The Letter to the
HEBREWS
Chapter: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 131•1Although in many portions and in many ways God had spoken long ago to the fathers by the prophets, •2he has at the last of these days1 spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the universe.2 •3He is the radiance of [God's] glory and an exact imprint of his essence, and is upholding all things by the word of his power. When he had made a cleansing of3 sins, he sat down at the right [hand] of the Majesty on high, •4having become as much better than the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
•5For to which of the angels did God ever say,
"You are my Son,And again,
"I will be to him a father,Hebrews 1
•9You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;122•1Because of this, we have to pay even more attention to the things that we have heard, lest we drift away [from them]. •2For if the word spoken through angels was valid1 and every transgression and disobedience received a just retribution, •3how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It had its beginning by being spoken through the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard [him], •4while God also was testifying by signs and wonders and various miracles and by distributions of the Holy Spirit [given out] according to his [own] will.
•5For [it was] not to angels [that God] subjected the future habitation, about which we are speaking. •6But someone has testified somewhere, saying,
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"What is man that you remember him,For in putting all things in subjection to him, he left nothing unsubjected to him. But now, we do not yet see all things put in subjection to him. •9But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God4 he might taste death for everyone.
•10For it was fitting for him, because of whom all things [exist] and through whom all things [exist], in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering. •11For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all [come] from One. For this reason he is not ashamed to call them brothers, •12saying,
"I will declare your name to my brothers,And again,
"Behold, [here am] I, and the children whom God has given me."7Hebrews 2
when he was tempted,9 he is able to help those who are being tempted.
3•1Therefore, holy brothers, partners in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession. •2He was faithful to the One who appointed1 him, just as Moses also [was faithful] in all2 God's3 house. •3For this [Jesus] has been considered worthy of more glory than Moses, by just as much as the one who has constructed a house4 has more honor than the house. •4(For every house is constructed by someone, but the One who has constructed all things [is] God.) •5And Moses [was] faithful in God's3 house as a caretaker, for a testimony to the things that were to be spoken [later], •6but Christ [was faithful] over God's3 house as a son. [And] we are his house if we hold fast [our] boldness and the boast [that we have] of [our] hope.5
•7That is why, just as the Holy Spirit says,
"Today, if †you hear his voice,Hebrews 3
called "today," lest any of †you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. •14For we have become partners with Christ,9 if indeed we hold fast to the confidence [we had] at the beginning, firm until the end, •15while it is being said,4•1Therefore, while a promise of entering into his rest is left, let us fear lest any of †you may seem to have fallen short [of it]. •2For indeed, we have had good news proclaimed [to us] just as they also [did]; but the word which they heard did not profit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.1 •3For2 we who have believed enter into that rest, just as he has said,
"As I swore in my wrath,although [his] works were finished from the foundation of the world. •4For he has somewhere spoken about the seventh [day] in this way, "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works."5 •5And again in this [place he said],
"They shall not enter3 into my rest."4Hebrews 4
saying in [the Psalms of] David after so long a time, just as it has been previously said,•12For the word of God [is] living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and [is] able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart. •13And there is no creature that is not apparent in his sight, but all things [are] naked and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to reckon.
•14Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us keep holding to [our] confession. •15For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in all respects has been tempted in a way like [we are], [yet] without [committing] sin. •16Let us therefore keep coming with boldness to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need.
5•1For every high priest taken from among men is appointed [to act] on behalf of men in the [priestly service] to God, so that he may be offering both gifts and sacrifices for sins. •2He can be dealing in moderation with the ignorant and straying, since he himself also is surrounded by weakness. •3And because of this he is obligated to keep offering [sacrifices] for sins: just as for the people, so also for himself. •4And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as indeed Aaron [was].
•5So also Christ did not glorify himself to be made a high priest, but [was appointed by] the One who said to him,
"You are my Son,Hebrews 5
•6as he says also in another [place],•11About this4 we have much to say and it is hard to explain, since †you have become dull of hearing. •12For even though by [this] time †you ought to be teachers, †you have need again for someone to teach †you the elements of the first principles5 of the oracles of God, and †you have come to have need for milk, not solid food. •13For everyone who partakes [only] of milk [is] unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. •14But solid food is for the mature, for those who by practice have [their] senses trained to distinguish both good and evil.
6•1Therefore let us leave the word about the first principles1 of Christ and move on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, •2of teaching2 about baptizings,3 and of the laying on of hands, of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. •3And this we will do if God permits.4 •4For [it is] impossible to renew again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, •5and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the
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future age, •6and who have [then] fallen away, since5 they are recrucifying6 the Son of God to themselves and exposing [him] to public disgrace. •7For land which has drunk the rain that often comes upon it, and brings forth vegetation fit for those for whose sake it is indeed being farmed, receives a blessing from God. •8But if it bears thorns and thistles, [it is] worthless and near to [receiving] a curse; its end [is] to be burned.
•9But, beloved, concerning †you we are persuaded of things that are better and [that] have [to do with] salvation, even though we are speaking like this. •10For God [is] not [so] unjust as to forget †your work and the love7 which †you showed for his name, since †you served the saints and [still] are serving [them]. •11But we desire each [one] of †you to keep showing the same diligence toward [realizing] the full assurance of hope until the end, •12so that †you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
•13For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself, •14saying, "Surely I will bless you greatly and multiply you many times."8 •15And thus [Abraham], having been patient, obtained the promise. •16For men swear by a greater [than themselves], and in every dispute among them an oath [is] final for confirmation. •17Because of this, when God intended to show even more [clearly] to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his intention, he interposed with an oath, •18so that through two unchangeable things, in which [it is] impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge may have strong encouragement to hold to9 the hope set before [us]. •19We have this as an anchor of the soul, both secure and firm and that enters into the inner [sanctuary] behind the curtain, •20where Jesus has entered [as] a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
7•1For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him; •2and to him Abraham apportioned a
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tenth [part] of everything. [He is] first, by translation [of his name], king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, that is king of peace. •3[He is] without father, without mother, without genealogy, and has neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he remains a priest continually.1
•4Now observe how great this one [is] to whom even2 Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth3 of the spoils. •5And those from among the sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment to take tithes from the people in accordance with the law, that is, from their brothers, though [these also] have come from the body4 of Abraham. •6But [this] one whose genealogy is not traced from them has taken tithes from Abraham and blessed the one who has the promises. •7Now [it is] without any dispute [that] the lesser is blessed by the better. •8And here, men who will die receive tithes; but there, [it is] testified [of the one who received them] that he lives. •9And one might even say that Levi also, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, •10for he was still in the body4 of his father when Melchizedek met him.
•11Therefore if perfection had been [attainable] through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need [would there have been] for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be reckoned in the order of Aaron? •12For when there is a change in the priesthood, there takes place of necessity a change of [the] law also. •13For the one of whom these things are said belonged to another tribe, from which no one has [ever] officiated at the altar. •14For [it is] evident that our Lord has risen out of Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses spoke nothing about priests. •15And [this] is yet even more evident if there arises in the likeness of Melchizedek another priest, •16who has become [a priest], not on the basis of a law with a commandment about fleshly [descent] but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. •17For it is testified [of him],
"You [are] a priest forever,Hebrews 7
•18For on the one hand, there is an annulment of a former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness •19(for the law made nothing perfect); on the other hand, a better hope [is] introducted, through which we come near to God.•20And inasmuch as [it was] not without an oath •21(for indeed they have become priests without an oath, but he [became one] with an oath, through the One who said to him,
"The Lord has sworn•23And the [former] priests were many [in number], because they were prevented by death from continuing [in office]; •24but because he continues forever, he has a permanent priesthood. •25Therefore he is able also to save absolutely7 those who come to God through him, since he always lives to be interceding for them.
•26For it was fitting for us [to have] such a high priest; devout, without malice, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. •27He has no necessity, like [those] high priests, to keep offering up sacrifices every day, first for [his] own sins [and] then for those of the people; for he did this once for all when he offered up himself. •28For the law appoints men [as] high priests who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which [came] after the law, [appoints] a Son who has been made perfect forever.
8•1Now the significant point in the things we are saying [is this]: we have such a high priest, who sat down at the right [hand] of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, •2a minister of the Holy Place and the true tabernacle1 which the Lord set up, not man. •3For every high priest is appointed in order to be offering both gifts and sacrifices; therefore [it is] necessary for this [priest] also to have something to offer. •4Now then, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest [at all], since there are those2 who offer the gifts according to the law. •5They serve a copy and shadow
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of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned when he was about to erect the tabernacle;1 for [God] says, "See [that] you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain."2 •6But now, [Christ] has obtained a ministry which is more excellent by as much as he is also mediator of a better covenant, which is enacted on better promises.
•7For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, no place would have been sought for the second. •8For he finds fault with them and says:3
"Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord,Hebrews 9
9•1Now then, even1 the first [covenant] had righteous requirements for service and the Holy Place in [this] world. •2For a tabernacle2 was constructed, the first [room], in which [were] the lampstand and the table and the presentation bread; it is called the Holy Place. •3And behind the second curtain [was] a tabernacle2 which was called the Holy of Holies, •4having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which [were] a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; •5and above it [were] the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercyseat.3 About these things we cannot now speak in detail.
•6Now these things having been constructed like this, the priests go at all times into the first tabernacle,2 performing the services; •7but into the second the high priest alone [goes], [and that only] once a year, [and] not without [taking] blood which he offers for himself and [for] the [sins of] ignorance of the people. •8The Holy Spirit indicates this, that the way into the Holy Place is not yet apparent while the first tabernacle2 is still standing •9(which [is] a symbol4 for the present time). In accordance with this, both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot perfect the one serving with respect to his conscience, •10[but deal] only with foods and drinks and different immersings, righteous requirements for the flesh imposed until the time of reformation.
•11But when Christ came [as] a high priest of the good things that have happened,5 [then] through the greater and more perfect tabernacle2 (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) •12he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking6 not the blood of he-goats and calves but taking6 [his] own blood, [thus] obtaining an eternal redemption. •13For if the blood of he-goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on defiled [persons] sanctify for the [ritual] cleanness of the flesh, •14how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit7 offered
_______________Hebrews 9
himself without blemish to God, cleanse our8 conscience from dead works in order to serve the living God.
•15And because of this he is the mediator of a new covenant,9 that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, since a death has taken place for the redemption from the transgressions under the first covenant.7 •16For where a will9 [takes effect], [there is] a necessity for the death of the one who made it to be established. •17For a will9 [becomes] valid [only] at death, since it is never10 in force while the one who made it is [still] living. •18Therefore even the first [covenant] was not dedicated without blood. •19For when every commandment of the law had been spoken by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and he-goats,11 with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, •20saying, "This [is] the blood of the covenant which God commanded †you."12 •21And likewise he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle2 and all the vessels of the ministry. •22Indeed, according to the law almost everything is cleansed by means of blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [of sins].
•23Therefore [there was] a necessity for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these [rites], but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. •24For Christ has entered, not into the Holy Place made with hands, an antitype of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. •25Nor [was it] so that he might keep offering himself many times, just as the high priest enters into the Holy Place every year with blood belonging to another; •26since [then] it would have been necessary for him to suffer many times from the foundation of the world. But now, he has appeared once for all at the completion of the ages to put away sin through the sacrifice of himself. •27And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that [comes] judgment, •28so also Christ, having been offered once in order to bear
_______________Hebrews 9
the sins of many, will appear a second time, without [any relation to] sin, but for the salvation of those who are waiting for him.
10•1For since the law has [only] a shadow of the future good things [and] not the image itself of1 these things, it2 can never, by the same sacrifices which they continually3 offer every year, make perfect those who come to [God]. •2Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered? [This is] because if those who serve had once been cleansed, they would no longer have [any] consciousness of sin. •3But in these [sacrifices there is] a reminder of sins every year. •4For [it is] impossible for the blood of bulls and he-goats to take away sins.
•5Therefore, when [Christ] came into the world, he said,
"Sacrifice and offering you did not wish for,•11And every priest7 stands every day ministering and offering the same sacrifices many times, which can never take away sins. •12But when this [priest] had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time,3 he sat down at the right [hand] of God, •13from then on to wait until his enemies should be put [as] a footstool for his feet. •14For by one offering he has perfected for all time3 those who are being sanctified.
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•15And the Holy Spirit also testifies [the same thing] to us; for after having said,
•16"This [is] the covenant that I will issue to them•19Therefore, brothers, since we have boldness to enter the Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, •20by the new and living way which he dedicated for us through the curtain, that is, [through] his flesh, •21and [since we have] a great priest over the house of God, •22let us keep coming to [God] with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with [our] hearts sprinkled [to purify us] from an evil conscience and [our] body bathed in clean water. •23Let us keep holding fast the confession of [our] hope without wavering, for the One who promised [is] faithful; •24and let us keep considering how to stir up one another to love and good works, •25not forsaking our gathering [at church], as [is] the custom of some, but encouraging [one another], and so much the more as †you see the Day coming near.
•26For if we deliberately keep sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, •27but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fiery zeal which will consume the adversaries. •28A man who has broken the law of Moses dies without compassion on [evidence from] two or three witnesses. •29Of how much worse punishment do †you think the one will be considered worthy who has trodden underfoot the Son of God, and considered the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified [to be] defiled, and insulted the Spirit of grace? •30For we know the One who has said, "Vengeance [is] mine, I will repay."10 And again, "The Lord will judge his people."11 •31[It is] a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
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•32But keep remembering the former days in which, after †you were enlightened, †you endured a great conflict with sufferings, •33sometimes being made a specticle both by reproaches and afflictions, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. •34For indeed †you showed sympathy to the prisoners,12 and †you accepted the plundering of †your belongings with joy, since †you know that †you †yourselves have13 better and abiding belongings.14 •35Therefore do not throw away †your boldness, which has a great reward. •36For †you have need of endurance, so that when †you have done the will of God †you may get what is promised.
•37"For yet a very little while,11•1Now faith is confident assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. •2For by it the men of old1 were well testified of.
•3By faith we understand that the universe2 has been prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which appear.
•4By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which it was testified that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts;3 and although he died, through faith4 he is still speaking. •5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; "and he was not found, because God had taken him up."5 For before he was taken up he had been testified to as having "pleased God."5 •6And without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]. For the one who
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comes to God has to believe that he is and [that] he is a rewarder of those who seek him. •7By faith Noah, being warned [by God] about things that were not yet seen, was moved with devout fear and constructed an ark for the saving of his household; through this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness [which comes] by faith.
•8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was going to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. •9By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as [in a land] belonging to others, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. •10For he was waiting for the city which has the foundations, whose architect and maker [is] God. •11By faith even barren6 Sarah herself received power to conceive seed,7 even [when she was] beyond [that] season of age, since she considered faithful the One who had promised. •12Therefore also from one [man], and him as good as dead, were born [descendants as many] in multitude as the stars of heaven and [as] innumerable as the sand by the seashore.
•13These all died in faith, not having gotten the things that were promised, but having seen and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. •14For those who say such things make it apparent that they are seeking a homeland. •15And if they had been remembering that [country] from which they came out, they would have had opportunity to return. •16But now, they aspire to a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
•17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and [thus] the one who had received the promises started to offer up his only unique [son], •18with reference to whom is was said, "In Isaac they will be called your offspring."8 •19He took into account that God [was] able to raise [people] even from the dead; therefore, symbolically speaking,9 he also got him back. •20By faith also Issac blessed Jacob and Esau about things in the future. •21By faith Jacob, when dying,
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blessed each of the sons of Joseph, "and bowed in worship over the top of his staff."10 •22By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave a command concerning [the burial] of his bones.
•23By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid for three months by his parents, because they saw [that] the child [was] beautiful; and they were not afraid of the king's order.11 •24By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, •25perferring rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin. •26He considered reproach for the Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. •27By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king; for he persevered as seeing the One who is invisible. •28By faith he kept the Passover and the pouring of the blood, so that the Destroyer of the first-born might not touch them.
•29By faith [the people] passed through the Red Sea as though through dry land; but when the Egyptians tried [it], they were swallowed up. •30By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. •31By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, since she had received the spies with peace.
•32And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to relate about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and Samuel and the prophets—•33who through faith conquered kingdoms, worked righeousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, •34quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, received power from weakness, became strong in war, put foreign armies to flight. •35Women received their dead by resurrection. But others were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection. •36[Still] others received a testing of mockings and whippings, and still more, bonds and jail. •37They were stoned, they were sawn in two,12 they died from murder by the sword; they went about in sheepskins and in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated—•38of whom the world was not worthy—wandering over wildernesses and mountains, and [in] caves and holes of the earth.
•39And all these, though well testified of through [their] faith, did not get what was promised, •40since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
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12•1Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely,1 and let us keep running with endurance the race that is set before us, •2looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of [our] faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right [hand] of the throne of God. •3For consider the One who endured such opposition by sinners against himself,2 so that †you may not become fatigued, fainting in †your souls. •4†You have not yet resisted to the point of [shedding †your] blood in [†your] struggle against sin.
•5And have †you forgotten the exhortation which addresses †you as sons?—
"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,•12Therefore stiffen [†your] drooping hands and weak knees, •13and make straight paths for †your feet, so that what is crippled may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
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•14Keep pursuing peace with all [people], and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. •15See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" grows up5 and causes trouble, and through it the many be polluted; •16that no one [be] a sexually immoral or a profane person like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. •17For †you know that even afterward when he wished to inherit the blessing he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it with tears.
•18For †you have not come to what6 may be felt of, and a burning fire, and blackness, and gloom, and a tempest, •19and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice [speaking] words. Those who heard [it] begged7 that [voice] to speak no further word to them. •20For they could not bear the order that was given, "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned."8 •21Indeed, so fearful was the appearance [that] Moses said, "I am very much afraid and trembling."9 •22But †you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to ten thousands of angels in festal gathering, •23and to the church10 of the first-born who have been registered in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just [men] made perfect, •24and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks better than Abel.
•25Look out that †you do not refuse the One who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused the One who warned [them] on earth, much less [shall] we [escape] if we turn away from the One [who warns] from heaven. •26His voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, saying, "Yet once more I will cause not only the earth to quake but also the heaven."11 •27Now the [phrase], "Yet once more," indicates the removal of the things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, so that the things that are not shaken may remain. •28Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have gratitude, through which we may keep
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serving God in a way pleasing [to him], with devotion and awe; •29for indeed our God [is] a consuming fire.
13•1Brotherly love must continue. •2Do not forget [to show] hospitality [to strangers], for through this some have entertained angels unaware [of it]. •3Keep remembering those who are prisoners, as [though] bound with [them]; [and] those who are ill-treated, as †you †yourselves also are in the body. •4Marriage [must be] held in honor among all, and the marriage bed [be] undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. •5[†Your] way of life [must be] free from the love of money, [and be] content with what †you have; for he has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you."1 •6So we take courage and say,
"The Lord [is] my helper,•7Keep remembering †your leaders, those who spoke to †you the word of God; observe the outcome of their conduct, and keep imitating [their] faith. •8Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday and today and forever. •9Quit being carried away by various and strange teachings; for [it is] good for the heart to be made firm by grace, not by foods, by which those who walk after them were not benefited. •10We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle3 have no right to eat. •11For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the Holy Place by the high priest [as a sacrifice] for sin are burned outside the camp. •12That is why Jesus also, so that he might sanctify the people through [his] own blood, suffered outside the gate. •13Therefore let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. •14For here we have no city that will remain, but we seek the future one. •15Through him then4 let us always keep offering up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. •16Do not forget to do good and to share, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
•17Keep obeying †your leaders and deferring [to them]; for they keep on the alert on behalf of †your souls, as [men] who will give account [for them]. [Obey them] so that they may do this with joy, and not with groaning, for that [would be] of no advantage to †you.
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•18Keep praying for us, for we are confident that we have a good conscience, wishing to conduct [ourselves] well in all things. •19And I appeal [to †you] even more to do this so that I may be restored to †you the sooner.
•20Now may the God of peace who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, •21equip †you with everything good5 in order to do his will, working in us6 that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom [be] the glory forever and ever.7 Amen.
•22But I appeal to †you, brothers, put up with [this] word of exhortation, for indeed I have written to †you [only] in a few [words]. •23†You must know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see †you if he comes soon.
•24Greet all †your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy greet †you. •25Grace [be] with all of †you.8
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