For to which of the angels did God ever say-- 'Thou art my Son; this day I have become thy Father'? or again-- 'I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son'?

And again, when God brought the First-born into the world, he said-- 'Let all the angels of God bow down before him.'

how can we, of all people, expect to escape, if we disregard so great a Salvation? It was the Master who at the outset spoke of this Salvation, and its authority was confirmed for us by those who heard him,

No; a writer has declared somewhere-- 'What is Man that thou shouldst remember him? Or a Son of Man that thou shouldst regard him?

Thou hast made him, for a while, lower than angels; With glory and honour thou hast crowned him; Thou hast set him over all that thy hands have made;

Thou hast placed all things beneath his feet.' This 'placing of everything' under man means that there was nothing which was not placed under him. As yet, however, we do not see everything placed under man.

Therefore, since human nature is the common heritage of 'the Children,' Jesus also shared it, in order that by death he might render powerless him whose power lies in death--that is, the Devil--

The fact that he himself suffered under temptation enables him to help those who are tempted.

See how faithful he was to the God who appointed him, as Moses was in the whole House of God.

Who were they who heard God speak and yet provoked him? Were not they all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses?

There is no created thing that can hide itself from the sight of God. Everything is exposed and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we have to give account.

In the same way, even the Christ did not take the honour of the High Priesthood upon himself, but he was appointed by him who said to him-- 'Thou art my Son; this day I have become thy Father';

Jesus, in the days of his earthly life, offered prayers and supplications, with earnest cries and with tears, to him who was able to save him from death; and he was heard because of his devout submission.

and, being made perfect, he became to all those who obey him the source of eternal Salvation,

while God himself pronounced him a High Priest of the order of Melchizedek.

if those, I say, fell away, it would be impossible to bring them again to repentance; they would be crucifying the Son of God over again for themselves, and exposing him to open contempt.

It was this Melchizedek, King of Salem and Priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and gave him his blessing;

and it was to him that Abraham allotted a tithe of all the spoil. The meaning of his name is 'King of Righteousness, ' and besides that, he was also King of Salem, which means 'King of Peace.'

but his appointment was ratified by an oath, when God said to him-- 'The Lord has sworn, and will not change, "Thou art a priest for all time."'

And that is why he is able to save perfectly those who come to God through him, living for ever, as he does, to intercede of their behalf.

so it is with the Christ. He was offered up once and for all, to 'bear away the sins of many'; and the second time he will appear--but without any burden of sin--to those who are waiting for him, to bring Salvation.

and, since we have in him 'a great priest set over the House of God,'

And through faith the Righteous man shall find his Life, But, if a man draws back, my heart can find no pleasure in him.'

Faith made the sacrifice which Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain's, and won him renown as a righteous man, God himself establishing his renown by accepting his gifts; and it is by the example of his faith that Abel, though dead, still speaks.

Faith led to Enoch's removal from earth, that he might not experience death. 'He could not be found because God had removed him.' For, before his removal, he was renowned as having pleased God;

But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that God exists, and that he rewards those who seek for him.

It was faith that made him go to live as an emigrant in the Promised Land--as in a strange country--living there in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who shared the promise with him.

For he counted 'the reproaches that are heaped upon the Christ' of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, looking forward, as he did, to the reward awaiting him.

Faith caused him to leave Egypt, though undaunted by the King's anger, for he was strengthened in his endurance by the vision of the invisible God.

Faith led him to institute the Passover and the Sprinkling of the Blood, so that the Destroyer might not touch the eldest children of the Israelites.

our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the Leader and perfect Example of our faith, who, for the joy that lay before him, endured the cross, heedless of its shame, and now 'has taken his seat at the right hand' of the throne of God.

Weigh well the example of him who had to endure such opposition from 'men who were sinning against themselves,' so that you should not grow weary or faint-hearted.

for it is him whom he loves that he disciplines, and he chastises every child whom he acknowledges.'

Beware how you refuse to hear him who is speaking. For, if the Israelites did not escape punishment, when they refused to listen to him who taught them on earth the divine will, far worse will it be for us, if we turn away from him who is teaching us from Heaven.

Therefore let us go out to him 'outside the camp,' bearing the same reproaches as he;

Through him let us offer, as our sacrifice, continual praise to God--an offering from lips that glorify his Name.

May God, the source of all peace, who brought back from the dead him who, 'by virtue of the blood that rendered valid the unchangeable Covenant, is the Great Shepherd of God's Sheep,' Jesus, our Lord--