For he did not put the coming world we are talking about under the control of angels.

Now when God put everything under him, he left nothing outside his control. However, at the present time we do not yet see everything put under him. But we do see someone who was made a little lower than the angels. He is Jesus, who is crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might experience death for everyone.

because both the one who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified all have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers

For it is clear that he did not come to help angels. No, he came to help Abraham's descendants,

do not harden your hearts as they did when they provoked me during the time of testing in the wilderness.

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.'

As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as they did when they provoked me."

Now who heard him and provoked him? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?

And with whom was he angry for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned and whose bodies fell dead in the wilderness?

And to whom did he swear that they would never enter his rest? It was to those who disobeyed him, was it not?

because we have had the good news told to us as well as to them. But the message they heard did not help them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened to it.

he again fixes a definite day "Today" - saying long afterward through David, as already quoted, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

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

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. Instead, we have one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet he never sinned.

So let us keep on coming boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

In the same way, the Messiah did not take upon himself the glory of being a high priest. No, it was God who said to him, "You are my Son. Today I have become your Father."

In fact, though by now you should be teachers, you still need someone to teach you the basic truths of God's word. You have become people who need milk instead of solid food.

For everyone who lives on milk is still a baby and does not yet know the difference between right and wrong.

Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teachings about the Messiah, let us continue to be carried along to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead actions, faith toward God,

For God is not so unjust as to forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have ministered to the saints and continue to minister to them.

But this man, whose descent is not traced from them, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the man who had received the promises.

Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood for on this basis the people received the Law what further need would there be to speak of appointing another kind of priest according to the order of Melchizedek, not one according to the order of Aaron?

who was appointed to be a priest, not on the basis of a genealogical registry, but rather on the power of an indestructible life.

but Jesus became a priest with an oath when God told him, "The Lord has taken an oath and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever."

We need such a high priest one who is holy, innocent, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

He has no need to offer sacrifices every day like high priests do, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he sacrificed himself.

and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tent set up by the Lord and not by any human.

Now if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, because other men offer the gifts prescribed by the Law.

If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one,

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors at the time when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. Because they did not remain loyal to my covenant, I ignored them, declares the Lord.

The Holy Spirit was indicating by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first part of the tent was still standing.

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

But when the Messiah came as a high priest of the good things that have come, he went through the greater and more perfect tent that was not made by human hands and that is not a part of this creation.

Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he went into the Most Holy Place once for all and secured our eternal redemption.

This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.

For the Messiah did not go into a sanctuary made by human hands that is merely a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, to appear now in God's presence on our behalf.

Nor did he go into heaven to sacrifice himself again and again, the way the high priest goes into the Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.

so the Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And he will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly wait for him.

For the Law, being only a reflection of the blessings to come and not their substance, can never make perfect those who come near by the same sacrifices repeatedly offered year after year.

Otherwise, would they not have stopped offering them, because the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer be aware of any sins?

For this reason, the Scriptures say, when the Messiah was about to come into the world: "You did not want sacrifices and offerings, but you prepared a body for me.

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another even more as you see the day of the Lord coming nearer.

For you need endurance, so that after you have done God's will you can receive what he has promised.

For "in a very little while the one who is coming will return he will not delay;

Now, we do not belong to those who turn back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

By faith Enoch was taken away without experiencing death. He could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he won approval as one who pleased God.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, reverently prepared an ark to save his family, and by faith he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

All these people died having faith. They did not receive the things that were promised, yet they saw them in the distant future and welcomed them, acknowledging that they were strangers and foreigners on earth.

Instead, they were longing for a better country, that is, a heavenly one. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them.

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

By faith Rahab the prostitute did not die with those who were disobedient, because she had welcomed the spies with a greeting of peace.

All these people won approval for their faith but they did not receive what was promised,

since God had planned something better for us, so that they would not be perfected without us.

Think about the one who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you may not become tired and give up.

In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

You have forgotten the encouragement that is addressed to you as sons: "My son, do not think lightly of the Lord's discipline or give up when you are corrected by him.

What you endure disciplines you: God is treating you as sons. Is there a son whom his father does not discipline?

Now if you are without any discipline, in which all sons share, then you are illegitimate and not God's sons.

and straighten the paths of your life, so that your lameness may not become worse, but instead may be healed.

For you know that afterwards, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected because he could not find any opportunity to repent, even though he begged to repent with tears.

You have not come to something that can be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, to gloom,

to a trumpet's blast, or to a voice that made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them.

For they could not endure the command that was given: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death."

See to it that you do not ignore the one who is speaking. For if the hearers did not escape when they ignored the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we turn away from the one who is from heaven!

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven."

Hence we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?"

Stop being carried away by all kinds of unusual teachings, for it is good that the heart be strengthened by grace, not by food laws that have never helped those who follow them.

Do not neglect to do good and to be generous, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

Continue to follow and be submissive to your leaders, since they are watching over your souls as those who will have to give a word of explanation. By doing this, you will be letting them carry out their duties joyfully, and not with grief, for that would be harmful for you.