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Hebrews 6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 6

1 Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance to maturity, without laying the foundation all over again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,(A) 2 instruction about baptisms[a] and laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.(B) 3 And we shall do this, if only God permits. 4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift[b] and shared in the holy Spirit(C) 5 and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,[c] 6 and then have fallen away, to bring them to repentance again, since they are recrucifying the Son of God for themselves[d] and holding him up to contempt.(D) 7 Ground that has absorbed the rain falling upon it repeatedly and brings forth crops useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God.(E) 8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is rejected; it will soon be cursed and finally burned.(F)

9 But we are sure in your regard, beloved, of better things related to salvation, even though we speak in this way. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones. 11 We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of hope until the end,(G) 12 so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who, through faith and patience,(H) are inheriting the promises.[e]

God’s Promise Immutable. 13 [f](I)When God made the promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, “he swore by himself,” 14 and said, “I will indeed bless you and multiply” you.(J) 15 And so, after patient waiting,(K) he obtained the promise.[g] 16 Human beings swear by someone greater than themselves; for them an oath serves as a guarantee and puts an end to all argument. 17 So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose, he intervened with an oath,(L) 18 so that by two immutable things,[h] in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to hold fast to the hope that lies before us.(M) 19 This we have as an anchor of the soul,(N) sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil,[i] 20 where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner, becoming high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.(O)

Footnotes

  1. 6:2 Instruction about baptisms: not simply about Christian baptism but about the difference between it and similar Jewish rites, such as proselyte baptism, John’s baptism, and the washings of the Qumran sectaries. Laying on of hands: in Acts 8:17; 19:6 this rite effects the infusion of the holy Spirit; in Acts 6:6; 13:3; 1 Tm 4:14; 5:22; 2 Tm 1:6 it is a means of conferring some ministry or mission in the early Christian community.
  2. 6:4 Enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift: this may refer to baptism and the Eucharist, respectively, but more probably means the neophytes’ enlightenment by faith and their experience of salvation.
  3. 6:5 Tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come: the proclamation of the word of God was accompanied by signs of the Spirit’s power (1 Thes 1:5; 1 Cor 2:4).
  4. 6:6 They are recrucifying the Son of God for themselves: a colorful description of the malice of apostasy, which is portrayed as again crucifying and deriding the Son of God.
  5. 6:12 Imitators of those…inheriting the promises: the author urges the addressees to imitate the faith of the holy people of the Old Testament, who now possess the promised goods of which they lived in hope. This theme will be treated fully in Hb 6:11.
  6. 6:13 He swore by himself: God’s promise to Abraham, which he confirmed by an oath (“I swear by myself,” Gn 22:16) was the basis for the hope of all Abraham’s descendants.
  7. 6:15 He obtained the promise: this probably refers not to Abraham’s temporary possession of the land but to the eschatological blessings that Abraham and the other patriarchs have now come to possess.
  8. 6:18 Two immutable things: the promise and the oath, both made by God.
  9. 6:19 Anchor…into the interior behind the veil: a mixed metaphor. The Holy of Holies, beyond the veil that separates it from the Holy Place (Ex 26:31–33), is seen as the earthly counterpart of the heavenly abode of God. This theme will be developed in Hb 9.
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Hebrews 6
Legacy Standard Bible

Warning Against 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)teaching about washings and (F)laying on of hands, and the (G)resurrection of the dead and (H)eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do, (I)if God permits. 4 For in the case of those once having been (J)enlightened and having tasted of (K)the heavenly gift and having become (L)partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and having (M)tasted the good (N)word of God and the powers of (O)the age to come, 6 and having fallen away, it is (P)impossible to renew them again to repentance, [d](Q)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 [e]falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those (R)for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is unfit and (S)close [f]to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

The Inheritance of the Promises

9 But we are convinced about you, (T)beloved, of things that are better and that belong to salvation, though we are speaking in this way. 10 For (U)God is not unrighteous so as to forget (V)your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having (W)ministered and continuing to minister to the [g]saints. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence [h]so as to realize the (X)full assurance of (Y)hope until the end, 12 so that you may not become dull, but (Z)imitators of those who through (AA)faith and patience (AB)inherit the promises.

13 For (AC)when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He (AD)swore by Himself, 14 saying, “(AE)I will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply you.” 15 And so, (AF)having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. 16 (AG)For men swear by [i]one greater than themselves, and with them (AH)an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. 17 [j]In the same way God, desiring even more to show to (AI)the heirs of the promise (AJ)the unchangeableness of His purpose, guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which (AK)it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of (AL)the hope set before us. 19 [k]This (AM)hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and confirmed and one which (AN)enters [l]within the veil, 20 (AO)where a forerunner has entered for us—Jesus, having become a (AP)high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 6:1 Lit word of the beginning
  2. Hebrews 6:1 Messiah
  3. Hebrews 6:1 Or perfection, cf. 5:9, 14
  4. Hebrews 6:6 Or while
  5. Hebrews 6:7 Lit comes
  6. Hebrews 6:8 Lit near to a curse
  7. Hebrews 6:10 Or holy ones
  8. Hebrews 6:11 Lit to the full
  9. Hebrews 6:16 Or Him who is greater
  10. Hebrews 6:17 Lit In which
  11. Hebrews 6:19 Lit Which hope we have
  12. Hebrews 6:19 Or inside
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