For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works,"

and for this reason he is obligated to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.

And no one assumes this honor on his own initiative, but only when called to it by God, as in fact Aaron was.

And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

On this topic we have much to say and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish in hearing.

For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God's utterances. You have gone back to needing milk, not solid food.

Therefore we must progress beyond the elementary instructions about Christ and move on to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,

And this is what we intend to do, if God permits.

But in your case, dear friends, even though we speak like this, we are convinced of better things relating to salvation.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain,

Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him.

And this is even clearer if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek,

And since this was not done without a sworn affirmation -- for the others have become priests without a sworn affirmation,

He has no need to do every day what those priests do, to offer sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people, since he did this in offering himself once for all.

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We have such a high priest, one who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,

For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. So this one too had to have something to offer.

"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.

For a tent was prepared, the outer one, which contained the lampstand, the table, and the presentation of the loaves; this is called the holy place.

It contained the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered entirely with gold. In this ark were the golden urn containing the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

So with these things prepared like this, the priests enter continually into the outer tent as they perform their duties.

This was a symbol for the time then present, when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper.

But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation,

and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded you to keep."

But when this priest had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand of 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,"

So in fact children were fathered by one man -- and this one as good as dead -- like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore.

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 since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. Let them do this with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you.