Therefore, I want the younger widows to get married, have children and manage their homes, so that they do not give the enemy [i.e., non-Christians] an opportunity for speaking against [the church].

For some [young widows] have already turned away [from their commitment to God] to serve Satan.

And those slaves who have believing masters should not despise them, since they are [Christian] brothers, but rather they should serve them all the more [faithfully]. For those [masters] who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved [by them and God]. Teach and exhort people regarding these things.

But if we have [enough] food and clothing, we will [i.e., should] be content with that.

For, loving money is a source of all kinds of evil, [and] some people who crave it have been led astray from the faith, and have stabbed themselves [in the heart] with many sorrows.

which some people have claimed [to have], and in doing so have strayed from the faith. May [God's] unearned favor be upon you.

[It is being sent] to Timothy, my dearly loved son. May you have unearned favor, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I [also] remember the sincere faith you have in your heart, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am convinced, lives in you [too].

The reason I am reminding you [of these things] is so that you will rekindle the gift from God, which is in your life through the laying on my hands. [Note: This "gift" was probably his ordination to serve as an evangelist (See 4:1-5), and in addition, may have included a supernatural "spiritual gift" bestowed by the apostle Paul].

For I am suffering these things [See verse 8] for this reason [i.e., because of being a Gospel preacher]. Yet I am not ashamed because I know whom I have believed in [i.e., Jesus], and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him [i.e., Paul's spiritual well-being] until that day [i.e., the day of judgment].

You should hold on firmly to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, while [maintaining your] faith and love in [harmony with] Christ Jesus.

You know that all those people in [the province of] Asia deserted me [i.e., those who could have helped me], including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

And the things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, you should pass on to trustworthy men who will be able to teach other people also.

This saying is trustworthy: For if we have died with Christ [i.e., stopped the practice of sin, See Rom. 6:1-11], we will also live with Him [i.e., both here and hereafter].

Do your best to present yourself as a worker who is approved by God [and] does not have to be ashamed, [because you are] accurately handling [i.e., explaining] the message of truth.

who have strayed from the truth [by] saying that the resurrection [from the dead] has already happened and are undermining the faith of some people.

[These people] maintain an appearance of being godly, but they have denied its power; [you should] turn away from such people.

These people oppose the truth just like Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have corrupt minds and are worthless as far as the faith is concerned.

But you have followed [Note: These words mean "to observe closely, have a keen interest in"] my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,

But you should continue [to believe and practice] what you have learned and been convinced of, knowing those from whom you learned it. [Note: These persons would include Lois and Eunice (See 1:5), as well as Paul himself].

And [remember] that, from childhood, you have known the sacred Scriptures which are able to make you wise [enough] to be saved through faith in Christ Jesus.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge [both] those still alive and those who have already died, and in view of His appearing [i.e., at His second coming] and His kingdom [i.e., when it is revealed in its eternal splendor], I solemnly urge you:

I have fought the good battle; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith [i.e., I have been true to my commitment].

[It is being sent] to Titus, my true son, [who shares] in a common faith. [May you have] unearned favor and peace [which come] from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

[An elder must] not be guilty of just blame, [he must be] the husband of one wife, whose children are believers [Note: The word for "believers" may also be translated "faithful ones" or "trustworthy ones"], who have a reputation for not being wild or disobedient.

and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that the person who opposes [us] will have to be ashamed for not having anything bad to say about us.

[This was] so that, being made right with God by His unearned favor, we could have the hope of [possessing our] inheritance of never ending life [in heaven].

This saying is trustworthy and I want you [in your teaching] to affirm these things with confidence, so that those people who have trusted God will be careful to devote themselves to doing good deeds. These things [i.e., just mentioned] are good and profitable for people [to do].

After you have warned a divisive person twice, have nothing more to do with him [i.e., withdraw spiritual fellowship from him].

Do all you can [materially] to send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey, so that they do not [have to] lack anything [they need].

For I have much joy and encouragement from [observing] your love, because you have cheered the hearts of the saints [i.e., God's holy people], brother.

Therefore, although in [the fellowship of] Christ I have enough boldness to order you to do the proper thing,

For possibly Onesimus left you for a short time so that you could have him [back] forever,

So, brother, I would like to have your help in [the fellowship of] the Lord; cheer me up in Christ [i.e., by welcoming Onesimus back on good terms].

For, to which angel did God ever say [Psa. 2:7], "You are my Son, today I have conceived you"? And again [II Sam. 7:14], "I will be His Father, and He will be my Son"?

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]."

So [then], we [Christians] should pay closer attention to the things we have heard, so that we do not drift away from [believing and practicing] them.

Therefore, holy brothers [and sisters], who have been called [by God] to share in heaven, think about Jesus, the Apostle and Head Priest, whom we have confessed [as Savior].

do not have a stubborn heart like you did when you provoked [God] during the time you tested [His patience] in the desert,

For we have become sharers with Christ, if we hold firmly onto the confidence [we had in Him] from the beginning until the end [of our lives].

As it has been said [Psa. 95:7], "Today, if you hear His [i.e., God's] voice, do not have a stubborn heart like you did when you provoked [God]."

So, as long as God's promise of entering into a state of rest with Him [still] remains, we should fear that someone among you will appear [in the end] to have fallen short of [attaining] it. [Note: In this section "entering into rest" refers to Israel entering Canaan (verses 6, 8) and to Christians entering heaven (verses 3, 9). The "Sabbath day rest" is represented as a type of both].

For we [Christians] have had the good news [about resting with God] preached to us, just as the Israelites [had good news proclaimed to them. See 1:16-19]. But the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not coupled with faith by those who heard it.

Now we who have believed [will someday] enter that rest, even as God has said [Psa. 95:11], "So, I vowed in my anger, 'They will not enter a state of rest with me,'" although God's works were completed since the creation of the world.

God again identified a certain day, [calling it] "Today," in David's [writings], a long time later (just as it was referred to above) [Psa. 95:7-8], "Today, if you hear His [i.e., God's] voice, do not have a stubborn heart."

For if Joshua had given the Israelites rest, God would not have spoken about another day later on [i.e., "Today" in Psa. 95:7].

Since then we [Christians] have [such] a great Head Priest, who has passed through the skies [i.e., ascended to heaven. See Acts 1:9], Jesus, the Son of God, we should remain true to our profession [of faith in Him].

For we do not have a head priest who is incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but One [i.e., Jesus] who has been tempted in every way that we have, and yet without sinning.

So, Christ also did not take on Himself the honor of becoming head priest, but God said to Him [Psa. 2:7], "You are my Son; today I have conceived you."

[Now] we have many things to say about Melchizedek, but because of your slowness to grasp things, they are hard to explain.

For certainly enough time has elapsed so that [by now] you ought to be teachers, [but instead] you are in need of having someone teach you again the basic principles of God's message. You have become people who need "milk" and not "solid food." [Note: The fundamental truths of Christianity are here figuratively spoken of as "milk," while the more advanced teaching, such as Christ's priesthood being like Melchizedek's, is called "solid food"].

But "solid food" is for mature people, who because of using their [spiritual] senses, have become able to distinguish good from evil.

And we will do so [i.e., go on to more advanced teaching] if God allows us to. For it is impossible to get people who have [completely] fallen away [from God] to repent again, because they [continue to] crucify for themselves God's Son all over again, and hold Him up to contempt.

For God is not [so] unjust as to forget the work you are doing and the love you have shown for Him, as you ministered to the saints [i.e., His holy people] and continue to minister [to them].

He did this so that by two unchangeable things [i.e., His promise and His oath], (and it is impossible for God to lie), we, who have fled [to God] for refuge, could be greatly encouraged to take hold of the hope set before us [i.e., the hope of never ending life].

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, [a hope] that is safe and secure, and one that enters the curtain [i.e., figuratively, of the heavenly sanctuary],

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.

For every head priest [on earth] is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, so it is necessary that this Head Priest [i.e., Jesus] also have something to offer.

For if that first Agreement had been faultless, then there would have been no need for a second one.

And everyone will not [have to] teach his neighbor or his brother [anymore], telling them to 'Know the Lord,' because all of them will know me [as their Lord], from the least [important] ones to the most important ones.

But when Christ became the Head Priest of the good things that have come, He entered the greater and more complete Tabernacle, not made by hand, that is, not part of this creation [i.e., heaven, See 8:2].

Therefore, Christ is the Mediator of a New Agreement, so that [all] those people who have been called [by God] can receive the promise of the never ending inheritance. [This is possible because] a death has taken place for the redemption of [people's] sins who lived under the first Agreement.

For then He would have had to suffer often since the creation of the world; but now at the end of the ages [i.e., the final period of world history] He has been revealed once [for all] to remove sin by sacrificing Himself.

If it could, would not those sacrifices have stopped being offered [by now], since the worshipers would have been [ceremonially] cleansed and would not have had a sense of guilt anymore?

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.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Holy of Holies [i.e., heaven] by means of the blood of Jesus,

and since we have a great Priest [who is] over God's household [i.e., Christ],

For if we go on sinning intentionally, after we have received the full knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for [our] sins.

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].

But we are not like those people who turn back and are destroyed, but like those who have faith [in God] and obtain the salvation of their souls.

By [having] faith, Enoch was taken [to be with God], so that he did not have to die. And he could not be found because God had taken him away. For he had been commended [by God] before he was taken away, that he had pleased God. [Note: The Hebrew of Gen. 5:24 says, "he walked with God"].

By [having] faith, Sarah herself received the ability to have children, even though she was [sterile, being] past the age of child-bearing, since she considered God faithful to His promise. [Note: Some translations consider "Abraham" to be the subject of this highly controversial verse. See Lightfoot, pages 222-225].

These people [all] continued to have faith until they died, [even though] they had not obtained [all] the things God had promised, but had [only] seen them and welcomed them from a distance. And they had confessed to being strangers and aliens on earth.

And indeed, if they had remembered [with longing] the country they had left, they would have had the opportunity to return to it.

You have not yet resisted to the point of [shedding] blood in your struggle against sin.

And have you forgotten the exhortation that was addressed to you as sons? [Prov. 3:11f says], "My son, do not take the discipline of the Lord lightly, and do not get discouraged when He rebukes you.

No discipline seems pleasant, but painful, at the time [it is received], yet later on it produces a crop of peace and righteousness in [the lives of] those who have been trained by it.

[Unlike the Israelites at Mount Sinai] you [Christians] have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that burned with fire [See Ex. 19:12, 16-19; 20:18-21; Deut. 4:11]; to [a place of] darkness, gloom and wind;

to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words [from God] that the hearers begged not to have to listen to [anymore]. [See Ex. 20:19].

But you [Christians] have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. [Note: These terms describe people who have entered a spiritual relationship with God as part of the church]. [You have come] to a praise gathering of innumerable angels [Note: Christians are here pictured as assembled in worship of God, along with angels],

and to the church of the firstborn ones [i.e., those who have received an inheritance from their Father], whose names are recorded in heaven. [See Luke 10:20]. [You have come] to God, who is the Judge of all people, and to the spirits of righteous people who have become [morally] perfect [i.e., that great company of God's people who have gone on to their heavenly reward],

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.].

Do not forget to show hospitality toward strangers, for by doing this, some people have entertained angels without realizing it.

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."

[Now] we [Christians] have an altar [i.e., the sacrifice of Christ] from which people who serve in the Tabernacle [i.e., the Jews] have no right to eat.

For we do not have a lasting city here on earth [i.e., such as Jerusalem] but we are looking for the city to come [i.e., heaven. See 10:11].

Pray for us [continually]. We are convinced that we [i.e., the writer of Hebrews] have a clear conscience [i.e., regarding our relationship to you] and we want to behave properly in every way.

But I urge you, brothers [and sisters], listen to these words of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.

But you people have dishonored the poor person. Are not rich people the ones who oppress you and drag you to court?

For God, who said [through Moses, Ex. 20:13f], "You must not be sexually unfaithful to your mate," also said, "You must not murder." Now if you are sexually faithful to your mate and yet murder [someone], you have become a lawbreaker.

What good is it, my brothers [and sisters], if a person says he has faith but does not have [good] deeds? Can such faith save him?

In the same way, if [your] faith does not have [good] deeds [to accompany it], it is dead, [because it stands] alone.

But someone may say, "You have faith and I have [good] deeds." [I reply], show me your faith without your [good] deeds, and I will show you my faith by my [good] deeds.

For all kinds of animals and birds and reptiles and ocean creatures are being subdued and have been subdued by mankind,

But if you people have bitter jealousy and rivalry in your hearts, do not be arrogant [over it] and deny the truth.

You people desire something and yet do not have it, [so] you murder [to get it]. You are envious [of what someone has] and [yet] are not able to obtain it, [so] you fight and quarrel [over it]. You do not have [what you want] because you do not ask [God for it].

You people who have become unfaithful to God, do you not know that being [intimate] friends with the world [of sin] means hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever determines to be an [intimate] friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.