Font Size
Hebrews 6
New Catholic Bible
Hebrews 6
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 6
1 [a]Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance toward maturity. We must not be forever laying the foundation: repentance for actions that lead to death, faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms and the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And we will do so, if God permits.
4 [b]For when people have once been enlightened and have experienced the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then in spite of all this have fallen away, it is impossible to restore them again to repentance. For they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves once again and are holding him up to contempt.
7 When the soil drinks in the rain that repeatedly falls on it and produces a crop that is useful to those for whom it was cultivated, it receives a blessing from God. 8 However, if it brings forth thorns and thistles, it is worthless, and a curse hangs over it. It will end by being burned.
9 But, beloved, in spite of what we have just said, we are convinced that your status is far superior as you proceed to salvation. 10 For God would not be so unjust as to ignore your work and the love that you have shown for his name by the services you have rendered to the saints and still continue to render.
11 However, we desire that each one of you will show the same diligence until you have achieved the ultimate fulfillment of your hope. 12 We do not want you to allow yourselves to become sluggish; rather, we want you to become imitators of those who through faith and patience are now heirs of the promises.
13 Cling Tightly to Hope.[c] When God made his promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.” 15 And so, after waiting patiently, he obtained the promise.
16 Human beings swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath given as confirmation puts an end to all argument. 17 Likewise, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of his promise the unalterable nature of his purpose, he confirmed it by an oath.
18 Therefore, by these two unchangeable acts in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge in his protection have been strongly encouraged to grasp firmly the hope that has been held out to us. 19 We have this hope as the anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the sanctuary behind the veil,[d] 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 6:1 Six basic teachings are mentioned. (1) Repentance: turning away from the darkness of sin and useless rituals. (2) Faith in God: i.e., turning to the light of God. (3) Instruction about baptisms: e.g., Jewish initiation rites for proselytes, John the Baptist’s baptism, and the Baptism commanded by Jesus. (4) Laying on of hands: a rite connected with ordaining or commissioning (see Acts 6:6; 13:3; 1 Tim 5:22; 2 Tim 1:6), with healing the sick (see Mk 6:5; 16:18; Lk 4:40; Acts 28:8), and with bestowal of blessings (see Mt 19:13-15). (5) Resurrection of the dead: the resurrection of all people in the end time (see Jn 5:25-29). (6) Eternal judgment: the lot of those who reject God.
- Hebrews 6:4 The author asserts that repentance for apostates is impossible. However, he may be using hyperbole to impress on his readers that abandoning Christ is most serious.
- Hebrews 6:13 In the beginning, before any law and any institution of worship, there were two immutable realities: God’s promise and his oath. There were also two figures: Abraham and Melchizedek. The author wishes to stress one solid point: God committed himself radically to the future and salvation of human beings, a future and a salvation that become realities forever through Christ—as the following chapters will explain.
- Hebrews 6:19 The veil separated the two most sacred parts of the Jewish temple.
Hebrews 6
Names of God Bible
Hebrews 6
Names of God Bible
6 With this in mind, we should stop going over the elementary truths about Christ and move on to topics for more mature people. We shouldn’t repeat the basics about turning away from the useless things we did and the basics about faith in God. 2 We shouldn’t repeat the basic teachings about such things as baptisms, setting people apart for holy tasks, dead people coming back to life, and eternal judgment. 3 If God permits, we will do this.
4 Some people once had God’s light. They experienced the heavenly gift and shared in the Holy Spirit. 5 They experienced the goodness of God’s word and the powers of the world to come. 6 Yet, they have deserted Christ. They are crucifying the Son of God again and publicly disgracing him. Therefore, they cannot be led a second time to God.
7 God blesses the earth. So rain often falls on it, and it produces useful crops for farmers. 8 However, if the earth produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
God Will Not Forget You
9 Dear friends, even though we say these things, we are still convinced that better things are in store for you and that they will save you. 10 God is fair. He won’t forget what you’ve done or the love you’ve shown for him. You helped his holy people, and you continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to prove that you’re working hard so that you will remain confident until the end. 12 Then, instead of being lazy, you will imitate those who are receiving the promises through faith and patience.
13 God made a promise to Abraham. Since he had no one greater on whom to base his oath, he based it on himself. 14 He said, “I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 So Abraham received what God promised because he waited patiently for it.
16 When people take oaths, they base their oaths on someone greater than themselves. Their oaths guarantee what they say and end all arguments. 17 God wouldn’t change his plan. He wanted to make this perfectly clear to those who would receive his promise, so he took an oath. 18 God did this so that we would be encouraged. God cannot lie when he takes an oath or makes a promise. These two things can never be changed. Those of us who have taken refuge in him hold on to the confidence we have been given. 19 We have this confidence as a sure and strong anchor for our lives. This confidence goes into the holy place behind the curtain 20 where Yeshua went before us on our behalf. He has become the chief priest forever in the way Melchizedek was a priest.
Hebrews 6
New International Version
Hebrews 6
New International Version
6 Therefore let us move beyond(A) the elementary teachings(B) about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,[a](C) and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites,[b](D) the laying on of hands,(E) the resurrection of the dead,(F) and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting,(G) we will do so.
4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened,(H) who have tasted the heavenly gift,(I) who have shared in the Holy Spirit,(J) 5 who have tasted the goodness(K) of the word of God(L) and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen[c] away, to be brought back to repentance.(M) To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God(N) all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed.(O) In the end it will be burned.
9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends,(P) we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. 10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.(Q) 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope(R) for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate(S) those who through faith and patience(T) inherit what has been promised.(U)
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,(V) 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”[d](W) 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.(X)
16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.(Y) 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging(Z) nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised,(AA) 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,(AB) we who have fled to take hold of the hope(AC) 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,(AD) 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.(AE) He has become a high priest(AF) forever, in the order of Melchizedek.(AG)
Footnotes
- Hebrews 6:1 Or from useless rituals
- Hebrews 6:2 Or about baptisms
- Hebrews 6:6 Or age, 6 if they fall
- Hebrews 6:14 Gen. 22:17
Names of God Bible (NOG)
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.