It was little by little and in different ways that God spoke in old times to our forefathers through the prophets,

how can we escape if we pay no attention to such a salvation as this? It was first proclaimed by the Lord himself, and it was guaranteed to us by those who heard him,

For it was not for angels that he destined the control of that world to be, that we are speaking of.

You have put everything under his feet!" In thus making everything subject to man, God left nothing that was not subjected to him. But we do not as yet see everything made subject to him,

but we do see Jesus, who was "made for a little while inferior to angels, crowned with glory and honor" because he suffered death, so that by the favor of God he might taste the bitterness of death on behalf of every human being.

For it was appropriate that he who is the great First Cause of the universe should, in guiding his many children to his glorious salvation, make their leader in it fully qualified through what he suffered.

For of course it was not angels but the descendants of Abraham that he came to help.

has been to the God who appointed him, just as Moses was, in all the house of God.

Now the faithfulness of Moses in all the house of God was that of a servant, in faithfully repeating what he was told to say;

but Christ's faithfulness was that of a son set over the house of God. And we are that house, if we keep up our courage and our triumphant hope to the very end.

That was why I was angry with that generation, And I said, 'Their minds are always wandering, And they have never found my paths.'

For who was it that heard him speak and yet provoked him? Was it not all those who had escaped from Egypt under Moses' leadership?

And who was it with whom God was angry forty whole years? Was it not with those who had sinned, who dropped dead in the desert?

And who was it to whom God made oath that they should not be admitted to his Rest, if it was not to those who had disobeyed him?

So we see that it was their unbelief that kept them from being admitted to it.

For we who have believed are admitted to that Rest, of which he said, "As I made oath in my anger, They shall never be admitted to my Rest!" And yet God's work was finished at the creation of the world,

And no one takes the office upon himself, but men assume it only when called to it by God, as Aaron was.

So even Christ did not claim for himself the dignity of the high priesthood, but he was appointed to it by him who said to him, "You are my Son! I have today become your Father!"

For Jesus in his life on earth offered prayers and entreaties, crying aloud with tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and because of his piety his prayer was heard.

And although he was a son, he learned to obey, through what he suffered,

and when he was fully qualified, he became a source of unending salvation for all who obey him,

For when God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to make oath by, he did so by himself,

Therefore, God in his desire to make it perfectly clear to those to whom he made his promise, that his purpose was unalterable, bound himself with an oath,

For this man Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was on his way back from defeating the kings, and gave him his blessing,

for none of Abraham's posterity was yet begotten at the time of his meeting with Melchizedek.

Now if anything final had been really accomplished through the Levitical priesthood, for even the giving of the Law was based upon it, what further need would there have been of appointing a different priest of the priesthood of Melchizedek, instead of choosing one of the priesthood of Aaron?

For he of whom all this was said was related to a tribe no member of which ever officiated at the altar.

So an earlier regulation is abrogated because it was poor and ineffective

(for there was nothing final about the Law), and a better hope begins to dawn, through which we may approach God.

And in proportion as Jesus was not appointed priest without God's making oath to it,

Further, if he were still on earth, he would not be a priest at all, for there are priests enough provided to offer the gifts the Law prescribes??5 though the service they engage in is only a shadow and imitation of that in heaven. For when Moses was going to make the tent of worship he was warned, "Be sure to make it all just like the pattern you were shown on the mountain."

Even the first agreement provided regulations for worship, and a sanctuary that was fully equipped.

For a tent was erected, with the lamp and the table and the presentation bread in the outer part, which was called the sanctuary.

and above the chest were the winged creatures of the Divine Presence overshadowing the lid on which the blood was sprinkled??f which I cannot now speak in detail.

In all this the holy Spirit was seeking to show that there was no free access to the sanctuary while the outer tent was still standing.

And all this looked toward the present time and was symbolic of the fact that the mere offering of material gifts and sacrifices cannot inwardly qualify the worshiper to approach God,

For it was not a sanctuary made by human hands and only copied after the true one that Christ entered, but he went into heaven itself, in order to appear now on our behalf in the very presence of God.

That is why the Christ, when he was coming into the world, said, "You have not wished sacrifice or offering, but you have provided a body for me.

For you showed sympathy with those who were in prison, and you put up with it cheerfully when your property was taken from you, for you knew that you had in yourselves a greater possession that was lasting.

For it was by it that the men of old gained God's approval.

It is faith that enables us to see that the universe was created at the command of God, so that the world we see did not simply arise out of matter.

Faith made Abel's sacrifice greater in the sight of God than Cain's; through faith he gained God's approval as an upright man, for God himself approved his offering, and through faith even when he was dead he still spoke.

Faith caused Enoch to be taken up from the earth without experiencing death; he could not be found, because God had taken him up. For before he was taken up there is evidence that he pleased God,

Faith led Noah, when he was warned by God of things no one then saw, in obedience to the warning to build an ark in which to save his family, and by such faith he condemned the world, and came to possess that uprightness which faith produces.

Faith enabled Abraham to obey when God summoned him to leave his home for a region which he was to have for his own, and to leave home without knowing where he was going.

For he was looking forward to that city with the sure foundations, designed and built by God.

Faith made even Sarah herself able to have a child, although she was past the time of life for it, because she thought, that he who had made the promise would keep it.

Faith enabled Abraham, when he was put to the test, to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had accepted God's promises was ready to sacrifice his only son,

For he believed that God was able to raise men even from the dead, and from the dead he did indeed, to speak figuratively, receive him back.

Faith made Jacob when he was dying give a blessing to each of Joseph's sons, and bow in worship even while leaning on his staff.

Faith inspired Joseph when he was dying to tell of the future migration of the Israelites, and to give instructions about his own body.

Faith led Moses' parents to hide him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child and they would not respect the edict of the king.

Faith made Moses, when he was grown up, refuse to be known as a son of Pharaoh's daughter,

and thought such contempt as the Christ endured was truer wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking forward to the coming reward.

They were stoned to death, they were tortured to death, they were sawed in two, they were killed with the sword. Clothed in the skins of sheep or goats, they were driven from place to place, destitute, persecuted, misused??38 men of whom the world was not worthy wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and holes in the ground.

For you know how, when he afterward wished to claim the blessing, he was refused it, although he begged for it with tears, for he had no opportunity to repent of what he had done.

and so awful was the sight that Moses said, "I am aghast and appalled!"

Jesus Christ is the same today that he was yesterday, and he will be so forever.