Hebrews 2
New Living Translation
A Warning against Drifting Away
2 So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. 2 For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. 3 So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak? 4 And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.
Jesus, the Man
5 And furthermore, it is not angels who will control the future world we are talking about. 6 For in one place the Scriptures say,
“What are mere mortals that you should think about them,
or a son of man[a] that you should care for him?
7 Yet for a little while you made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.[b]
8 You gave them authority over all things.”[c]
Now when it says “all things,” it means nothing is left out. But we have not yet seen all things put under their authority. 9 What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was given a position “a little lower than the angels”; and because he suffered death for us, he is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone. 10 God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.
11 So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.[d] 12 For he said to God,
“I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise you among your assembled people.”[e]
13 He also said,
“I will put my trust in him,”
that is, “I and the children God has given me.”[f]
14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had[g] the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
16 We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters,[h] so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.
Hebrews 2
Common English Bible
Listen to the Son’s message
2 This is why it’s necessary for us to pay more attention to what we have heard, or else we may drift away from it. 2 If the message that was spoken by angels was reliable, and every offense and act of disobedience received an appropriate consequence, 3 how will we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? It was first announced through the Lord, and then it was confirmed by those who heard him. 4 God also vouched for their message with signs, amazing things, various miracles, and gifts from the Holy Spirit, which were handed out the way he wanted.
Jesus is the enthroned human being
5 God didn’t put the world that is coming (the world we are talking about) under the angels’ control. 6 Instead, someone declared somewhere,
What is humanity that you think about them?
Or what are the human beings that you care about them?
7 For a while you made them lower than angels.
You crowned the human beings with glory and honor.
8 You put everything under their control.[a]
When he puts everything under their control, he doesn’t leave anything out of control. But right now, we don’t see everything under their control yet. 9 However, we do see the one who was made lower in order than the angels for a little while—it’s Jesus! He’s the one who is now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of his death. He suffered death so that he could taste death for everyone through God’s grace.
Qualified to be a high priest
10 It was appropriate for God, for whom and through whom everything exists, to use experiences of suffering to make perfect the pioneer of salvation. This salvation belongs to many sons and daughters whom he’s leading to glory. 11 This is because the one who makes people holy and the people who are being made holy all come from one source. That is why Jesus isn’t ashamed to call them brothers and sisters when he says,
12 I will publicly announce your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise you in the middle of the assembly.[b]
13 He also says,
I will rely on him.[c]
And also,
Here I am with the children whom God has given to me.[d]
14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he also shared the same things in the same way. He did this to destroy the one who holds the power over death—the devil—by dying. 15 He set free those who were held in slavery their entire lives by their fear of death. 16 Of course, he isn’t trying to help angels, but rather he’s helping Abraham’s descendants. 17 Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way. This was so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, in order to wipe away the sins of the people. 18 He’s able to help those who are being tempted, since he himself experienced suffering when he was tempted.
Footnotes
Hebrews 2
Contemporary English Version
This Great Way of Being Saved
2 We must give our full attention to what we were told, so we won't drift away. 2 The message spoken by angels proved to be true, and all who disobeyed or rejected it were punished as they deserved. 3 So if we refuse this great way of being saved, how can we hope to escape? The Lord himself was the first to tell about it, and people who heard the message proved to us that it was true. 4 God himself showed that his message was true by working all kinds of powerful miracles and wonders. He also gave his Holy Spirit to anyone he chose to.
The One Who Leads Us To Be Saved
5 We know that God did not put the future world under the power of angels. 6 (A) Somewhere in the Scriptures someone says to God,
“What makes you care
about us humans?
Why are you concerned
for weaklings such as we?
7 You made us lower
than the angels
for a while.
Yet you have crowned us
with glory and honor.[a]
8 And you have put everything
under our power!”
God has put everything under our power and has not left anything out of our power. But we still don't see it all under our control. 9 What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels. Because of God's gift of undeserved grace, Jesus died for everyone. And now that Jesus has suffered and died, he is crowned with glory and honor!
10 Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made Jesus perfect by suffering, as Jesus led many of God's children to be saved and to share in his glory. 11 Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. This is why he isn't ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. 12 (B) He even said to God,
“I will tell them your name
and sing your praises
when they come together
to worship.”
13 (C) He also said,
“I will trust God.”
Then he said,
“Here I am with the children
God has given me.”
14 We are people of flesh and blood. This is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. 15 But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying. 16 (D) Jesus clearly did not come to help angels, but he did come to help Abraham's descendants. 17 He had to be one of us, so he could serve God as our merciful and faithful high priest and sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of our sins. 18 And now that Jesus has suffered and was tempted, he can help anyone else who is tempted.
Footnotes
- 2.7 and honor: Some manuscripts add “and you have placed us in charge of all you created.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
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