16 This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;
    ask for the ancient paths,(A)
ask where the good way(B) is, and walk in it,
    and you will find rest(C) for your souls.
    But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

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15 Yet my people have forgotten(A) me;
    they burn incense(B) to worthless idols,(C)
which made them stumble(D) in their ways,
    in the ancient paths.(E)
They made them walk in byways,
    on roads not built up.(F)

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Remember the days of old;(A)
    consider the generations long past.(B)
Ask your father and he will tell you,
    your elders, and they will explain to you.(C)

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21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice(A) behind you, saying, “This is the way;(B) walk in it.”

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23 but I gave them this command:(A) Obey(B) me, and I will be your God and you will be my people.(C) Walk in obedience to all(D) I command you, that it may go well(E) with you.

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28 “Come to me,(A) all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.(B) 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,(C) for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.(D)

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Spiritual Fullness in Christ

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,(A) continue to live your lives in him,

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Come, descendants of Jacob,(A)
    let us walk in the light(B) of the Lord.

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“Remember the law(A) of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb(B) for all Israel.(C)

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35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light(A) just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light,(B) before darkness overtakes you.(C) Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going.

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16 “We will not listen(A) to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord!(B)

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21 I warned you when you felt secure,(A)
    but you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth;(B)
    you have not obeyed(C) me.

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This is what the ancients were commended for.(A)

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command,(B) so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended(C) as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings.(D) And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.(E)

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[a](F) For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him(G) must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen,(H) in holy fear built an ark(I) to save his family.(J) By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.(K)

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance,(L) obeyed and went,(M) even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land(N) like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents,(O) as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.(P) 10 For he was looking forward to the city(Q) with foundations,(R) whose architect and builder is God.(S) 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age,(T) was enabled to bear children(U) because she[b] considered him faithful(V) who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead,(W) came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.(X)

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised;(Y) they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,(Z) admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.(AA) 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.(AB) 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.(AC) Therefore God is not ashamed(AD) to be called their God,(AE) for he has prepared a city(AF) for them.

17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.(AG) He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[c](AH) 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead,(AI) and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.(AJ)

21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons,(AK) and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.(AL)

23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born,(AM) because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.(AN)

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.(AO) 25 He chose to be mistreated(AP) along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace(AQ) for the sake of Christ(AR) as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.(AS) 27 By faith he left Egypt,(AT) not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer(AU) of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.(AV)

29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.(AW)

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.(AX)

31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[d](AY)

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon,(AZ) Barak,(BA) Samson(BB) and Jephthah,(BC) about David(BD) and Samuel(BE) and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms,(BF) administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,(BG) 34 quenched the fury of the flames,(BH) and escaped the edge of the sword;(BI) whose weakness was turned to strength;(BJ) and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.(BK) 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again.(BL) There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging,(BM) and even chains and imprisonment.(BN) 37 They were put to death by stoning;[e](BO) they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword.(BP) They went about in sheepskins and goatskins,(BQ) destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves(BR) and in holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended(BS) for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised,(BT) 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us(BU) would they be made perfect.(BV)

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run(BW) with perseverance(BX) the race marked out for us,

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 11:5 Gen. 5:24
  2. Hebrews 11:11 Or By faith Abraham, even though he was too old to have children—and Sarah herself was not able to conceive—was enabled to become a father because he
  3. Hebrews 11:18 Gen. 21:12
  4. Hebrews 11:31 Or unbelieving
  5. Hebrews 11:37 Some early manuscripts stoning; they were put to the test;

12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.(A) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.(B)’”

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29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses(A) and the Prophets;(B) let them listen to them.’

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The Parable of the Two Sons

28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’(A)

29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors(B) and the prostitutes(C) are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,(D) and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors(E) and the prostitutes(F) did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent(G) and believe him.

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12 to whom he said,
    “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;(A)
and, “This is the place of repose”—
    but they would not listen.

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20 Consult God’s instruction(A) and the testimony of warning.(B) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light(C) of dawn.

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12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate(A) those who through faith and patience(B) inherit what has been promised.(C)

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17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.(A)

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Abraham Justified by Faith

What then shall we say(A) that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh,(B) discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.(C) What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[a](D)

Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift(E) but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.(F) David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 4:3 Gen. 15:6; also in verse 22

11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica,(A) for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures(B) every day to see if what Paul said was true.(C)

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46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.(A) 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”(B)

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39 You study[a] the Scriptures(A) diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life.(B) These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,(C)

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Footnotes

  1. John 5:39 Or 39 Study

25 Do not run until your feet are bare
    and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!(A)
    I love foreign gods,(B)
    and I must go after them.’(C)

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