This is why we must give the very closest attention to the message we have heard, to keep from ever losing our hold upon it.

how can we escape if we pay no attention to such a salvation as this? It was first proclaimed by the Lord himself, and it was guaranteed to us by those who heard him,

and on this account he is obliged to offer sacrifices for sin, not only for the people but for himself as well.

I have much to say to you about this, but it is difficult to make it clear to you, because you have become so slow of apprehension.

But about you, dear friends, even though we say this, we are sure of better things that promise salvation.

But we want each of you to exhibit this same earnestness to the very end with regard to your confidence in your hope,

This hope is like an anchor for our souls. It reaches up secure and strong into the sanctuary behind the heavenly curtain,

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

Now see how great this man must have been to have the patriarch Abraham give him a tenth of the spoil.

But this man, whose ancestry is not connected with theirs, collected tithes from Abraham himself, and gave his blessing to the man who had received the promises from God.

For he of whom all this was said was related to a tribe no member of which ever officiated at the altar.

who does not need, as the old high priests did, to offer sacrifices every day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people??or this last he has done once for all, in offering up himself.

For the Law appoints to the high priesthood men full of imperfection; but this utterance about the making of the oath, which came long after the Law, appoints a son, fully qualified to be high priest forever.

Now the main point in what I am saying is this: We have such a high priest as this, and he has taken his seat in heaven at the right hand of God's Majesty,

But every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices, and so this high priest also must have some sacrifice to offer.

'For this is the agreement that I will make with the house of Israel, In those later days,' says the Lord; 'I will put my laws into their minds, And write them on their hearts, And they will have me for their God, And I will have them for my people.

In all this the holy Spirit was seeking to show that there was no free access to the sanctuary while the outer tent was still standing.

And all this looked toward the present time and was symbolic of the fact that the mere offering of material gifts and sacrifices cannot inwardly qualify the worshiper to approach God,

And this is why he is the negotiator of a new agreement, in order that as someone has died to deliver them from the offenses committed under the old agreement, those who have been offered it may receive the unending inheritance they have been promised.

saying, "This blood ratifies the agreement which God has commanded me to make with you."

And we have the testimony of the holy Spirit to this, for after saying,

" 'This is the agreement that I will make with them In those later days,' says the Lord, 'I will put my laws into their minds, And write them upon their hearts,' " he goes on,

I ask this of you more especially that I may be brought back to you the sooner.

I beg you brothers, to listen patiently to this appeal, for I have written you but briefly.