Hebrews 6:13-20

New International Version

The Certainty of God’s Promise

¹³When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,^(A) ¹⁴saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”^[a]^(B) ¹⁵And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.^(C)

¹⁶People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.^(D) ¹⁷Because 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. ¹⁸God 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. ¹⁹We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,^(I) ²⁰where 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

Hebrews 6:14 Gen. 22:17

Hebrews 6:13-20

International Standard Version

God’s Promise is Reliable

¹³For when God made his promise to Abraham, he swore an oath by himself, since he had no one greater to swear by. ¹⁴He said, “I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants.”^[a] ¹⁵And so he obtained what he had been promised, because he patiently waited for it. ¹⁶For people swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all argument. ¹⁷In the same way, when God wanted to make the unchangeable character of his purpose perfectly clear to the heirs of his promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, ¹⁸so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us. ¹⁹That hope,^[b] firm and secure like an anchor for our souls, reaches behind the curtain ²⁰where Jesus, our forerunner, has gone on our behalf, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.