ¹² So Jesus also ^(BR)suffered ^(BS)outside the gate in order to sanctify the people ^(BT)through his own blood. ¹³ Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear ^(BU)the reproach he endured. ¹⁴ For ^(BV)here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. ^15 (BW)Through him then let us continually offer up ^(BX)a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, ^(BY)the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. ¹⁶ Do not neglect to do good and ^(BZ)to share what you have, for such ^(CA)sacrifices are pleasing to God.

¹⁷ Obey ^(CB)your leaders and submit to them, ^(CC)for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to ^(CD)give an account. ^(CE)Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

^18 (CF)Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. ¹⁹ I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order ^(CG)that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Benediction

²⁰ Now ^(CH)may the God of peace ^(CI)who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, ^(CJ)the great shepherd of the sheep, by ^(CK)the blood of the eternal covenant, ^21 (CL)equip you with everything good that you may do his will, ^(CM)working in us^[c] that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, ^(CN)to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

²² I appeal to you, brothers,^[d] bear with my word of exhortation, for ^(CO)I have written to you briefly. ²³ You should know that ^(CP)our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. ²⁴ Greet all ^(CQ)your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. ^25 (CR)Grace be with all of you.