In the past God spoke to our fathers by the prophets at many times and in various ways,

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the world.

He is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his being, and upholds all things by the word of his power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my son, today I have begotten you"? And again, "I will be a father to him and he shall be a son to me"?

you will roll them up like a mantle; and like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end."

Therefore we must pay more careful attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

For if the message spoken by angels was valid, and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment,

how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard him,

while God also bore witness, by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his own will.

But 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 God he might taste death for everyone.

Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.

For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.

Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later,

Take care, brethren, lest there be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "Today," so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest remains, let us fear lest any one of you be judged to have come short of it.

Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience.

And no one takes the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was.

being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of God's word. You need milk, not solid food;

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their sense trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.

But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed; its end is to be burned.

so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,

Men swear by one greater than themselves, and in all their disputes the oath is final for confirmation.

so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

And to him Abraham gave a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.

And without dispute the lesser person is blessed by the greater.

In this case tithes are received by mortal men, but in that case by one of whom it is witnessed that he lives on.

For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law.

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office;

a minister in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle which is set up by the Lord, not by man.

Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law.

They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary; for when Moses was about to erect the tabernacle, he was instructed by God, saying, "See that you make everything according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain."

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 continue in my covenant, and so I paid no heed to them, says the Lord.

This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."

The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the holy place had not yet been disclosed as long as the outer tabernacle was still standing.

He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves, but he entered the holy place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

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

For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

Nor was it that he should offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood not his own.

For then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But now, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

For since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices which are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near.

Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered? If the worshipers had once been cleansed, they would no longer have any consciousness of sins.

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

waiting from that time until his enemies be made a stool for his feet.

For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,

by a new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain, that is, his flesh,

How much severer punishment do you think a man will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as an unclean thing the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

sometimes being publicly exposed to insult and persecution; and at other times standing side by side with those who were so treated.

But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him."

For by it the men of old received divine approval.

By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

By faith Abel offered God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his gifts. And through faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had taken him. For before he was taken he was attested as having pleased God.

By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in godly fear prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

By faith he lived in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise;

By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, because she considered him faithful who had promised.

Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son,

of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your descendants be called."

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

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when he was at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites, and gave orders concerning his bones.

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

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

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

By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

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

By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had welcomed the spies.

Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.

And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised,

because God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,

And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are rebuked by him.

Besides this, we have had fathers of our flesh to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness spring up and cause trouble, and by it many become defiled;

that no one be immoral or godless like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.

For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,

and the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further word be spoken to them.

For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned."

This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, in order that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe,

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for God will judge the immoral and adulterous.

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, nor will I forsake you."

So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp.

Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this with joy, and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.

I urge you all the more to do this so that I may be restored to you the sooner.

equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.