For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my son! Today I have fathered you"? And in another place he says, "I will be his father and he will be my son."

But to which of the angels has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"?

saying, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you."

Again he says, "I will be confident in him," and again, "Here I am, with the children God has given me."

"There your fathers tested me and tried me, and they saw my works for forty years.

"Therefore, I became provoked at that generation and said, 'Their hearts are always wandering and they have not known my ways.'

"As I swore in my anger, 'They will never enter my rest!'"

But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called "Today," that none of you may become hardened by sin's deception.

Therefore we must be wary that, while the promise of entering his rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it.

For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, "As I swore in my anger, 'They will never enter my rest!'" And yet God's works were accomplished from the foundation of the world.

but to repeat the text cited earlier: "They will never enter my rest!"

Thus we must make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.

So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming high priest, but the one who glorified him was God, who said to him, "You are my Son! Today I have fathered you,"

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

so that we who have found refuge in him may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie.

"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.

"For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people.

"And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, 'Know the Lord,' since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest.

And so he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, since he died to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant.

So when he came into the world, he said, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.

"Then I said, 'Here I am: I have come -- it is written of me in the scroll of the book -- to do your will, O God.'"

"This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds,"

But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I take no pleasure in him.

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets.

Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up.

And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons? "My son, do not scorn the Lord's discipline or give up when he corrects you.

For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness.

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

Now this phrase "once more" indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain.

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

I especially ask you to pray that I may be restored to you very soon.

Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ,

Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, bear with my message of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you briefly.

You should know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he comes soon, he will be with me when I see you.