has in these last days spoken to us by a Son whom he appointed to be the heir of everything and through whom he also made the universe.

All of them are spirits on a divine mission, sent to serve those who are about to inherit salvation, aren't they?

how will we escape if we neglect a salvation as great as this? It was first proclaimed by the Lord himself, and then it was confirmed to us by those who heard him,

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.

It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering as part of his plan to glorify many children,

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

Therefore, since the children have flesh and blood, he himself also shared the same things, so that by his death he might destroy the one who has the power of death (that is, the Devil)

and might free those who were slaves all their lives because they were terrified by death.

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was in all God's household,

Moses was faithful in all God's household as a servant who was to testify to what would be said later,

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.

We who have believed are entering that rest, just as he has said, "So in my anger I swore a solemn oath that they would never enter my rest,"

Therefore, since it is still true that some will enter it, and since those who once heard the good news failed to enter it because of their disobedience,

because the one who enters God's rest has himself rested from his own actions, just as God did from his.

No creature can hide from him, but everyone is exposed and helpless before the eyes of the one to whom we must give a word of explanation.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us live our lives consistent with our confession of faith.

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.

He can deal gently with people who are ignorant and easily deceived, since he himself is subject to weakness.

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."

As a mortal man, he offered up prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his devotion to God.

and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,

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.

For it is impossible to keep on restoring to repentance time and again people who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have become partners with the Holy Spirit,

who have tasted the goodness of God's word and the powers of the coming age,

and who have fallen away, as long as they continue to crucify the Son of God to their own detriment by exposing him to public ridicule.

For when the ground soaks up rain that often falls on it and continues producing vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated, it receives a blessing from God.

Then, instead of being lazy, you will imitate those who are inheriting the promises through faith and patience.

so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us.

The descendants of Levi who accept the priesthood have a commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their own brothers, even though they are also descendants of Abraham.

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

One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham,

This point is even more obvious in that another priest who is like Melchizedek has appeared

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

Therefore, because he always lives to intercede for them, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him.

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

For the Law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promised oath, which came after the Law, results in a Son who is eternally perfect.

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

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

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are unclean purifies them physically,

how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead actions so that we may serve the living God!

This is why the Messiah is the mediator of a new covenant; so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance promised them, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the offenses committed under the first covenant.

For where there is a will, the death of the one who made it must be established.

For a will is in force only when somebody has died, since it never takes effect as long as the one who made it is alive.

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.

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Let us continue to hold firmly to the hope that we confess without wavering, for the one who made the promise is faithful.

Anyone who violates the Law of Moses dies without mercy "on the testimony of two or three witnesses."

How much more severe a punishment do you think that person deserves who tramples on God's Son, treats as common the blood of the covenant by which it was sanctified, and insults the Spirit of grace?

For we know the one who said, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will pay them back," and again, "The Lord will judge his people."

At times you were made a public spectacle by means of insults and persecutions, while at other times you associated with people who were treated this way.

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.

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.

By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who also inherited the same promise,

By faith Sarah, even though she was old and barren, received the strength to conceive, because she was convinced that the one who had made the promise was faithful.

For people who say such things make it clear that they are looking for a country of their own.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac he who had received the promises was about to offer his unique son in sacrifice,

about whom it had been said, "It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you."

By faith he left Egypt, without being afraid of the king's anger, and he persevered because he saw the one who is invisible.

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

fixing our attention on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of the faith, who, in view of the joy set before him, endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

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

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

Furthermore, we had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them for it. We should submit even more to the Father of our spirits and live, shouldn't we?

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, for those who have been trained by it, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.

No one should be immoral or godless like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.

to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, to a judge who is the God of all, to the spirits of righteous people who have been made perfect,

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!

Continue to remember those in prison as if you were in prison with them, as well as those who are mistreated, since they also are only mortal.

Let marriage be kept honorable in every way, and the marriage bed undefiled. For God will judge those who commit sexual sins, especially those who commit adultery.

Remember your leaders, those who have spoken God's word to you. Think about the impact of their lives, and imitate their faith.

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.

We have an altar, and those who serve in the tent have no right to eat at it.

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.

Now may the God of peace, who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep,

Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who are from Italy greet you.