Since then we have in Jesus, the Son of God, a great high priest who has gone up into heaven, let us keep firm hold of our religion.

for we have not a chief priest unable to sympathise with our infirmities, but one tempted in all things in like manner -- apart from sin;

For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:

He is able to have feeling for those who have no knowledge and for those who are wandering from the true way, because he himself is feeble;

Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

though he were Son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered;

since He had received from God the title of a High Priest with the rank of Melchizedek.

About whom, much subject matter from us is also difficult to explain, since ye have become sluggish in hearing.

For although from the length of your Christian experience you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very elements of Christian truth, and you have come to need milk instead of solid food.

Such persons are mere babes. But solid food is for adults--that is, for those who through constant practice have their spiritual faculties carefully trained to distinguish good from evil.

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

of teaching about washings (ritual purifications), the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. [These are all important matters in which you should have been proficient long ago.]

And we will do so [i.e., go on to more advanced teaching] if God allows us to. For it is impossible to get people who have [completely] fallen away [from God] to repent again, because they [continue to] crucify for themselves God's Son all over again, and hold Him up to contempt.

As for those who at one time saw the light, tasting the good things from heaven, and having their part in the Holy Spirit,

and then have fallen away—it is impossible to bring them back again to repentance, since they again nail the Son of God on the cross [for as far as they are concerned, they are treating the death of Christ as if they were not saved by it], and are holding Him up again to public disgrace.

For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:

But, my dearly loved ones, even though we talk this way, we are persuaded that you will do better than that [i.e., you will not fall away from God], and will end up being saved.

For God is true, and will not put away from him the memory of your work and of your love for his name, in the help which you gave and still give to the saints.

So that we, who have gone in flight from danger to the hope which has been put before us, may have a strong comfort in two unchanging things, in which it is not possible for God to be false;

which we have as anchor of the soul, both secure and firm, and entering into that within the veil,

For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;

to whom Abraham divided the tenth from all first, being interpreted, King of righteousness, and then King of Salem, which is, King of peace;

But see how great this man [was], to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth from the spoils!

And they indeed from among the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have commandment to take tithes from the people according to the law, that is from their brethren, though these are come out of the loins of Abraham:

But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.

and apart from all controversy, the less by the better is blessed --

And in the one case, men here [on earth, that is, the Levites] who die, collect a tenth [from the rest of the Israelites], but there [i.e., in the case of Melchizedek] it is collected by someone about whom it is declared [by Scripture] that he continues to live.

And, so to speak, Levi, who collected a tenth [from the Israelites], paid a tenth through Abraham,

For he of whom these things are said belongeth to another tribe, from which no man hath given attendance at the altar.

For it is evident that our Lord descended from [the tribe of] Judah, and Moses mentioned nothing about priests in connection with that tribe.

This appears still more clear from another priest's arising like Melchisedec,

who is appointed not on the basis of a physical qualification but on the basis of a power flowing from a life that cannot end.

And inasmuch as it is not apart from oath, (for those indeed apart from oath are become priests,

for these men hold office without any oath having been taken, but He holds it attested by an oath from Him who said to Him, "The Lord has sworn and will not recall His words, Thou art a Priest for ever" --

And they indeed have been made priests many in number, because that by death they are hindered from continuing:

For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

For the law of Moses appoints [morally] weak men to be head priests, but the message of [God's] oath, which came after that law [Note: The quotation from Psa. 110:4 (See verse 21) was written after the law of Moses was given] appointed the Son, who was made perfect [in every way] forever.

Being servants of that which is a copy and an image of the things in heaven, as Moses, when he was about to make the Tent, had special orders from God: for, See, he said, that you make everything like the design which you saw in the mountain.

For if that first Covenant had been free from imperfection, there would have been no attempt to introduce another.

Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
On the day when I took them by the hand
To lead them out of the land of Egypt;
For they did not abide in My covenant,
And so I withdrew My favor and disregarded them, says the Lord.

And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

By using the words, "a new Covenant," He has made the first one obsolete; but whatever is decaying and showing signs of old age is not far from disappearing altogether.

and into the second, once in the year, only the chief priest, not apart from blood, which he doth offer for himself and the errors of the people,

this signifying from the Holy Spirit, the way into the holy things is not yet to be made known while the first tabernacle still remains.

And this is a figure--for the time now present--answering to which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, unable though they are to give complete freedom from sin to him who ministers.

For if the blood of goats and oxen, and the dust from the burning of a young cow, being put on the unclean, make the flesh clean:

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

For this reason He is the Mediator and Negotiator of a new covenant [that is, an entirely new agreement uniting God and man], so that those who have been called [by God] may receive [the fulfillment of] the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has taken place [as the payment] which redeems them from the sins committed under the obsolete first covenant.

For, a covenant over dead persons, is firm, - since it is not then of force when he is living that hath covenanted.

whence not even the first apart from blood hath been initiated,

And according to the law, I may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.

By such means, therefore, these things that were only copied from the originals in heaven had to be purified, but the heavenly originals themselves required far better sacrifices than these.

for Christ is not entred into a sanctuary made by human art, such as is only representative of the true one, but into heaven itself, to appear from henceforth in the presence of God on our behalf:

since he had then been obliged often to suffer from the foundation of the world. But now once in the consummation of the ages he has been manifested for the putting away of sin by his sacrifice.

so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation.

For the law, possessing a shadow of the good [things] that are about to come, not the form of things itself, [is] never able {year by year} by means of the same sacrifices which they offer without interruption to make perfect those who draw near.

Otherwise, would not the offering of these sacrifices have been abandoned, as the worshipers, having been once purified, would have had their consciences clear from sins?

It is through that divine will that we have been set free from sin, through the offering of Jesus Christ as our sacrifice once for all.

Every priest stands [at his altar of service] ministering daily, offering the same sacrifices over and over, which are never able to strip away sins [that envelop and cover us];

From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

For by a single offering He has for ever completed the blessing for those whom He is setting free from sin.

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

[So], we should hold on firmly to the profession of our hope [in God], without wavering from it, for God is faithful to His promises.

not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

any one who did set at nought a law of Moses, apart from mercies, by two or three witnesses, doth die,

How much severer punishment, think you, will he be held to deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, has not regarded as holy that Covenant-blood with which he was set free from sin, and has insulted the Spirit from whom comes grace?

For you not only showed sympathy with those who were imprisoned, but you even submitted with joy when your property was taken from you, being well aware that you have in your own selves a more valuable possession and one which will remain.

Therefore do not cast from you your confident hope, for it will receive a vast reward.

And my [i.e., God's] righteous person will [obtain] life by [his] faith [in God]. But if he turns back [from me], my soul is not pleased with him."

Now, faith is a sure confidence with respect to things hoped for, a firm persuasion with respect to things not seen:

By faith we apprehend that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that that which is seen should not take its origin from things which appear.

It was by faith that Abel offered God a richer sacrifice than Cain did, and thus won from God the record of being 'just,' on the score of what he gave; he died, but by his faith he is speaking to us still.

Through faith Enoch was taken from the earth so that he did not see death, and he could not be found, because God had taken him; for before he was taken we have evidence that he truly pleased God.

and apart from faith it is impossible to please well, for it behoveth him who is coming to God to believe that He is, and to those seeking Him He becometh a rewarder.

By [having] faith, when Noah was warned [by God] about conditions that had not yet been seen [i.e., regarding events of the coming Flood], he acted out of reverent concern [for God] by constructing a ship to save [i.e., rescue] his household [from the Flood waters]. By this [i.e., his faith which led to action], Noah condemned the world and inherited righteousness because of his faith.

For he was [waiting expectantly and confidently] looking forward to the city which has foundations, [an eternal, heavenly city] whose architect and builder is God.

wherefore, also from one were begotten -- and that of one who had become dead -- as the stars of the heaven in multitude, and as sand that is by the sea-shore -- the innumerable.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

Of whom it had been said, From Isaac will your seed take their name:

Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

By [having] faith, when Joseph was about to die, he mentioned the Israelites' departure [from Egypt] and gave [them] instructions concerning his bones [i.e., that they were to take them back to Palestine. See Gen. 50:25].

because he preferred to suffer hardships with the people of God than to have the passing enjoyment that results from sin,

By faith he went out of Egypt, not being turned from his purpose by fear of the wrath of the king; for he kept on his way, as seeing him who is unseen.

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

Faith saved Rahab, the prostitute, from perishing with the unbelievers, after she had entertained the spies with friendliness.

men who, as the result of faith, conquered whole kingdoms, brought about true justice, obtained promises from God, stopped lions' mouths,

quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight armies of aliens.

Women received back their dear ones alive from the dead; and others were put to death with torture, refusing the deliverance offered to them--that they might secure a better resurrection.

They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tried by temptation, they were killed with the sword. They went from place to place in sheepskins or goatskins, enduring want, oppression and cruelty.

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

God having provided some better thing concerning us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

[looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work].

For consider well him who endured so great contradiction from sinners against himself, that ye be not weary, fainting in your minds.

and you have forgotten the encouragement which is addressed to you as sons: "My son, refrain from thinking lightly of the discipline the Lord inflicts, and giving up when you are corrected by Him.

It is for your training that you undergo these things; God is acting to you as a father does to his sons; for what son does not have punishment from his father?

and if ye are apart from chastening, of which all have become partakers, then bastards are ye, and not sons.

Besides, we have experienced discipline from our earthly fathers and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life?

At the time all punishment seems to be pain and not joy: but after, those who have been trained by it get from it the peace-giving fruit of righteousness.

Cut through and make smooth, straight paths for your feet [that are safe and go in the right direction], so that the leg which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather may be healed.