who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

To which of the angels did God say at any time, You are my Son, this day I have given you being? or, I will be his Father, and he will be my Son?

are they not all spirits of service -- for ministration being sent forth because of those about to inherit salvation?

for if the word being spoken through messengers did become stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience did receive a just recompense,

how shall, we, escape, if, so great a salvation as this, we have neglected, - which, indeed, having received, a beginning, of being spoken through the Lord, by them who heard, unto us was confirmed,

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.

Because it was right for him, for whom and through whom all things have being, in guiding his sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation complete through pain.

For both He who is purifying them and those who are being purified all spring from one Father; so He is not ashamed to call them brothers,

Therefore, since [these His] children share in flesh and blood [the physical nature of mankind], He Himself in a similar manner also shared in the same [physical nature, but without sin], so that through [experiencing] death He might make powerless (ineffective, impotent) him who had the power of death—that is, the devil—

For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

being stedfast to Him who did appoint him, as also Moses in all his house,

And being angry I made an oath, saying, They may not come into my rest.

But be exhorting one another, on each successive day, - while the To-day is being named! lest any from among you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

in its being said, 'To-day, if His voice ye may hear, ye may not harden your hearts, as in the provocation,'

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

Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it.

For we are hearing the same gospel preached as they did; but the word heard did not profit them, not being incorporated by faith with those who heard it.

For we who have believed are being admitted to that rest, just as He has said: "As in my anger I took oath, they shall not be admitted to my rest," although God's works had been completed at the creation of the world.

Since then it still remains that some are being admitted to it and that those who first had the good news told to them were not admitted because of disobedience,

For God's word is alive and active and sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates [deep enough] even to divide [a person's] soul [from his] spirit, and his joints [from his] bone marrow [Note: This is figurative language describing the penetrating effect of God's word into a person's spiritual, inner being] and is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of a person's heart.

No being created can escape God's sight, but everything is bare and helpless before the eyes of him with whom we have to reckon.

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

being able to feel tenderly for the ignorant and erroneous; forasmuch as he is himself encompassed with infirmity.

And being feeble, he has to make sin-offerings for himself as well as for the people.

And besides, one does not appropriate for himself the honor [of being high priest], but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.

In the same way Christ did not take for himself the glory of being made a high priest, but was given it by him who said, You are my Son, this day I have given you being:

who in the days of his flesh, with strong crying and tears, having offered up prayers and supplications to him who was able to save him from death, and being heard for his reverential awe,

through being a Son, did learn by the things which he suffered -- the obedience,

and by being thus made perfect, he became the source of enduring salvation to all who obey him,

Being named by God a high priest of the order of Melchizedek.

For certainly enough time has elapsed so that [by now] you ought to be teachers, [but instead] you are in need of having someone teach you again the basic principles of God's message. You have become people who need "milk" and not "solid food." [Note: The fundamental truths of Christianity are here figuratively spoken of as "milk," while the more advanced teaching, such as Christ's priesthood being like Melchizedek's, is called "solid food"].

and of teaching about immersions [Note: The use of the plural word here suggests teaching on the distinctions between Jewish washings and John's and Christian immersion, whether in water or the Holy Spirit. See Acts 19:1-7], and about placing hands on people [Note: This act was practiced in the appointment of church leaders, in healing sick people and to impart supernatural gifts], and about people being raised from the dead and about never ending judgment.

but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is rejected and near being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

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.

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

And, thus, being patient, he attained unto the promise.

For men swear by a greater Being, and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all controversy.

In this way God, being determined to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath;

So that by two immutable events, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, having fled for refuge to seize the hope being openly displayed.

Whither Jesus our fore-runner is entered for us, being made an high-priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec.

This Melchizedek, king of Salem - which being priest of the most high God, met Abraham, as he returned again from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him:

to whom also Abraham divided a tenth part of all (being first, by interpretation, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace;

Being without father or mother, or family, having no birth or end to his life, being made like the Son of God, is a priest for ever.

Now if there were perfection through the Levitical priesthood, (and it was under it that the people received the Law) why was it still necessary for another kind of priest to arise, after the order of Melchizedek, instead of being reckoned according to the order of Aaron?

For the priesthood being changed, there is of necessity a change made also in the law.

For the Lord [See next verse], about whom these things are being said, belonged to another tribe, from which no one has [ever] been appointed to serve at the Altar.

For it is plain that our Lord ad sprung from the tribe of Judah, though of that tribe Moses said nothing about their being priests.

who was not establish'd by virtue of a temporary law, but with the power of being a perpetual priest.

wherefore the preceeding law is abolished for its being weak and useless.

And since it was not without an oath being taken--

(for those Levites who formerly became priests [received their office] without [its being confirmed by the taking of] an oath, but this One [was designated] with an oath through the One who said to Him,

“The Lord has sworn
And will not change His mind or regret it,
‘You (Christ) are a Priest forever’”).

And they indeed were made many priests, on account of being forbidden by death to continue;

Whereupon he is able also to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, being always alive in order to intercede on their behalf.

For such a high priest was indeed appropriate unto us, holy, free from sin, undefiled, having been separated from the sinners, and being higher than the heavens;

He does not need to offer up [animal] sacrifices every day like those head priests did [Note: The head priest here is represented as being in charge of the daily sacrifices offered by the other priests], first for His own sins and then for the people's sins. For He did this once for all time when He offered up Himself [on the cross].

For the Law appoints human beings to be high priests, men with all their weakness; but the word of the oath, which was later than the Law, appoints a Son, perfected forevermore.

A crowning point on the things being spoken: - such a one as this, have we, as high-priest, who hath sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, -

every high priest being establish'd to offer gifts and sacrifices: it was necessary that he likewise should make a peculiar offering,

For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, there being priests who offer gifts according to the law;

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, being dissatisfied with His people, God says, "'There are days coming,' says the Lord, 'When I will establish with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new Covenant--

now by stiling the second a new alliance, he has antiquated the first. but to be antiquated and obsolete is next to being abolished.

And these being thus provided, the priests enter into the first tabernacle continually, performing the services,

The Holy Spirit witnessing by this that the way into the holy place had not at that time been made open, while the first Tent was still in being;

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

being only (with meats and drinks and divers washings) carnal ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation.

But Christ being a high priest of good things to come, came by a greater, and a more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands: that is to say, not of this manner building,

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 will the blood of Christ, who, being without sin, made an offering of himself to God through the Holy Spirit, make your hearts clean from dead works to be servants of the living God?

And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that, death being suffered for the redemption of transgressions committed against the first testament, they who are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance.

For a testament is only of force in case of the dead, being never valid so long as the testator lives.

not that he may often present himself, as the chief priest enters into the sanctuary once a year with the blood of another [being];

And, as it is ordained for men to die but once (death being followed by judgment),

so also the Christ, after being once for all offered to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who wait for him for salvation.

For the Law, being only a shadow of the good things to come, and not their very substance, its priests cannot with the same sacrifice which year after year they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near.

else they would have discontinued to make the offering, because they who performed the service being once made clean, would have had no more sense of sins on their conscience.

After saying the words I have just quoted, "Sacrifices and offerings or whole burnt-offerings and sin-offerings Thou hast not desired or taken pleasure in" --all such being offered in obedience to the Law--

For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

So then, my brothers, being able to go into the holy place without fear, because of the blood of Jesus,

But only a great fear of being judged, and of the fire of wrath which will be the destruction of the haters of God.

The person who has disregarded the law of Moses is put to death without being shown mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

But call to remembrance the former days, in which after being enlightened, ye sustained a great conflict of sufferings;

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

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.

Now faith is being confident of what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see.

By faith we understand that the ages were framed by a word of God, so that the things being seen not to have come into being out of the things that appear.

By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks.

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.

By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

By faith Abraham, on being called, obeyed in starting off for a country which he was to receive as his own, and he did it in spite of the fact that he did not know where he was going.

for he had in view the city, whose foundations are sure, the architect and founder being God.

By [having] faith, Sarah herself received the ability to have children, even though she was [sterile, being] past the age of child-bearing, since she considered God faithful to His promise. [Note: Some translations consider "Abraham" to be the subject of this highly controversial verse. See Lightfoot, pages 222-225].

And therefore these were fathered from one man, and [he] being as good as dead, as the stars of heaven in number and like the innumerable sand by the shore of the sea.

These people [all] continued to have faith until they died, [even though] they had not obtained [all] the things God had promised, but had [only] seen them and welcomed them from a distance. And they had confessed to being strangers and aliens on earth.

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

By faith Moses, being born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw the child beautiful; and they did not fear the injunction of the king.

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

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.

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.