Jesus Made Fully Human

It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone(A) has testified:

“What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    a son of man that you care for him?(B)
You made them a little[a] lower than the angels;
    you crowned them with glory and honor
    and put everything under their feet.”[b][c](C)

In putting everything under them,[d] God left nothing that is not subject to them.[e] Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them.[f] But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor(D) because he suffered death,(E) so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.(F)

10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists,(G) should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.(H) 11 Both the one who makes people holy(I) and those who are made holy(J) are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.[g](K) 12 He says,

“I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
    in the assembly I will sing your praises.”[h](L)

13 And again,

“I will put my trust in him.”[i](M)

And again he says,

“Here am I, and the children God has given me.”[j](N)

14 Since the children have flesh and blood,(O) he too shared in their humanity(P) so that by his death he might break the power(Q) of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil(R) 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear(S) of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.(T) 17 For this reason he had to be made like them,[k](U) fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful(V) and faithful high priest(W) in service to God,(X) and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.(Y) 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.(Z)

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 2:7 Or them for a little while
  2. Hebrews 2:8 Psalm 8:4-6
  3. Hebrews 2:8 Or You made him a little lower than the angels;/ you crowned him with glory and honor/ and put everything under his feet.”
  4. Hebrews 2:8 Or him
  5. Hebrews 2:8 Or him
  6. Hebrews 2:8 Or him
  7. Hebrews 2:11 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verse 12; and in 3:1, 12; 10:19; 13:22.
  8. Hebrews 2:12 Psalm 22:22
  9. Hebrews 2:13 Isaiah 8:17
  10. Hebrews 2:13 Isaiah 8:18
  11. Hebrews 2:17 Or like his brothers

Jesus Greater Than Moses

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters,(A) who share in the heavenly calling,(B) fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge(C) as our apostle and high priest.(D) He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.(E) Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses,(F) just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.(G) “Moses was faithful as a servant(H) in all God’s house,”[a](I) bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son(J) over God’s house. And we are his house,(K) if indeed we hold firmly(L) to our confidence and the hope(M) in which we glory.

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 3:5 Num. 12:7

Warning Against Unbelief

So, as the Holy Spirit says:(A)

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts(B)
as you did in the rebellion,
    during the time of testing in the wilderness,
where your ancestors tested and tried me,
    though for forty years they saw what I did.(C)
10 That is why I was angry with that generation;
    I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
    and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,(D)
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ (E)[a](F)

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:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts
    as you did in the rebellion.”[b](L)

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)

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 3:11 Psalm 95:7-11
  2. Hebrews 3:15 Psalm 95:7,8

Exploring Canaan

13 The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore(A) the land of Canaan,(B) which I am giving to the Israelites.(C) From each ancestral tribe(D) send one of its leaders.”

So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.(E) These are their names:

from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur;

from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;

from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;(F)

from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;

from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;(G)

from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;

10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;

11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;

12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;

13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;

14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;

15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.

16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore(H) the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun(I) the name Joshua.)(J)

17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan,(K) he said, “Go up through the Negev(L) and on into the hill country.(M) 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.(N)” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)(O)

21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin(P) as far as Rehob,(Q) toward Lebo Hamath.(R) 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron,(S) where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai,(T) the descendants of Anak,(U) lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)(V) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,[a](W) they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates(X) and figs.(Y) 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days(Z) they returned from exploring the land.(AA)

Report on the Exploration

26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh(AB) in the Desert of Paran.(AC) There they reported to them(AD) and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.(AE) 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!(AF) Here is its fruit.(AG) 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.(AH) We even saw descendants of Anak(AI) there.(AJ) 29 The Amalekites(AK) live in the Negev; the Hittites,(AL) Jebusites(AM) and Amorites(AN) live in the hill country;(AO) and the Canaanites(AP) live near the sea and along the Jordan.(AQ)

30 Then Caleb(AR) silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”(AS) 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report(AT) about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours(AU) those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.(AV) 33 We saw the Nephilim(AW) there (the descendants of Anak(AX) come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers(AY) in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

The People Rebel

14 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.(AZ) All the Israelites grumbled(BA) against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt!(BB) Or in this wilderness!(BC) Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?(BD) Our wives and children(BE) will be taken as plunder.(BF) Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?(BG) And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.(BH)

Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown(BI) in front of the whole Israelite assembly(BJ) gathered there. Joshua son of Nun(BK) and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes(BL) and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.(BM) If the Lord is pleased with us,(BN) he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey,(BO) and will give it to us.(BP) Only do not rebel(BQ) against the Lord. And do not be afraid(BR) of the people of the land,(BS) because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with(BT) us.(BU) Do not be afraid of them.”(BV)

10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning(BW) them. Then the glory of the Lord(BX) appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt?(BY) How long will they refuse to believe in me,(BZ) in spite of all the signs(CA) I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague(CB) and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation(CC) greater and stronger than they.”(CD)

13 Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them.(CE) 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard(CF) that you, Lord, are with these people(CG) and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face,(CH) that your cloud stays over them,(CI) and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.(CJ) 15 If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath,(CK) so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’(CL)

17 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.(CM) Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’(CN) 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive(CO) the sin of these people,(CP) just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”(CQ)

20 The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them,(CR) as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live(CS) and as surely as the glory of the Lord(CT) fills the whole earth,(CU) 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs(CV) I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times(CW) 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath(CX) to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt(CY) will ever see it.(CZ) 24 But because my servant Caleb(DA) has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly,(DB) I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.(DC) 25 Since the Amalekites(DD) and the Canaanites(DE) are living in the valleys, turn(DF) back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.[b](DG)

26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.(DH) 28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live,(DI) declares the Lord, I will do to you(DJ) the very thing I heard you say: 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall(DK)—every one of you twenty years old or more(DL) who was counted in the census(DM) and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land(DN) I swore with uplifted hand(DO) to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh(DP) and Joshua son of Nun.(DQ) 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.(DR) 32 But as for you, your bodies will fall(DS) in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years,(DT) suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 For forty years(DU)—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land(DV)—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things(DW) to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.(DX)

36 So the men Moses had sent(DY) to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble(DZ) against him by spreading a bad report(EA) about it— 37 these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report(EB) about the land were struck down and died of a plague(EC) before the Lord. 38 Of the men who went to explore the land,(ED) only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.(EE)

39 When Moses reported this(EF) to all the Israelites, they mourned(EG) bitterly. 40 Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country,(EH) saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!(EI)

41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed!(EJ) 42 Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies,(EK) 43 for the Amalekites(EL) and the Canaanites(EM) will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you(EN) and you will fall by the sword.”

44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up(EO) toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp.(EP) 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites(EQ) who lived in that hill country(ER) came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.(ES)

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 13:23 Eshkol means cluster; also in verse 24.
  2. Numbers 14:25 Or the Sea of Reeds

A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God

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.(A) 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.[a](B) Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”[b](C)

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

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,(F) 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:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts.”[d](G)

For if Joshua had given them rest,(H) God would not have spoken(I) later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,[e](J) just as God did from his.(K) 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.(L)

12 For the word of God(M) is alive(N) and active.(O) Sharper than any double-edged sword,(P) it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.(Q) 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.(R) Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 4:2 Some manuscripts because those who heard did not combine it with faith
  2. Hebrews 4:3 Psalm 95:11; also in verse 5
  3. Hebrews 4:4 Gen. 2:2
  4. Hebrews 4:7 Psalm 95:7,8
  5. Hebrews 4:10 Or labor

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