Hebrews 6
New American Standard Bible
The Danger of Falling Away
6 Therefore (A)leaving (B)the [a]elementary teaching about the [b]Christ, let us press on to [c](C)maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from (D)dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of (E)instruction about [d]washings and (F)laying on of hands, and about the (G)resurrection of the dead and (H)eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do, (I)if God permits. 4 For it is (J)impossible, in the case of those who have once been (K)enlightened and have tasted of (L)the heavenly gift and have been made (M)partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and (N)have tasted the good (O)word of God and the powers of (P)the age to come, 6 and then have [e]fallen away, to (Q)restore them again to repentance, [f](R)since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. 7 For ground that drinks the rain which often [g]falls on it and produces vegetation useful to those (S)for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and [h](T)close to being cursed, and [i]it ends up being burned.
Better Things for You
9 But, (U)beloved, we are convinced of better things regarding you, and things that [j]accompany salvation, even though we are speaking in this way. 10 For (V)God is not unjust so as to forget (W)your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, by having (X)served and by still serving the [k]saints. 11 And we desire that each one of you demonstrate the same diligence [l]so as to realize the (Y)full assurance of (Z)hope until the end, 12 so that you will not be sluggish, but (AA)imitators of those who through (AB)faith and endurance (AC)inherit the promises.
13 For (AD)when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear an oath by no one greater, He (AE)swore by Himself, 14 saying, “(AF)indeed I will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply you.” 15 And so, (AG)having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. 16 (AH)For people swear an oath by [m]one greater than themselves, and with them (AI)an oath serving as confirmation is an end of every dispute. 17 [n]In the same way God, desiring even more to demonstrate to (AJ)the heirs of the promise [o](AK)the fact that His purpose is unchangeable, [p]confirmed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which (AL)it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to hold firmly to (AM)the hope set before us. 19 [q]This (AN)hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and reliable and one which (AO)enters [r]within the veil, 20 (AP)where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a (AQ)high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 6:1 Lit word of the beginning
- Hebrews 6:1 I.e., Messiah
- Hebrews 6:1 Or perfection
- Hebrews 6:2 Or baptisms
- Hebrews 6:6 Or committed apostasy; i.e., renounced the faith
- Hebrews 6:6 Or while
- Hebrews 6:7 Lit comes
- Hebrews 6:8 Lit near to a curse
- Hebrews 6:8 Lit whose end is for burning
- Hebrews 6:9 Or belong to
- Hebrews 6:10 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
- Hebrews 6:11 Lit to the full
- Hebrews 6:16 Or Him who is greater
- Hebrews 6:17 Lit In which
- Hebrews 6:17 Lit the unchangeableness of His
- Hebrews 6:17 Or mediated
- Hebrews 6:19 Lit Which hope we have
- Hebrews 6:19 Or inside
Hebrews 6
English Standard Version
6 Therefore (A)let us leave (B)the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance (C)from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of (D)instruction about washings,[a] (E)the laying on of hands, (F)the resurrection of the dead, and (G)eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do (H)if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those (I)who have once been enlightened, who have tasted (J)the heavenly gift, and (K)have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and (L)have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and (M)then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since (N)they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For (O)land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But (P)if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, (Q)and its end is to be burned.
9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For (R)God is not unjust so as to overlook (S)your work and the love that you have shown for his name in (T)serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance (U)of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but (V)imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
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, (W)he swore by himself, 14 saying, (X)“Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,[b] (Y)having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes (Z)an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to (AA)the heirs of the promise (AB)the unchangeable character of his purpose, (AC)he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which (AD)it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope (AE)set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into (AF)the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone (AG)as a forerunner on our behalf, (AH)having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 6:2 Or baptisms (that is, cleansing rites)
- Hebrews 6:15 Greek he
Hebrews 6
Good News Translation
6 Let us go forward, then, to mature teaching and leave behind us the first lessons of the Christian message. We should not lay again the foundation of turning away from useless works and believing in God; 2 of the teaching about baptisms[a] and the laying on of hands; of the resurrection of the dead and the eternal judgment. 3 Let us go forward! And this is what we will do, if God allows.
4 For how can those who abandon their faith be brought back to repent again? They were once in God's light; they tasted heaven's gift and received their share of the Holy Spirit; 5 they knew from experience that God's word is good, and they had felt the powers of the coming age. 6 And then they abandoned their faith! It is impossible to bring them back to repent again, because they are again crucifying the Son of God and exposing him to public shame.
7 God blesses the soil which drinks in the rain that often falls on it and which grows plants that are useful to those for whom it is cultivated. 8 (A)But if it grows thorns and weeds, it is worth nothing; it is in danger of being cursed by God and will be destroyed by fire.
9 But even if we speak like this, dear friends, we feel sure about you. We know that you have the better blessings that belong to your salvation. 10 God is not unfair. He will not forget the work you did or the love you showed for him in the help you gave and are still giving to other Christians. 11 Our great desire is that each of you keep up your eagerness to the end, so that the things you hope for will come true. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to be like those who believe and are patient, and so receive what God has promised.
God's Sure Promise
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, he made a vow to do what he had promised. Since there was no one greater than himself, he used his own name when he made his vow. 14 (B)He said, “I promise you that I will bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 Abraham was patient, and so he received what God had promised. 16 When we make a vow, we use the name of someone greater than ourselves, and the vow settles all arguments. 17 To those who were to receive what he promised, God wanted to make it very clear that he would never change his purpose; so he added his vow to the promise. 18 There are these two things, then, that cannot change and about which God cannot lie. So we who have found safety with him are greatly encouraged to hold firmly to the hope placed before us. 19 (C)We have this hope as an anchor for our lives. It is safe and sure, and goes through the curtain of the heavenly temple into the inner sanctuary. 20 (D)On our behalf Jesus has gone in there before us and has become a high priest forever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.[b]
Footnotes
- Hebrews 6:2 baptisms; or purification ceremonies.
- Hebrews 6:20 in the priestly order of Melchizedek (see 5.6).
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