You have loved what is right and hated what is wrong, therefore God, your God [i.e., the Father], has placed you above your companions when He anointed you [i.e., specially chose you] with the oil of joy [i.e., your selection as king was a joyous occasion]."

But someone has testified somewhere [Psa. 8:4-6], "What is man, that you [i.e., God] should remember him? Or the son of man [i.e., mankind], that you should care about him?

You made him a little bit lower than the angels [i.e., a little less exalted]. [Note: Although these Psalms passages referred to mankind, they are here applied to Jesus. See verse 9]. You crowned him with splendor and honor {{some ancient manuscripts add "and placed him as ruler over what you made"}}.

You placed everything under his feet [Note: This is true of both mankind (Gen. 1:26-28) and of Jesus (Eph. 1:22-23)]. For in subjecting everything to him, God did not leave anything that is not subject to him. But at the present time we do not see what all has been subjected to him.

where your forefathers tried me and tested [my patience] when they saw what I did for forty years.

And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham received what [God] had promised.

Now consider how great this man was, to whom the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of what he had taken [in battle].

So, if perfection [i.e., a right relationship with God] could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood, (for under it people had received the law of Moses), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise, according to the order of Melchizedek, who was not considered "according to the order of Aaron"?

Now this is the main point [or, the summary] of what we are saying: We have such a head priest [i.e., as described in chapter 7] who sat down at the right side of the throne of the Majesty [i.e., God] in heaven.

Then I said, 'Look, I have come to do what you want, O God, [just as] it is written in the scroll of the book [about me].'"

He then said, "Look, I have come to do what you want." [So], Christ takes away the first [i.e., the animal and grain sacrifices] in order to establish the second [i.e., the sacrifice of Himself].

By [Christ doing] what God wanted, we have been set aside for God through Jesus Christ offering His body once for all time.

For you need to be steadfast so that, after you have done what God wants, you will receive the promise [of an inheritance. See 9:15].

Now, [having] faith is being sure of [receiving] what is hoped for, and certain [of the existence] of what is not visible.

By [having] faith, we understand that the universe was formed by God's word [See Gen. 1:1-27], so that what is seen has not been made out of what is visible.

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me if I were to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and [all] the prophets,

who, by [having] faith, conquered kingdoms, practiced what was right, and obtained what was promised [by God]. They shut the mouths of lions,

And all of these people were commended [by God] for their faith, yet did not receive [all of] what was promised to them,

[For the suffering] you are enduring [is] for your discipline. God is dealing with you as He does with [His] children, for what child is not disciplined by his father?

Now the words, "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken --- that is, the created universe --- so that those things which cannot be shaken will remain. [Note: These "things" have been variously interpreted to be eternal truth, the heavenly kingdom, the new heavens and earth, etc.].

Keep your lives free from the love of money [and be] content with what you have, because God [Himself] has said [Deut. 31:6], "By no means will I [ever] desert you or give up on you."

So, we can say with confidence [Psa. 118:6], "[Since] the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid [of] what people might do to me." [or, "what (harm) can people do to me?"]

equip you with every good deed for doing God's will. [May He] work in us [to accomplish] what is very pleasing in His sight through [the power of] Jesus Christ. May there be praise to Him forever and ever. May it be so.