The Vine and the Branches

15 “I am^(A) the true vine,^(B) and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,^(C) while every branch that does bear fruit^(D) he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.^{(E) 4} Remain in me, as I also remain in you.^(F) No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;^(G) apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.^{(H) 7} If you remain in me^(I) and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.^{(J) 8} This is to my Father’s glory,^(K) that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.^(L)

⁹ “As the Father has loved me,^(M) so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands,^(N) you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.^(O)

Warning Against Unbelief

⁷ So, as the Holy Spirit says:^(A)

¹² See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.^{(G) 13} But encourage one another daily,^(H) as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.^{(I) 14} We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold^(J) our original conviction firmly to the very end.^{(K) 15} As has just been said:

¹⁶ Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?^{(M) 17} And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?^{(N) 18} And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest^(O) if not to those who disobeyed?^{(P) 19} So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.^(Q)

A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God

4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.^{(R) 2} For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.^{[c](S) 3} Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. ⁴ For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”^{[e](U) 5} And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”^(V)

⁶ Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience,^{(W) 7} God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest,^(Y) God would not have spoken^(Z) later about another day. ⁹ There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; ¹⁰ for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,^[g](AA) just as God did from his.^{(AB) 11} Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.^(AC)

¹² For the word of God^(AD) is alive^(AE) and active.^(AF) Sharper than any double-edged sword,^(AG) it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.^{(AH) 13} Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.^(AI) Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Trials and Temptations

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds,^{(A) 3} because you know that the testing of your faith^(B) produces perseverance.^{(C) 4} Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature^(D) and complete, not lacking anything.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!^(A) In his great mercy^(B) he has given us new birth^(C) into a living hope^(D) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,^{(E) 4} and into an inheritance^(F) that can never perish, spoil or fade.^(G) This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,^{(H) 5} who through faith are shielded by God’s power^(I) until the coming of the salvation^(J) that is ready to be revealed^(K) in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice,^(L) though now for a little while^(M) you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.^{(N) 7} These have come so that the proven genuineness^(O) of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire^(P)—may result in praise, glory and honor^(Q) when Jesus Christ is revealed.^{(R) 8} Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him^(S) and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.^(T)