Besides, while Moses was faithful in every department of God's house as an attendant ??by way of witness to the coming revelation ??6 Christ is faithful as a Son over God's house. Now we are this house of God, if we will only keep confident and proud of our hope.

Rather admonish one another daily, so long as this word To-day is uttered, that none of you may be deceived by sin and hardened.

this word ever sounding in our ears, To-day, when you hear his voice, harden not your hearts as at the Provocation.

For he says this somewhere about the seventh day: And God rested from all his works on the seventh day.

And again in this passage, they shall never enter my Rest.

On this point I have a great deal to say, which it is hard to make intelligible to you. For you have grown dull of hearing.

Though by this time you should be teaching other people, you still need someone to teach you once more the rudimentary principles of the divine revelation. You are in need of milk, not of solid food.

With God's permission, we will take this step.

Though I say this, beloved, I feel sure you will take the better course that means salvation.

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).

Now mark the dignity of this man. The patriarch Abraham paid him a tenth of the spoils.

This becomes all the more plain when another priest emerges resembling Melchizedek,

And this makes Jesus surety for a superior covenant.

The point of all this is, we do have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of Majesty in the heavens,

This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel when that day comes, saith the Lord; I will set my laws within their mind, inscribing them upon their hearts; I will be a God to them, and they shall be a People to me;

A tent was set up, the outer tent, containing the lampstand, the table, and the loaves of the Presence; this is called the Holy place.

above this were the cherubims of the Glory, overshadowing the mercy seat ??matters which it is impossible for me to discuss at present in detail.

By this the holy Spirit means that the way into the Holiest Presence was not disclosed so long as the first tent

He mediates a new covenant for this reason, that those who have been called may obtain the eternal inheritance they have been promised, now that a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions involved in the first covenant.

and saying, This is the blood of that covenant which is God's command for you.

So I said, 'Here I come ??in the roll of the book this is written of me ??I come to do thy will, O God.'

And it is by this will that we are consecrated, because Jesus Christ once for all has offered up his body.

This is the covenant I will make with them when that day comes, saith the Lord, I will set my laws upon their hearts, inscribing them upon their minds, he adds,

partly by being held up yourselves to obloquy and anguish, partly by making common cause with those who fared in this way;

It was for this that the men of old won their record.

Now people who speak in this way plainly show they are in search of a fatherland.

Therefore, with all this host of witnesses encircling us, we must strip off every handicap, strip off sin with its clinging folds, to run our appointed course steadily,

Therefore let us render thanks that we get an unshaken realm; and in this way let us worship God acceptably ??29 but with godly fear and awe, for our God is indeed a consuming fire.

I urge you to this all the more, that I may get back to you the sooner.

I appeal to you, brothers, to bear with this appeal of mine. It is but a short letter.