Hebrews 6:13-20
New Living Translation
God’s Promises Bring Hope
13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:
14 “I will certainly bless you,
and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”[a]
15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.
16 Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Read full chapter
Hebrews 6:13-20
New English Translation
13 Now when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you greatly and multiply your descendants abundantly.”[a] 15 And so by persevering, Abraham[b] inherited the promise. 16 For people[c] swear by something greater than themselves,[d] and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute.[e] 17 In the same way[f] God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable,[g] and so he intervened with an oath, 18 so that we who have found refuge in him[h] may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain,[i] 20 where Jesus our forerunner entered on our behalf, since he became a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.[j]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Hebrews 6:14 tn Grk “in blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply you,” the Greek form of a Hebrew idiom showing intensity.sn A quotation from Gen 22:17.
- Hebrews 6:15 tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Abraham) has been specified for clarity.
- Hebrews 6:16 tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποι (anthrōpoi) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, and is thus translated “people.”
- Hebrews 6:16 tn Grk “by something greater”; the rest of the comparison (“than themselves”) is implied.
- Hebrews 6:16 tn Grk “the oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute.”
- Hebrews 6:17 tn Grk “in which.”
- Hebrews 6:17 tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”
- Hebrews 6:18 tn Grk “have taken refuge”; the basis of that refuge is implied in the preceding verse.
- Hebrews 6:19 sn The curtain refers to the veil or drape in the temple that separated the holy place from the holy of holies.
- Hebrews 6:20 sn A quotation from Ps 110:4, picked up again from Heb 5:6, 10.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.