but in these latter days he has spoken to us in a Son, whom he had destined to possess everything, and through whom he had made the world.

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

He had become as much superior [in rank] to the angels as the name He inherited [i.e., "Son." See next verse] was superior to theirs [i.e., the name "angels" means "messengers"].

For if the message spoken through angels proved to be valid, and every violation and infraction of it had its adequate penalty,

how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which, commencing at the beginning to be spoken by the Lord, was confirmed unto us by those who had heard him;

but Jesus, who was for a while inferior to the angels by his sufferings and death, we see was crown'd with glory and honour; when by the divine goodness, he had pass'd thro' death for every man.

For it became him - for whom are all things, and by whom are all things - after that he had brought many sons unto glory, that he should make the Lord of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

And might deliver those who through fear of death had been subject to life-long bondage.

And so he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might prove a compassionate high priest as well as one faithful in his service to God, in order to forgive the people's sins.

For every house has had a builder, and the builder of all things is God.

even though they had seen my actions for 40 years. That is why I was indignant with that generation and said, "They are always going astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.'

For if we keep the substance of the faith which we had at the start, even till the end, we have a part with Christ;

For some, though they had heard, provoked him; yet not all who came out of Egypt by Moses.

But against whom was he incensed forty years? Was it not against those who had sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?

And to whom did he swear that they should never enter into his rest, if not to those who had proved faithless?

So we see that they were not able to go in because they had no belief.

For indeed we have had good news preached to us, even as they also did, but the word they heard did not profit them, because they were not united by faith with those who heard.

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.

For in one place he has said of the seventh day, And God had rest from all his works on the seventh day;

Forasmuch therefore as it remaineth for some to enter into it, and they who first had the gospel preached to them entered not in because of unbelief;

After a long time, again naming a certain day, he says in David, Today (as he had said before), Today if you will let his voice come to your ears, be not hard of heart,

For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day.

For the man who comes into his rest has had rest from his works, as God did from his.

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter upon that Rest, so that none of us fall through such disbelief as that of which we have had an example.

Thus the Christ also has not glorified himself to be made a high priest; but he who had said to him, Thou art my Son, I have to-day begotten thee.

Who in the days of his flesh, having sent up prayers and requests with strong crying and weeping to him who was able to give him salvation from death, had his prayer answered because of his fear of God.

And when he had been made complete, he became the giver of eternal salvation to all those who are under his orders;

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

For it is impossible to arouse people to a fresh repentance when they have once for all come into the light and had a taste of the gift from heaven, and shared in the holy Spirit

and who had experienced the good teaching of God and the powers of the coming age [i.e., they had already received some of the blessings of the Christian life, perhaps even miraculous signs].

For God when he gave the promise to Abraham forasmuch as he had nothing greater to swear by, sware by himself,

And so, when he had been waiting calmly for a long time, God's word to him was put into effect.

And therefore God, in his desire to show, with unmistakable plainness, to those who were to enter on the enjoyment of what he had promised, the unchangeableness of his purpose, bound himself with an oath.

For Melchizedek, the king of Salem, a priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham on his return from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him ??2 who had a tenth part of everything assigned him by Abraham ??this Melchizedek is primarily a king of righteousness (that is the meaning of his name); then, besides that, king of Salem (which means, king of peace).

And to whom Abraham gave a tenth part of everything which he had, being first named King of righteousness, and then in addition, King of Salem, that is to say, King of peace;

Now see how great this man was, to whom our father Abraham gave a tenth part of what he had got in the fight.

But he who derived not his genealogy from them, received tithes from Abraham, and blessed him who had the promises;

for when Melchizedek met him, he was still in Abraham's body [i.e., Levi had not yet been born as a descendant of Abraham].

If therefore there was perfection by the Levitical priesthood (for under that the people had the law given to them), what farther need was there that another priest should arise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?

for he of whom these things are said in another tribe hath had part, of whom no one gave attendance at the altar,

for the law had never made anything perfect -- and so a better hope is brought to us, through which we have approach to God.

For although those priests became such without an oath, He had an oath form God who said to him, The Lord hath sworn and will not change, Thou art a priest forever.

The old priests too had to be numerous, because death prevented their continuing in office.

who hath no need, as the Levitical high-priests had, daily to offer sacrifices first for his own sins, and then for those of the people: for this He did once for all, in offering up Himself.

For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, this high priest had to offer something, too.

If he had been on earth he would not have been a priest at all, because there are other priests who make the offerings ordered by 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 if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.

"It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord.

Now indeed even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service, and an earthly sanctuary.

having the golden censer, and the coffer of the covenant, overlaid with gold within and without, in which were the golden urn containing the manna, and Aaron's rod which had budded, and the stone tables of the covenant;

When everything had been arranged like this, the priests always went into the first part of the tent to perform their duties.

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;

But when Christ had become a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and a [burnt] heifer's ashes sprinkled on people who had been [ceremonially] defiled, could purify them so as to make them [ceremonially] clean on the outside,

And for this cause it is through him that a new agreement has come into being, so that after the errors under the first agreement had been taken away by his death, the word of God might have effect for those who were marked out for an eternal heritage.

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

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 did not go into a holy place which had been made by men's hands as the copy of the true one; but he went into heaven itself, and now takes his place before the face of God for us.

Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, like the high priest entering the holy place every year with blood that was not his own: ??26 for in that case he would have had to suffer repeatedly, ever since the world was founded. Nay, once for all, at the end of the world, he has appeared with his self-sacrifice to abolish sin.

for then he would have had to suffer death over and over, ever since the creation of the world. But, as it is, once for all at the close of the age he has appeared, to put an end to sin by his sacrifice.

The Law, though able to foreshadow the Better System which was coming, never had its actual substance. Its priests, with those sacrifices which they offer continuously year after year, can never make those who come to worship perfect.

Or else would not they have ceased to be offered, because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins?

So that when he comes into the world, he says, You had no desire for offerings, but you made a body ready for me;

You had no pleasure in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin.

Previously saying, "Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you did not desire, neither had pleasure in them" (those which are offered according to the Law),

but this one, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God;

And the Holy Spirit is a witness for us: for after he had said,

for after He had said, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and on their minds will I inscribe them;

let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.

For if we do evil on purpose after we have had the knowledge of what is true, there is no more offering for sins,

But will not the man by whom the Son of God has been crushed under foot, and the blood of the agreement with which he was washed clean has been taken as an unholy thing, and who has had no respect for the Spirit of grace, be judged bad enough for a very much worse punishment?

For we have had experience of him who says, Punishment is mine, I will give reward. And again, The Lord will be judge of his people.

But remember the past days in which, after ye had been illuminated, ye endured a great conflict of sufferings;

some of you being expos'd to publick obloquy and persecution: whilst others had their share of affliction in seeing such treatment.

For you both had compassion on them that were in chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an enduring one.

For therein the elders had witness borne to them.

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 away, so that he would not see death, and he was not found, because God took him away. For he has had testimony given to him that before his translation he had been well pleasing to God.

By faith Noah, being moved by the fear of God, made ready an ark for the salvation of his family, because God had given him news of things which were not seen at the time; and through it the world was judged by him, and he got for his heritage the righteousness which is by faith.

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.

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

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

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.

All these people lived all their lives in faith, and died without receiving what had been promised; they only saw it far ahead and welcomed the sight of it, recognizing that they themselves were only foreigners and strangers here on earth.

If indeed they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had enough time to return.

they desired therefore a better, that is, an heavenly country: so that God is very justly stiled their God: for he had appointed a city for them.

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

unto whom it had been said, "That by Isaac shall there be a seed bearing thy name:"

reasoning that God was able to raise him up again, even from the dead; from whence also figuratively he had received him.

By faith Moses was kept secretly by his father and mother for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a fair child; and they had no fear of the king's orders.

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

and esteemed the rebuke of Christ greater riches, than the treasure of Egypt. For he had a respect unto the reward.

By faith he forsook Egypt, and feared not the fierceness of the king. For he endured, even as he had seen him which is invisible.

By [having] faith, he established the Passover Festival [Note: This festival was first celebrated in Egypt by the fleeing Israelites, then observed annually in commemoration of that event], and had [lambs'] blood sprinkled [on the door jambs] to prevent the one who destroyed the firstborn children from touching them. [See Ex. 12:23].

By faith they went through the Red Sea as if it had been dry land, though the Egyptians were overcome by the water when they made an attempt to do the same.

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

Faith saved Rahab the prostitute from being destroyed with those who disobeyed God, because she had given a friendly welcome to the scouts.

Put out the power of fire, got safely away from the edge of the sword, were made strong when they had been feeble, became full of power in war, and put to flight the armies of the nations.