This is why we must pay much closer attention to the message once heard, to keep from drifting to one side.

how can we escape, if we pay no attention at all to a salvation that is so great? This is so because it was first proclaimed by the Lord Himself, and then it was proved to us to be valid by the very men who heard Him themselves,

while in this passage again He says: "They shall not be admitted to my rest."

And no one takes this honor upon himself but is called to it by God, as Aaron was.

This hope we have as an anchor for our souls, secure and safe, which reaches up behind the heavenly veil,

For this man Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was coming back from the defeat of the kings, and put his blessing on him,

Now see how great this man must have been that even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of his spoils.

But in this case, the man whose ancestry is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham, and put his blessing on the man who had the promises from God.

For He of whom this is said became a member of a different tribe no member of which ever officiated at the altar.

who does not need, as did the Levitical priests, to offer sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; this latter is just what He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

Now the main point in what I am saying is this: We have such a High Priest as this, one who has taken His seat at the right hand of God's majestic throne in heaven

For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; so this High Priest too must have some sacrifice to offer,

'For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel in those days,' says the Lord; 'I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. And nevermore will each one need to teach his fellow-citizen,

With these arrangements completed in this way, the priests in conducting their official services regularly go into the outer part of the tent of worship;

By this the Holy Spirit was showing that there was as yet no access to the real sanctuary while the outer tent was still in existence,

But when Christ came as the High Priest of good things that have already taken place, He went by way of that greater and more perfect tent of worship, not made by human hands, that is, not belonging to this material creation,

And this is why He is the Mediator of a new covenant, in order that, after He had suffered death for securing redemption from the offenses committed under the first covenant, those who had been invited to share it might obtain the eternal inheritance promised them.

saying, "This is the blood that ratifies the covenant which God commanded me to make with you."

It is by this will of God that we are consecrated through the offering of Jesus' body once for all.

But this One offered up once for all and for all time one sacrifice for sins, and once for all took His seat at God's right hand,

"'This is the covenant that I will make with them: In those last days,' says the Lord, 'I will put my laws into their hearts, and write them on their minds,'"

partly by being exposed as a public spectacle to insults and violent sufferings, and partly by showing yourselves ready to share with those who were living in this condition.

For people who make such a profession as this show that they are in search of a country of their own.

But in reality they were aspiring for a better country, I mean, a heavenly one. This is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Let us, therefore, be thankful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and in this way continue to serve God acceptably in reverence and fear;

Continue to obey and to be submissive to your leaders, for they are ever watching in defense of your souls, as men who will have to give account of their trust. Treat them in this way, so that they may work with joy and not with grief.

I beg you, brothers, to listen patiently to this message, for I have written you only a short letter.