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

God’s Promises Bring Hope

13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:

14 “I will certainly bless you,
    and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”[a]

15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.

16 Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

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Footnotes

  1. 6:14 Gen 22:17.

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