How much worse punishment, do you think, will he be judged worthy of, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

For we know him who said, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay." Again, "The Lord will judge his people."

partly, being exposed to both reproaches and oppressions; and partly, becoming partakers with those who were treated so.

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 in just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.

And he whom I accept as righteous will find life through his faith. But if a man draws back, my heart can take no pleasure in him."

But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul.

By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, because of which he was reported to be righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through it, he who died still speaks.

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.

Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

By faith [with confidence in God and His word] Noah, being warned by God about events not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his family. By this [act of obedience] he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith.

'Twas by faith that he who was named Abraham, showed his obedience in travelling to a foreign country, which he was afterwards to inherit; and began his journey without knowing where he was going.

Faith led him to make a temporary home as a stranger in the land he had been promised, and to live there in his tents, with Isaac and Jacob, who shared the promise with him.

By faith he received power to procreate when he was past age, and Sarah herself was barren. He regarded him faithful who had promised.

So that from one man, who was near to death, came children in number as the stars in heaven, or as the sand by the seaside, which may not be numbered.

All these died in faith, not having taken the promises, but who saw and greeted them from afar, and who confessed that they were foreigners and sojourners on the earth.

For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.

By faith, Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. Yes, he who had gladly received the promises was offering up his one and only son;

even he to whom it was said, "In Isaac will your seed be called;"

He considered the reproach of the Christ [that is, the rebuke he would suffer for his faithful obedience to God] to be greater wealth than all the treasures of Egypt; for he looked ahead to the reward [promised by God].

By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

by faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that He who is destroying the first-born might not touch them.

By faith, Rahab the prostitute, did not perish with those who were disobedient, having received the spies in peace.

And what more shall I say? Time would fail me to tell of Gideon, of Barak and Samson and Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets ??33 men who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouth of lions,

who, through faith subdued kingdoms, worked out righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength, who became mighty in war, and put foreign armies to flight.

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.

(of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth.

And none of these who became martyrs through faith received the promise,

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us,

looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider him who has endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you do not grow weary in your souls and lose heart.

For whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, and scourges every son whom he receives."

It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with children, for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Furthermore, we had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live?

All discipline seems for the moment painful, not joyful; yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been exercised thereby.

looking carefully lest there be any man who falls short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and many be defiled by it;

lest there be any sexually immoral person, or profane person, like Esau, who sold his own birthright for one meal.

the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which those who heard it begged that not one more word should be spoken to them,

But you [Christians] have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. [Note: These terms describe people who have entered a spiritual relationship with God as part of the church]. [You have come] to a praise gathering of innumerable angels [Note: Christians are here pictured as assembled in worship of God, along with angels],

to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

And to Jesus by whom the new agreement has been made between God and man, and to the sign of the blood which says better things than Abel's blood.

See that you do not refuse him who speaks. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned on the earth, how much more will we not escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven,

Therefore, let us, who have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken, be thankful, and so offer acceptable worship to God, with awe and reverence.

Remember those who are in bonds, as bound with them; and those who are ill-treated, since you are also in the body.

Marriage must be held in honor by all, and the marriage relations kept sacred. Persons who are sexually vicious and immoral God will punish.

Remember your leaders, men who spoke to you the word of God, and considering the results of their conduct, imitate their faith.

Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not by food, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

We have an altar from which those who serve the holy tabernacle have no right to eat.

for of whom the blood of the living ones is brought for sin into the holies by the chief priest, the bodies of these are burned without the camp.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch on behalf of your souls, as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy, and not with groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus,

make you complete in every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever. Amen.

Know that our brother Timothy has been freed, with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you.

Give words of love from me to those who are rulers over you, and to all the saints. Those who are in Italy send you their love.