Therefore, having so vast a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, and throwing off everything that hinders us and especially the sin that so easily entangles us, let us keep running with endurance the race set before us,

Now faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exists.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow, as it judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart.

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.

God, having spoken in former times in fragmentary and varied fashion to our forefathers by the prophets,

Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for God has said, "I will never leave you or abandon you."

Indeed, just as people are destined to die once and after that to be judged,

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another even more as you see the day of the Lord coming nearer.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. Instead, we have one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet he never sinned.

He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact likeness of his being, and he holds everything together by his powerful word. After he had provided a cleansing from sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Highest Majesty

Jesus, the Messiah, is the same yesterday and today and forever!

And let us continue to consider how to motivate one another to love and good deeds,

fixing our attention on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of the faith, who, in view of the joy set before him, endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us live our lives consistent with our confession of faith.

Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

Abraham was as good as dead, yet from this one man came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

Therefore, because he always lives to intercede for them, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him.

Therefore, since the children have flesh and blood, he himself also shared the same things, so that by his death he might destroy the one who has the power of death (that is, the Devil)

Let marriage be kept honorable in every way, and the marriage bed undefiled. For God will judge those who commit sexual sins, especially those who commit adultery.

and again in this passage, "They will never enter my rest."

Therefore, my brothers, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus,

So let us keep on coming boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Continue to follow and be submissive to your leaders, since they are watching over your souls as those who will have to give a word of explanation. By doing this, you will be letting them carry out their duties joyfully, and not with grief, for that would be harmful for you.

In fact, under the Law almost everything is cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of the blood there is no forgiveness.

Let brotherly love continue.

Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teachings about the Messiah, let us continue to be carried along to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead actions, faith toward God,

has in these last days spoken to us by a Son whom he appointed to be the heir of everything and through whom he also made the universe.

Now when God put everything under him, he left nothing outside his control. However, at the present time we do not yet see everything put under him. But we do see someone who was made a little lower than the angels. He is Jesus, who is crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might experience death for everyone.

For it is impossible to keep on restoring to repentance time and again people who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have become partners with the Holy Spirit,

By faith we understand that time was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are invisible.

For if we choose to go on sinning after we have learned the full truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead actions so that we may serve the living God!

But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is a righteous scepter.

For this reason we must pay closer attention to the things we have heard, or we may drift away,

Let us continue to hold firmly to the hope that we confess without wavering, for the one who made the promise is faithful.

They will come to an end, but you will remain forever. They will all wear out like clothes.

Therefore, since it is still true that some will enter it, and since those who once heard the good news failed to enter it because of their disobedience,

and straighten the paths of your life, so that your lameness may not become worse, but instead may be healed.

As he also says in another place, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

Therefore, through him let us always bring God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess his name.

For the Law, being only a reflection of the blessings to come and not their substance, can never make perfect those who come near by the same sacrifices repeatedly offered year after year.

For when the ground soaks up rain that often falls on it and continues producing vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated, it receives a blessing from God.

You have forgotten the encouragement that is addressed to you as sons: "My son, do not think lightly of the Lord's discipline or give up when you are corrected by him.

But when the Messiah came as a high priest of the good things that have come, he went through the greater and more perfect tent that was not made by human hands and that is not a part of this creation.

how will we escape if we neglect a salvation as great as this? It was first proclaimed by the Lord himself, and then it was confirmed to us by those who heard him,

All these people died having faith. They did not receive the things that were promised, yet they saw them in the distant future and welcomed them, acknowledging that they were strangers and foreigners on earth.

Therefore, holy brothers, partners in a heavenly calling, keep your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.

In fact, though by now you should be teachers, you still need someone to teach you the basic truths of God's word. You have become people who need milk instead of solid food.

Stop neglecting to show hospitality to strangers, for by showing hospitality some have had angels as their guests without being aware of it.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Now may the God of peace, who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep,

Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to tens of thousands of angels joyfully gathered together,

so the Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And he will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly wait for him.

You have not come to something that can be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, to gloom,

Mortal men collect tithes, but we are informed by Scripture that Melchizedek keeps on living.

Remember your leaders, those who have spoken God's word to you. Think about the impact of their lives, and imitate their faith.

By God's will we have been sanctified once and for all through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus, the Messiah.

For people who say such things make it clear that they are looking for a country of their own.

All of them are spirits on a divine mission, sent to serve those who are about to inherit salvation, aren't they?

For the Messiah did not go into a sanctuary made by human hands that is merely a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, to appear now in God's presence on our behalf.

It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering as part of his plan to glorify many children,

Instead, continue to encourage one another every day, as long as it is called "Today," so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin,

And again, when he brings his firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."

As a mortal man, he offered up prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his devotion to God.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

thereby becoming like his brothers in every way, so that he could be a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God and could atone for the people's sins.

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors at the time when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. Because they did not remain loyal to my covenant, I ignored them, declares the Lord.

You will roll them up like a robe, and they will be changed like clothes. But you remain the same, and your life will never end."

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and worship God in reverence and fear in a way that pleases him.

Son though he was, he learned obedience through his sufferings

See to it, my brothers, that no evil, unbelieving heart is found in any of you, as shown by your turning away from the living God.

This is why the Messiah is the mediator of a new covenant; so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance promised them, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the offenses committed under the first covenant.

let us continue to come near with sincere hearts in the full assurance that faith provides, because our hearts have been sprinkled clean from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he punishes every son he accepts."

That hope, firm and secure like an anchor for our souls, reaches behind the curtain

However, Jesus has now obtained a more superior ministry, since the covenant he mediates is founded on better promises.

Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he went into the Most Holy Place once for all and secured our eternal redemption.

Therefore, as long as the promise of entering his rest remains valid, let us be afraid! Otherwise, some of you will fail to reach it,

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice,

There remains, therefore, a Sabbath rest for the people of God to keep,

Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we do have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven

However, if it continues to produce thorns and thistles, it is worthless and in danger of being cursed, and in the end will be burned.

If they had been thinking about what they had left behind, they would have had an opportunity to go back.

We need such a high priest one who is holy, innocent, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac he who had received the promises was about to offer his unique son in sacrifice,

Moses was faithful in all God's household as a servant who was to testify to what would be said later,

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, reverently prepared an ark to save his family, and by faith he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith.

to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, to a judge who is the God of all, to the spirits of righteous people who have been made perfect,

Now this man Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, met Abraham and blessed him when he was returning from defeating the kings.

But solid food is for mature people, whose minds are trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.

So don't lose your confidence, since it holds a great reward for you.

For this reason, the Scriptures say, when the Messiah was about to come into the world: "You did not want sacrifices and offerings, but you prepared a body for me.

he again fixes a definite day "Today" - saying long afterward through David, as already quoted, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the right hand of God."

No creature can hide from him, but everyone is exposed and helpless before the eyes of the one to whom we must give a word of explanation.

so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us.

and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up and causes you trouble, or many of you will become defiled.

By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did, and by faith he was declared to be righteous, since God himself accepted his offerings. And by faith he continues to speak, even though he is dead.

One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham,

Continue to remember those in prison as if you were in prison with them, as well as those who are mistreated, since they also are only mortal.

By faith Enoch was taken away without experiencing death. He could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he won approval as one who pleased God.

Then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the creation of the world. But now, at the end of the ages, he has appeared once for all to remove sin by his sacrifice.

And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, for those who have been trained by it, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.

We have much to say about this, but it is difficult to explain because you have become too lazy to understand.

For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken later about another day.

but my righteous one will live by faith, and if he turns back, my soul will take no pleasure in him."

because he was waiting for the city with permanent foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case, things that point to salvation.

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.

because Levi was still inside his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Since that time, he has been waiting for his enemies to be made a footstool for his feet.

having been designated by God to be a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Abraham was certain that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did get Isaac back in this way.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons "and worshipped while leaning on the top of his staff."

about whom it had been said, "It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you."

equip you with everything good to do his will, accomplishing in us what pleases him through Jesus, the Messiah. To him be glory forever and ever! Amen.

When a change in the priesthood takes place, there must also be a change in the Law.

Never again will everyone teach his neighbor or his brother by saying, "Know the Lord,' because all of them will know me, from the least important to the most important.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

For the person we are talking about belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar.

There your ancestors tested me,

For you know that afterwards, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected because he could not find any opportunity to repent, even though he begged to repent with tears.

and put everything under his feet."

because the one who enters God's rest has himself rested from his own actions, just as God did from his.

Now where there is forgiveness of these sins, there is no longer any offering for sin.

and I will never again remember their sins and their lawless deeds."

For where there is a will, the death of the one who made it must be established.

The Holy Spirit also assures us of this, for he said:

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelis and gave them instructions about burying his bones.

But we want each of you to continue to be diligent to the very end, in order to give full assurance to your hope.

No one should be immoral or godless like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.

He thought that being insulted for the sake of the Messiah was of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh),

do not harden your hearts as they did when they provoked me during the time of testing in the wilderness.

By faith he left Egypt, without being afraid of the king's anger, and he persevered because he saw the one who is invisible.

You made him a little lower than the angels, yet you crowned him with glory and honor

For a will is in force only when somebody has died, since it never takes effect as long as the one who made it is alive.

By faith he established the Passover and the sprinkling of blood to keep the destroyer of the firstborn from touching the people.

I especially ask you to do this so that I may be brought back to you sooner.

even though they had seen my actions for 40 years. That is why I was indignant with that generation and said, "They are always going astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.'

saying, "This is the blood of the covenant that God ordained for you."

to a trumpet's blast, or to a voice that made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them.

I urge you, brothers, to listen patiently to my encouraging message, for I have written you a short letter.

Furthermore, it is obvious that our Lord was a descendant of Judah, and Moses said nothing about priests coming from that tribe.

For after every commandment in the Law had been spoken to all the people by Moses, he took the blood of calves and goats, together with some water, scarlet wool, and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people,

because he preferred being mistreated with God's people to enjoying the pleasures of sin for a short time.

So in my anger I swore a solemn oath that they would never enter my rest."

For it is clear that he did not come to help angels. No, he came to help Abraham's descendants,

This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.

And so he obtained what he had been promised, because he patiently waited for it.

and might free those who were slaves all their lives because they were terrified by death.

He said, "I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants."

In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and everything used in worship.

but Jesus became a priest with an oath when God told him, "The Lord has taken an oath and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever."

Indeed, the sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."

because if the message spoken by angels was reliable, and every violation and act of disobedience received its just punishment,

You should know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he comes soon, he will be with me when I see you.

May grace be with all of you!

And again, "I will trust him." And again, "I am here with the children God has given me."

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.

This point is even more obvious in that another priest who is like Melchizedek has appeared

Nor did he go into heaven to sacrifice himself again and again, the way the high priest goes into the Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.

and since we have a great high priest over the household of God,

Indeed, because it was weak and ineffective, the former commandment has been annulled,

For a short time they disciplined us as they thought best, but God does it for our good, so that we may share in his holiness.

even though his actions had been finished since the creation of the world. Somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day as follows: "On the seventh day God rested from all his actions,"

where Jesus, our forerunner, has gone on our behalf, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

In the same way, when God wanted to make the unchangeable character of his purpose perfectly clear to the heirs of his promise, he guaranteed it with an oath,

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven."

For people swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all argument.

Now who heard him and provoked him? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?

As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as they did when they provoked me."

And to whom did he swear that they would never enter his rest? It was to those who disobeyed him, was it not?

Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who are from Italy greet you.

For it is declared about him, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

For they could not endure the command that was given: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death."

Thus it was necessary for these earthly copies of the things in heaven to be cleansed by these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves are made clean with better sacrifices than these.

By faith our ancestors won approval.

By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who also inherited the same promise,

since the Law made nothing perfect, and a better hope is presented, by which we approach God.

who was appointed to be a priest, not on the basis of a genealogical registry, but rather on the power of an indestructible life.

And with whom was he angry for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned and whose bodies fell dead in the wilderness?

So we see that they were unable to enter because of their unbelief.

and who have fallen away, as long as they continue to crucify the Son of God to their own detriment by exposing him to public ridicule.

instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

In this way, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was in all God's household,

He can deal gently with people who are ignorant and easily deceived, since he himself is subject to weakness.

Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything. In the first place, his name means "king of righteousness," and then he is also king of Salem, that is, "king of peace."

because he is worthy of greater glory than Moses in the same way that the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.

For a tent was set up, and in the first part were the lamp stand, the table, and the bread of the Presence. This was called the Holy Place.

No one takes this honor upon himself but he is called to it by God, just as Aaron was.

But only the high priest went into the second part, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins committed by the people in ignorance.

This illustration for today indicates that the gifts and sacrifices being offered could not clear the conscience of a worshiper,

Anyone who violates the Law of Moses dies without mercy "on the testimony of two or three witnesses."

which had the gold altar for incense and the Ark of the Covenant completely covered with gold. In it were the gold jar holding the manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the Tablets of the Covenant.

Now none of this happened without an oath. Others became priests without any oath,

Just look at how great this man was! Even Abraham the patriarch himself gave him a tenth of what he had captured!

Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the place of atonement. (We cannot discuss these things in detail now.)

and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tent set up by the Lord and not by any human.

When everything had been arranged like this, the priests always went into the first part of the tent to perform their duties.

but only a terrifying prospect of judgment and a raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

who have tasted the goodness of God's word and the powers of the coming age,

The expression "once more" signifies the removal of what can be shaken, that is, what he has made, so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

The descendants of Levi who accept the priesthood have a commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their own brothers, even though they are also descendants of Abraham.

And this we will do, if God permits.

Behind the second curtain was the part of the tent called the Most Holy Place,

Now if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, because other men offer the gifts prescribed by the Law.

For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, this high priest had to offer something, too.

It is beyond dispute that the less important person is blessed by the more important person.

For that reason he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for those of the people.

For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son. Today I have become your Father"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"?

Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary.

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

For the Law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promised oath, which came after the Law, results in a Son who is eternally perfect.

And, "In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

For God is not so unjust as to forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have ministered to the saints and continue to minister to them.

For he did not put the coming world we are talking about under the control of angels.

That is why Jesus, in order to sanctify the people by his own blood, also suffered outside the city gate.

For every high priest selected from among men is appointed to officiate on their behalf in matters relating to God, that is, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh's daughter,

But this man, whose descent is not traced from them, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the man who had received the promises.

For you need endurance, so that after you have done God's will you can receive what he has promised.

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

By faith they went through the Red Sea as if it were dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do this, they were drowned.

In speaking of a "new" covenant, he has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

because both the one who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified all have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are unclean purifies them physically,

Otherwise, would they not have stopped offering them, because the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer be aware of any sins?

For "our God is an all-consuming fire."

Then I said, "See, I have come to do your will, O God' In the volume of the scroll this is written about me."

Hence we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?"

All these people won approval for their faith but they did not receive what was promised,

but God found something wrong with his people when he said, "Look! The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

What you endure disciplines you: God is treating you as sons. Is there a son whom his father does not discipline?

Stop being carried away by all kinds of unusual teachings, for it is good that the heart be strengthened by grace, not by food laws that have never helped those who follow them.

Then he says, "See, I have come to do your will." He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

For when God made his promise to Abraham, he swore an oath by himself, since he had no one greater to swear by.

How much more severe a punishment do you think that person deserves who tramples on God's Son, treats as common the blood of the covenant by which it was sanctified, and insults the Spirit of grace?

Think about the one who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you may not become tired and give up.

We have an altar, and those who serve in the tent have no right to eat at it.

Instead, someone has declared somewhere, "What is man that you should remember him, or the son of man that you should care for him?

but the Messiah was faithful as the Son in charge of God's household, and we are his household if we hold on to our courage and the hope in which we rejoice.

and became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is better than theirs.

Day after day every priest stands and repeatedly offers the same sacrifices that can never take away sins.

They were stoned to death, sawed in half, and killed with swords. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins. They were needy, oppressed, and mistreated.

Do not neglect to do good and to be generous, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

He has no father, mother, or genealogy, no birth date recorded for him, nor a date of death. Like the Son of God, he continues to be a priest forever.

for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Therefore go to him outside the camp and endure the insults he endured.

Then, instead of being lazy, you will imitate those who are inheriting the promises through faith and patience.

They serve in a sanctuary that is a copy, a shadow of the heavenly one. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tent: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain."

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

Now if you are without any discipline, in which all sons share, then you are illegitimate and not God's sons.

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts and will write them on their minds,

By faith Sarah, even though she was old and barren, received the strength to conceive, because she was convinced that the one who had made the promise was faithful.

In this passage he says, "You never wanted or took delight in sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings, and sin offerings," which are offered according to the Law.

For I will be merciful regarding their wrong deeds, and I will never again remember their sins."

By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after he was born, because they saw that he was a beautiful child and were not afraid of the king's order.

The Holy Spirit was indicating by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first part of the tent was still standing.

Instead, through those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year,

Furthermore, we had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them for it. We should submit even more to the Father of our spirits and live, shouldn't we?

Still others endured taunts and floggings, and even chains and imprisonment.

Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, received promises, shut the mouths of lions,

By faith Rahab the prostitute did not die with those who were disobedient, because she had welcomed the spies with a greeting of peace.

while God added his testimony through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

But you must continue to remember those earlier days, how after you were enlightened you endured a hard and painful struggle.

Now about the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire."

because we have had the good news told to us as well as to them. But the message they heard did not help them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened to it.

But to which of the angels did he ever say, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"?

Therefore, strengthen your tired arms and your weak knees,

Instead, they were longing for a better country, that is, a heavenly one. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them.

Women received their dead raised back to life. Other people were brutally tortured, but refused to be ransomed, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

because we are the Messiah's partners only if we hold on to our original confidence to the end.

In burnt offerings and sin offerings you never took delight.

For we know the one who said, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will pay them back," and again, "The Lord will judge his people."

In the same way, the Messiah did not take upon himself the glory of being a high priest. No, it was God who said to him, "You are my Son. Today I have become your Father."

since they deal only with food, drink, and various washings, which are required for the body until the time when things would be set right.

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. That is why God, your God, anointed you rather than your companions with the oil of gladness."

If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one,

He has no need to offer sacrifices every day like high priests do, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he sacrificed himself.

See to it that you do not ignore the one who is speaking. For if the hearers did not escape when they ignored the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we turn away from the one who is from heaven!

For "in a very little while the one who is coming will return he will not delay;

We who have believed are entering that rest, just as he has said, "So in my anger I swore a solemn oath that they would never enter my rest,"

when he says, "I will announce your name to my brothers. I will praise you within the congregation."

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fail by following their example of disobedience.

Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood for on this basis the people received the Law what further need would there be to speak of appointing another kind of priest according to the order of Melchizedek, not one according to the order of Aaron?

After all, every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

For everyone who lives on milk is still a baby and does not yet know the difference between right and wrong.

For you sympathized with the prisoners and cheerfully submitted to the violent seizure of your property, because you know that you have a better and more permanent possession.

But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.

For here we have no permanent city but are looking for the one that is coming.

There have been many priests, since each one of them had to stop serving in office when he died.

to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better message than Abel's.

Now, we do not belong to those who turn back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

For the bodies of animals, whose blood is taken into the sanctuary by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp.

put out raging fires, escaped death by the sword, found strength in weakness, became powerful in battle, and routed foreign armies.

since God had planned something better for us, so that they would not be perfected without us.

The world wasn't worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and from caves to holes in the ground.

At times you were made a public spectacle by means of insults and persecutions, while at other times you associated with people who were treated this way.