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Hebrews 4-6
New English Translation

God’s Promised Rest

4 Therefore we must be wary[a] that, while the promise of entering his rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it. 2 For we had good news proclaimed to us just as they did. But the message they heard did them no good, since they did not join in[b] with those who heard it in faith.[c] 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest!’”[d] And yet God’s works[e] were accomplished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works,”[f] 5 but to repeat the text cited earlier:[g] “They will never enter my rest!” 6 Therefore it remains for some to enter it, yet those to whom it was previously proclaimed did not enter because of disobedience. 7 So God[h] again ordains a certain day, “Today,” speaking through David[i] after so long a time, as in the words quoted before,[j] “Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks![k] Do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God[l] would not have spoken afterward about another day. 9 Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. 10 For the one who enters God’s[m] rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works. 11 Thus we must make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by following the same pattern of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from God,[n] but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

Jesus Our Compassionate High Priest

14 Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.[o]

5 For every high priest is taken from among the people[p] and appointed[q] to represent them before God,[r] to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal compassionately with those who are ignorant and erring, since he also is subject to weakness, 3 and for this reason he is obligated to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. 4 And no one assumes this honor[s] on his own initiative,[t] but only when called to it by God,[u] as in fact Aaron was. 5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming high priest, but the one who glorified him was God,[v] who said to him, “You are my Son! Today I have fathered you,”[w] 6 as also in another place God[x] says, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”[y] 7 During his earthly life[z] Christ[aa] offered[ab] both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered.[ac] 9 And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 and he was designated[ad] by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.[ae]

The Need to Move on to Maturity

11 On this topic we have much to say[af] and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish[ag] in hearing. 12 For though you should in fact be teachers by this time,[ah] you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances.[ai] You have gone back to needing[aj] milk, not[ak] solid food. 13 For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.

6 Therefore we must progress beyond[al] the elementary[am] instructions about Christ[an] and move on[ao] to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works[ap] and faith in God, 2 teaching about ritual washings,[aq] laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this is what we intend to do,[ar] 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,[as] to renew them again to repentance, since[at] they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again[au] and holding him up to contempt. 7 For the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on[av] 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;[aw] 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,[ax] 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.”[ay] 15 And so by persevering, Abraham[az] inherited the promise. 16 For people[ba] swear by something greater than themselves,[bb] and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute.[bc] 17 In the same way[bd] God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable,[be] and so he intervened with an oath, 18 so that we who have found refuge in him[bf] 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,[bg] 20 where Jesus our forerunner entered on our behalf, since he became a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.[bh]

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 4:1 tn Grk “let us fear.”
  2. Hebrews 4:2 tn Or “they were not united.”
  3. Hebrews 4:2 tc A few mss (א and a few versional witnesses) have the nominative singular participle συγκεκερασμένος (sunkekerasmenos, “since it [the message] was not combined with faith by those who heard it”), a reading that refers back to the ὁ λόγος (ho logos, “the message”). There are a few other variants here (e.g., συγκεκεραμμένοι [sunkekerammenoi] in 104, συγκεκεραμένους [sunkekeramenous] in 1881 M), but the accusative plural participle συγκεκερασμένους (sunkekerasmenous), found in P13vid,46 A B C D* Ψ 0243 0278 33 81 1739 2464, has by far the best external credentials. This participle agrees with the previous ἐκείνους (ekeinous, “those”), a more difficult construction grammatically than the nominative singular. Thus, both on external and internal grounds, συγκεκερασμένους is preferred.
  4. Hebrews 4:3 sn A quotation from Ps 95:11.
  5. Hebrews 4:3 tn Grk “although the works,” continuing the previous reference to God. The referent (God) is specified in the translation for clarity.
  6. Hebrews 4:4 sn A quotation from Gen 2:2.
  7. Hebrews 4:5 tn Grk “and in this again.”
  8. Hebrews 4:7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  9. Hebrews 4:7 sn Ps 95 in the Hebrew does not mention David either in the text or the superscription. The writer of Hebrews might attribute Psalms as a whole to David, though some psalms are specifically attributed to other individuals or groups. Yet the Greek inscription for Ps 95 in the LXX credits the psalm to David, and the author of Hebrews frequently uses the LXX.
  10. Hebrews 4:7 tn Grk “as it has been said before” (see Heb 3:7).
  11. Hebrews 4:7 tn Grk “today if you hear his voice.”
  12. Hebrews 4:8 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  13. Hebrews 4:10 tn Grk “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  14. Hebrews 4:13 tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  15. Hebrews 4:16 tn Grk “for timely help.”
  16. Hebrews 5:1 tn Grk “from among men,” but since the point in context is shared humanity (rather than shared maleness), the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anthrōpōn) has been translated “people.”
  17. Hebrews 5:1 tn Grk “who is taken from among people is appointed.”
  18. Hebrews 5:1 tn Grk “appointed on behalf of people in reference to things relating to God.”
  19. Hebrews 5:4 sn Honor refers here to the honor of the high priesthood.
  20. Hebrews 5:4 tn Grk “by himself, on his own.”
  21. Hebrews 5:4 tn Grk “being called by God.”
  22. Hebrews 5:5 tn Grk “the one”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  23. Hebrews 5:5 tn Grk “I have begotten you”; see Heb 1:5.sn A quotation from Ps 2:7.
  24. Hebrews 5:6 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  25. Hebrews 5:6 sn A quotation from Ps 110:4.
  26. Hebrews 5:7 tn Grk “in the days of his flesh.”
  27. Hebrews 5:7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  28. Hebrews 5:7 tn Grk “who…having offered,” continuing the description of Christ from Heb 5:5-6.
  29. Hebrews 5:8 sn There is a wordplay in the Greek text between the verbs “learned” (ἔμαθεν, emathen) and “suffered” (ἔπαθεν, epathen).
  30. Hebrews 5:10 tn Grk “having been designated,” continuing the thought of Heb 5:9.
  31. Hebrews 5:10 sn The phrase in the order of Melchizedek picks up the quotation from Ps 110:4 in Heb 5:6.
  32. Hebrews 5:11 tn Grk “concerning which the message for us is great.”
  33. Hebrews 5:11 tn Or “dull.”
  34. Hebrews 5:12 tn Grk “because of the time.”
  35. Hebrews 5:12 tn Grk “the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God.”
  36. Hebrews 5:12 tn Grk “you have come to have a need for.”
  37. Hebrews 5:12 tc ‡ Most texts, including some early and significant ones (א2 A B* D Ψ 0122 0278 1881 M sy Cl), have καί (kai, “and”) immediately preceding οὐ (ou, “not”), but other equally significant witnesses (P46 א* B2 C 33 81 1739 lat Or Did) lack the conjunction. As it was a natural tendency for scribes to add a coordinating conjunction, the καί appears to be a motivated reading. On balance, it is probably best to regard the shorter reading as authentic. NA28 has καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
  38. Hebrews 6:1 tn Grk “Therefore leaving behind.” The implication is not of abandoning this elementary information, but of building on it.
  39. Hebrews 6:1 tn Or “basic.”
  40. Hebrews 6:1 tn Grk “the message of the beginning of Christ.”
  41. Hebrews 6:1 tn Grk “leaving behind…let us move on.”
  42. 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).
  43. Hebrews 6:2 sn See Hebrews 9:10 and Mark 7:4 for other references to the Jewish practice of ritual washings.
  44. Hebrews 6:3 tn Grk “and we will do this.”
  45. Hebrews 6:6 tn Or “have fallen away.”
  46. 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”).
  47. Hebrews 6:6 tn Grk “recrucifying the son of God for themselves.”
  48. Hebrews 6:7 tn Grk “comes upon.”
  49. Hebrews 6:8 tn Grk “near to a curse.”
  50. Hebrews 6:12 tn Or “dull.”
  51. 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.
  52. Hebrews 6:15 tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Abraham) has been specified for clarity.
  53. 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.”
  54. Hebrews 6:16 tn Grk “by something greater”; the rest of the comparison (“than themselves”) is implied.
  55. Hebrews 6:16 tn Grk “the oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute.”
  56. Hebrews 6:17 tn Grk “in which.”
  57. Hebrews 6:17 tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”
  58. Hebrews 6:18 tn Grk “have taken refuge”; the basis of that refuge is implied in the preceding verse.
  59. 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.
  60. Hebrews 6:20 sn A quotation from Ps 110:4, picked up again from Heb 5:6, 10.
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