Warning against Falling Away

Therefore, let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God,(A) teaching about ritual washings,[a] laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.(B) And we will do this if God permits.

For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit,(C) who tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, and who have fallen away. This is because,[b] to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt.(D) For the ground that drinks the rain that often falls on it and that produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned.(E)

Even though we are speaking this way, dearly loved friends, in your case we are confident of things that are better and that pertain to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love[c] you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints—and by continuing to serve them.(F) 11 Now we desire each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end, 12 so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.(G)

Inheriting the Promise

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself: 14 I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply you.[d](H) 15 And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and for them a confirming oath ends every dispute. 17 Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath,(I) 18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us.(J) 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.(K) 20 Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner,(L) because he has become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.(M)

Footnotes

  1. 6:2 Or about baptisms
  2. 6:6 Or while
  3. 6:10 Other mss read labor of love
  4. 6:14 Gn 22:17

A Serious Warning Against Falling Away

Therefore, leaving behind the elementary message about Christ, let us move on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and faith in God, teaching about baptisms and laying on of hands, and resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits. For it is impossible concerning those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and become sharers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the coming age, and having fallen away, to renew them again to repentance, because they[a] have crucified again for themselves the Son of God and held him up to contempt. For ground that drinks the rain that comes often upon it, and brings forth vegetation usable to those people for whose sake[b] it is also cultivated, shares a blessing from God. But if it[c] produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to a curse, whose end is for burning.

But even if we are speaking in this way, dear friends, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and belonging to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust, so as to forget your work and the love which you demonstrated for his name by[d] having served the saints, and continuing to serve them. 11 And we desire each one of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end, 12 in order that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and patience.

The Reliability of God’s Promise

13 For when[e] God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying,

“Surely I will greatly bless[f] you, and I will greatly multiply[g] you.”

15 And so, by[h] persevering, he obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by what is greater than themselves, and the oath for confirmation is the end of all dispute for them. 17 In the same way God, because he[i] wanted to show even more to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his resolve, guaranteed it with an oath, 18 in order that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge may have powerful encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us, 19 which we have like an anchor of the soul, both firm and steadfast, and entering into the inside of the curtain, 20 where Jesus, the forerunner for us, entered, because he[j] became a high priest forever[k] according to the order of Melchizedek.

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 6:6 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“have crucified again”) which is understood as causal
  2. Hebrews 6:7 Literally “for the sake of whom”
  3. Hebrews 6:8 Here “if” is supplied as a component of the participle (“produces”) which is understood as conditional
  4. Hebrews 6:10 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“having served”) which is understood as means
  5. Hebrews 6:13 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal participle (“made a promise”)
  6. Hebrews 6:14 Literally “blessing I will bless”
  7. Hebrews 6:14 Literally “multiplying I will multiply”
  8. Hebrews 6:15 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“persevering”) which is understood as means
  9. Hebrews 6:17 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“wanted”) which is understood as causal
  10. Hebrews 6:20 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“became”) which is understood as causal
  11. Hebrews 6:20 Literally “to the age”