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Jeremiah 34-36
Contemporary English Version

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah

34 (A) King Nebuchadnezzar[a] had a large army made up of people from every kingdom in his empire. He and his army were attacking Jerusalem and all the nearby towns, when the Lord told me 2 to say to King Zedekiah:[b]

I am the Lord, and I am going to let Nebuchadnezzar capture this city and burn it down. 3 You will be taken prisoner and brought to Nebuchadnezzar, and he will speak with you face to face. Then you will be led away to Babylonia.

4 Zedekiah, I promise that you won't die in battle. 5 You will die a peaceful death. People will mourn when you die, and they will light bonfires in your honor, just as they did for your ancestors, the kings who ruled before you.

6 I went to Zedekiah and told him what the Lord had said. 7 Meanwhile, the king of Babylonia was trying to break through the walls of Lachish, Azekah, and Jerusalem, the only three towns of Judah that had not been captured.

The People Break a Promise

8-10 King Zedekiah,[c] his officials, and everyone else in Jerusalem made an agreement to free all Hebrew[d] men and women who were slaves. No Jew would keep another as a slave. And so, all the Jewish slaves were given their freedom.

11 But those slave owners changed their minds and forced their former slaves back into slavery.

12 That's when the Lord told me to say to the people:

13 I am the Lord God of Israel, and I made an agreement with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, where they had been slaves. 14 (B) As part of this agreement, you must let a Hebrew slave go free after six years of service.

Your ancestors did not obey me, 15-16 but you decided to obey me and do the right thing by setting your Hebrew slaves completely free. You even went to my temple, and in my name you made an agreement to set them free. But you have abused my name, because you broke that agreement and forced your former slaves back into slavery.

17 You have disobeyed me by not giving your slaves their freedom. So I will give you freedom—the freedom to die in battle or from disease or hunger. I will make you disgusting to all other nations on earth.

18 You asked me to be a witness when you made the agreement to set your slaves free. And as part of the ceremony you cut a calf into two parts, then walked between the parts. But you people of Jerusalem have broken that agreement as well as my agreement with Israel. So I will do to you what you did to that calf. 19-20 I will let your enemies take all of you prisoner, including the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the royal officials, the priests, and everyone else who walked between the two parts of the calf. These enemies will kill you and leave your bodies lying on the ground as food for birds and wild animals.

21-22 These enemies are King Nebuchadnezzar[e] of Babylonia and his army. They have stopped attacking Jerusalem, but they want to kill King Zedekiah and his high officials. So I will command them to return and attack again. This time they will conquer the city and burn it down, and they will capture Zedekiah and his officials. I will also let them destroy the towns of Judah, so that no one can live there any longer.

Learn a Lesson from the Rechabites

35 (C) When Jehoiakim[f] was king of Judah, the Lord told me, 2 “Go to the Rechabite clan and invite them to meet you in one of the side rooms[g] of the temple. When they arrive, offer them a drink of wine.”

3 So I went to Jaazaniah,[h] the leader of the clan, and I invited him and all the men of his clan. 4 I brought them into the temple courtyard and took them upstairs to a room belonging to the prophets who were followers of Hanan son of Igdaliah. It was next to a room belonging to some of the officials, and that room was over the one belonging to Maaseiah, a priest who was one of the high officials in the temple.[i]

5 I set out some large bowls full of wine together with some cups, and then I said to the Rechabites, “Have some wine!”

6 But they answered:

No! The ancestor of our clan, Jonadab son of Rechab,[j] made a rule that we must obey. He said, “Don't ever drink wine 7 or build houses or plant crops and vineyards. Instead, you must always live in tents and move from place to place. If you obey this command, you will live a long time.”

8-10 Our clan has always obeyed Jonadab's command. To this very day, we and our wives and sons and daughters don't drink wine or build houses or plant vineyards or crops. And we have lived in tents, 11 except now we have to live inside Jerusalem because Nebuchadnezzar[k] has taken over the countryside with his army from Babylonia and Syria.

12-13 Then the Lord told me to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:

I, the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, want you to learn a lesson 14 from the Rechabite clan. Their ancestor Jonadab told his descendants never to drink wine, and to this very day they have obeyed him. But I have spoken to you over and over, and you haven't obeyed me! 15 You refused to listen to my prophets, who kept telling you, “Stop doing evil and worshiping other gods! Start obeying the Lord, and he will let you live in this land he gave your ancestors.”

16 The Rechabites have obeyed the command of their ancestor Jonadab, but you have not obeyed me, 17 your God. I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I warned you about the terrible things that would happen to you if you did not listen to me. But you have ignored me, so now disaster will strike you. I, the Lord, have spoken.

The Lord Makes a Promise to the Rechabites

18 Then the Lord told me to say to the Rechabite clan:

“I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel. You have obeyed your ancestor Jonadab, 19 so I promise that your clan will be my servants and will never die out.”

King Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah's First Scroll

36 (D) During the fourth year that Jehoiakim[l] son of Josiah[m] was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, 2 since the time Josiah was king, I have been speaking to you about Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Now, get a scroll[n] and write down everything I have told you, 3 then read it to the people of Judah. Maybe they will stop sinning when they hear what terrible things I plan for them. And if they turn back to me, I will forgive them.”

4 I sent for Baruch son of Neriah and asked him to help me. I repeated everything the Lord had told me, and Baruch wrote it all down on a scroll. 5 Then I said,

Baruch, the officials refuse to let me go into the Lord's temple, 6 so you must go instead. Wait for the next holy day when the people of Judah come to the temple to pray and to go without eating.[o] Then take this scroll to the temple and read it aloud. 7 The Lord is furious, and if the people hear how he is going to punish them, maybe they will ask to be forgiven.

8-10 In the ninth month[p] of the fifth year that Jehoiakim was king, the leaders set a day when everyone who lived in Jerusalem or who was visiting there had to pray and go without eating. So Baruch took the scroll to the upper courtyard of the temple. He went over to the side of the courtyard and stood in a covered area near New Gate, where he read the scroll aloud.

This covered area belonged to Gemariah,[q] one of the king's highest officials. 11 Gemariah's son Micaiah was there and heard Baruch read what the Lord had said. 12 When Baruch finished reading, Micaiah went down to the palace. His father Gemariah was in the officials' room, meeting with the rest of the king's officials, including Elishama, Delaiah, Elnathan, and Zedekiah.[r] 13 Micaiah told them what he had heard Baruch read to the people. 14 Then the officials sent Jehudi and Shelemiah[s] to tell Baruch, “Bring us that scroll.”

When Baruch arrived with the scroll, 15 the officials said, “Please sit down and read it to us,” which he did. 16 After they heard what was written on the scroll, they were worried and said to each other, “The king needs to hear this!” Turning to Baruch, they asked, 17 “Did someone tell you what to write on this scroll?”

18 “Yes, Jeremiah did,” Baruch replied. “I wrote down just what he told me.”

19 The officials said, “You and Jeremiah must go into hiding, and don't tell anyone where you are going.”

20-22 The officials put the scroll in Elishama's room and went to see the king, who was in one of the rooms where he lived and worked during the winter. It was the ninth month[t] of the year, so there was a fire burning in the fireplace,[u] and the king was sitting nearby. After the officials told the king about the scroll, he sent Jehudi to get it. Then Jehudi started reading the scroll to the king and his officials. 23-25 But every time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king would tell him to cut them off with his penknife and throw them in the fire. Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, but he ignored them, and soon there was nothing left of it.

The king and his servants listened to what was written on the scroll, but they were not the least bit afraid, and they did not tear their clothes in sorrow.[v]

26 The king told his son Jerahmeel to take Seraiah and Shelemiah[w] and to go arrest Baruch and me.[x] But the Lord kept them from finding us.

Jeremiah's Second Scroll

27 I had told Baruch what to write on that first scroll,[y] but King Jehoiakim[z] had burned it. So the Lord told me 28 to get another scroll and write down everything that had been on the first one. 29 Then he told me to say to King Jehoiakim:

Not only did you burn Jeremiah's scroll, you had the nerve to ask why he had written that the king of Babylonia would attack and ruin the land, killing all the people and even the animals. 30 So I, the Lord, promise that you will be killed and your body thrown out on the ground. The sun will beat down on it during the day, and the frost will settle on it at night. And none of your descendants will ever be king of Judah. 31 You, your children, and your servants are evil, and I will punish everyone of you. I warned you and the people of Judah and Jerusalem that I would bring disaster, but none of you have listened. So now you are doomed!

32 After the Lord finished speaking to me, I got another scroll and gave it to Baruch. Then I told him what to write, so this second scroll would contain even more than was on the scroll Jehoiakim had burned.

Footnotes

  1. 34.1 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
  2. 34.2 Zedekiah: See the note at 1.3.
  3. 34.8-10 Zedekiah: See the note at 1.3.
  4. 34.8-10 Hebrew: An earlier term for Israelite and Jewish.
  5. 34.21,22 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
  6. 35.1 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3.
  7. 35.2 side rooms: Probably a room with walls on three sides, and open to the courtyard on the fourth side.
  8. 35.3 Jaazaniah: The Hebrew text has “Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah son of Habazziniah”; this is a different Jeremiah than the author of the book.
  9. 35.4 Maaseiah … temple: Hebrew “Maaseiah son of Shallum, the keeper of the temple door.”
  10. 35.6 Jonadab son of Rechab: See 2 Kings 10.15-23. In the Hebrew of this chapter, “Jonadab” is sometimes spelled “Jehonadab.”
  11. 35.11 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
  12. 36.1 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3.
  13. 36.1 Josiah: See the note at 3.6.
  14. 36.2 scroll: See the note at 30.1,2.
  15. 36.6 to go without eating: As a way of asking for God's help.
  16. 36.8-10 ninth month: Chislev, the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-November to mid-December.
  17. 36.8-10 Gemariah: Hebrew “Gemariah son of Shaphan”; Gemariah's brother Ahikam had earlier protected Jeremiah (see 26.20-24).
  18. 36.12 Delaiah, Elnathan, and Zedekiah: Hebrew “Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, and Zedekiah son of Hananiah.”
  19. 36.14 Jehudi and Shelemiah: Hebrew “Jehudi son of Nethaniah and Shelemiah son of Cushi.”
  20. 36.20-22 ninth month: See the note at 36.8-10.
  21. 36.20-22 fireplace: Probably a large metal or clay pot on a movable stand, with the fire burning inside.
  22. 36.23-25 they did not tear their clothes in sorrow: Such actions would have shown that they were sorry for disobeying the Lord and were turning back to him.
  23. 36.26 Seraiah and Shelemiah: Hebrew “Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel.”
  24. 36.26 me: Jeremiah.
  25. 36.27 scroll: See the note at 30.1,2.
  26. 36.27 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3.
Listen to Jeremiah 34-36, Hebrews 2
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Jeremiah 34-36
New International Version

Warning to Zedekiah

34 While Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms and peoples(A) in the empire he ruled were fighting against Jerusalem(B) and all its surrounding towns, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go to Zedekiah(C) king of Judah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.(D) 3 You will not escape from his grasp but will surely be captured and given into his hands.(E) You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.

4 “‘Yet hear the Lord’s promise to you, Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword;(F) 5 you will die peacefully. As people made a funeral fire(G) in honor of your predecessors, the kings who ruled before you, so they will make a fire in your honor and lament, “Alas,(H) master!” I myself make this promise, declares the Lord.’”

6 Then Jeremiah the prophet told all this to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, 7 while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that were still holding out—Lachish(I) and Azekah.(J) These were the only fortified cities left in Judah.

Freedom for Slaves

8 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people(K) in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom(L) for the slaves. 9 Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage.(M) 10 So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. 11 But afterward they changed their minds(N) and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors(O) when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.(P) I said, 14 ‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’[a](Q) Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention(R) to me. 15 Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people.(S) You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name.(T) 16 But now you have turned around(U) and profaned(V) my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.

17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you,(W) declares the Lord—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague(X) and famine.(Y) I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth.(Z) 18 Those who have violated my covenant(AA) and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces.(AB) 19 The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials,(AC) the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, 20 I will deliver(AD) into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them.(AE) Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.(AF)

21 “I will deliver Zedekiah(AG) king of Judah and his officials(AH) into the hands of their enemies(AI) who want to kill them, to the army of the king of Babylon,(AJ) which has withdrawn(AK) from you. 22 I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take(AL) it and burn(AM) it down. And I will lay waste(AN) the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”

The Rekabites

35 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim(AO) son of Josiah king of Judah: 2 “Go to the Rekabite(AP) family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms(AQ) of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”

3 So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. 4 I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God.(AR) It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum(AS) the doorkeeper.(AT) 5 Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

6 But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab[b](AU) son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine.(AV) 7 Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents.(AW) Then you will live a long time in the land(AX) where you are nomads.’ 8 We have obeyed everything our forefather(AY) Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine 9 or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops.(AZ) 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded(BA) this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem(BB) to escape the Babylonian[c] and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell(BC) the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson(BD) and obey my words?’ declares the Lord. 14 ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command.(BE) But I have spoken to you again and again,(BF) yet you have not obeyed(BG) me. 15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets(BH) to you. They said, “Each of you must turn(BI) from your wicked ways and reform(BJ) your actions; do not follow other gods(BK) to serve them. Then you will live in the land(BL) I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened(BM) to me. 16 The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather(BN) gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’

17 “Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster(BO) I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen;(BP) I called to them, but they did not answer.’”(BQ)

18 Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather(BR) Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ 19 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail(BS) to have a descendant to serve(BT) me.’”

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll

36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim(BU) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take a scroll(BV) and write on it all the words(BW) I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah(BX) till now. 3 Perhaps(BY) when the people of Judah hear(BZ) about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn(CA) from their wicked ways; then I will forgive(CB) their wickedness and their sin.”

4 So Jeremiah called Baruch(CC) son of Neriah,(CD) and while Jeremiah dictated(CE) all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll.(CF) 5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. 6 So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting(CG) and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated.(CH) Read them to all the people of Judah(CI) who come in from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will bring their petition(CJ) before the Lord and will each turn(CK) from their wicked ways, for the anger(CL) and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.”

8 Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the Lord’s temple he read the words of the Lord from the scroll. 9 In the ninth month(CM) of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting(CN) before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. 10 From the room of Gemariah(CO) son of Shaphan(CP) the secretary,(CQ) which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate(CR) of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the Lord’s temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll.

11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the secretary’s(CS) room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan(CT) son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.(CU) 13 After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, 14 all the officials sent Jehudi(CV) son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll(CW) from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. 15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.”

So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear(CX) and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write(CY) all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?”

18 “Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated(CZ) all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”

19 Then the officials(DA) said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide.(DB) Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

20 After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. 21 The king sent Jehudi(DC) to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king(DD) and all the officials standing beside him. 22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment,(DE) with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll,(DF) the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire.(DG) 24 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear,(DH) nor did they tear their clothes.(DI) 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah(DJ) and Gemariah(DK) urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest(DL) Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden(DM) them.

27 After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,(DN) the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll(DO) and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. 29 Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it(DP) both man and beast?”(DQ) 30 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim(DR) king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out(DS) and exposed(DT) to the heat by day and the frost by night.(DU) 31 I will punish him and his children(DV) and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster(DW) I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.(DX)’”

32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated,(DY) Baruch wrote(DZ) on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned(EA) in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 34:14 Deut. 15:12
  2. Jeremiah 35:6 Hebrew Jonadab, a variant of Jehonadab; here and often in this chapter
  3. Jeremiah 35:11 Or Chaldean
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Jeremiah 33
Jeremiah 37
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Hebrews 2
Contemporary English Version

This Great Way of Being Saved

2 We must give our full attention to what we were told, so we won't drift away. 2 The message spoken by angels proved to be true, and all who disobeyed or rejected it were punished as they deserved. 3 So if we refuse this great way of being saved, how can we hope to escape? The Lord himself was the first to tell about it, and people who heard the message proved to us that it was true. 4 God himself showed that his message was true by working all kinds of powerful miracles and wonders. He also gave his Holy Spirit to anyone he chose to.

The One Who Leads Us To Be Saved

5 We know that God did not put the future world under the power of angels. 6 (A) Somewhere in the Scriptures someone says to God,

“What makes you care
    about us humans?
Why are you concerned
    for weaklings such as we?
7 You made us lower
than the angels
    for a while.
Yet you have crowned us
    with glory and honor.[a]
8 And you have put everything
    under our power!”

God has put everything under our power and has not left anything out of our power. But we still don't see it all under our control. 9 What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels. Because of God's gift of undeserved grace, Jesus died for everyone. And now that Jesus has suffered and died, he is crowned with glory and honor!

10 Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made Jesus perfect by suffering, as Jesus led many of God's children to be saved and to share in his glory. 11 Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. This is why he isn't ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. 12 (B) He even said to God,

“I will tell them your name
    and sing your praises
when they come together
    to worship.”

13 (C) He also said,

“I will trust God.”

Then he said,

“Here I am with the children
    God has given me.”

14 We are people of flesh and blood. This is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. 15 But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying. 16 (D) Jesus clearly did not come to help angels, but he did come to help Abraham's descendants. 17 He had to be one of us, so he could serve God as our merciful and faithful high priest and sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of our sins. 18 And now that Jesus has suffered and was tempted, he can help anyone else who is tempted.

Footnotes

  1. 2.7 and honor: Some manuscripts add “and you have placed us in charge of all you created.”
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Hebrews 2
New International Version

Warning to Pay Attention

2 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.(A) 2 For since the message spoken(B) through angels(C) was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment,(D) 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?(E) This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord,(F) was confirmed to us by those who heard him.(G) 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles,(H) and by gifts of the Holy Spirit(I) distributed according to his will.(J)

Jesus Made Fully Human

5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But there is a place where someone(K) has testified:

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

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] 9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor(N) because he suffered death,(O) so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.(P)

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

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

13 And again,

“I will put my trust in him.”[i](W)

And again he says,

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

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

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 2:7 Or them for a little while
  2. Hebrews 2:8 Psalm 8:4-6
  3. Hebrews 2:8 Or 7 You made him a little lower than the angels;/ you crowned him with glory and honor/ 8 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
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