The Certainty of God's Promise

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, (A)he swore by himself, 14 saying, (B)“Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,[a] (C)having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes (D)an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to (E)the heirs of the promise (F)the unchangeable character of his purpose, (G)he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which (H)it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope (I)set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into (J)the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone (K)as a forerunner on our behalf, (L)having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 6:15 Greek he

Our hope in Jesus’ priesthood

13 When God gave Abraham his promise, he swore by himself since he couldn’t swear by anyone greater. 14 He said, I will certainly bless you and multiply your descendants.[a] 15 So Abraham obtained the promise by showing patience. 16 People pledge by something greater than themselves. A solemn pledge guarantees what they say and shuts down any argument. 17 When God wanted to further demonstrate to the heirs of the promise that his purpose doesn’t change, he guaranteed it with a solemn pledge. 18 So these are two things that don’t change, because it’s impossible for God to lie. He did this so that we, who have taken refuge in him, can be encouraged to grasp the hope that is lying in front of us. 19 This hope, which is a safe and secure anchor for our whole being, enters the sanctuary behind the curtain. 20 That’s where Jesus went in advance and entered for us, since he became a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

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The Certainty of God’s Promise

13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,(A) 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”[a](B) 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.(C)

16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.(D) 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging(E) nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised,(F) he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,(G) we who have fled to take hold of the hope(H) set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,(I) 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.(J) He has become a high priest(K) forever, in the order of Melchizedek.(L)

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 6:14 Gen. 22:17