But will not the man by whom the Son of God has been crushed under foot, and the blood of the agreement with which he was washed clean has been taken as an unholy thing, and who has had no respect for the Spirit of grace, be judged bad enough for a very much worse punishment?

For we have had experience of him who says, Punishment is mine, I will give reward. And again, The Lord will be judge of his people.

We may well go in fear of falling into the hands of the living God.

For you had pity on those who were in prison, and had joy in the loss of your property, in the knowledge that you still had a better property and one which you would keep for ever.

For, having done what was right in God's eyes, you have need of waiting before his word has effect for you.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the sign that the things not seen are true.

For by it our fathers had God's approval.

By faith Enoch was taken up to heaven so that he did not see death; he was seen no longer, for God took him away: for before he was taken, witness had been given that he was well-pleasing to God:

And without faith it is not possible to be well-pleasing to him, for it is necessary for anyone who comes to God to have the belief that God is, and that he is a rewarder of all those who make a serious search for him.

By faith Noah, being moved by the fear of God, made ready an ark for the salvation of his family, because God had given him news of things which were not seen at the time; and through it the world was judged by him, and he got for his heritage the righteousness which is by faith.

For he was looking for the strong town, whose builder and maker is God.

All these came to their end in faith, not having had the heritage; but having seen it with delight far away, they gave witness that they were wanderers and not of the earth.

For those who say such things make it clear that they are searching for a country for themselves.

But now their desire is for a better country, that is to say, for one in heaven; and so it is no shame to God to be named their God; for he has made ready a town for them.

By faith Moses was kept secretly by his father and mother for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a fair child; and they had no fear of the king's orders.

By faith Moses, when he became a man, had no desire to be named the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

Feeling that it was better to undergo pain with the people of God, than for a short time to have a taste of the pleasures of sin;

Judging a part in the shame of Christ to be better than all the wealth of Egypt; for he was looking forward to his reward.

By faith he went out of Egypt, not being turned from his purpose by fear of the wrath of the king; for he kept on his way, as seeing him who is unseen.

By faith the walls of Jericho came down, after they had been circled for seven days.

What more am I to say? For there would not be time to give the stories of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets:

Put out the power of fire, got safely away from the edge of the sword, were made strong when they had been feeble, became full of power in war, and put to flight the armies of the nations.

Women had their dead given back to them living; others let themselves be cruelly attacked, having no desire to go free, so that they might have a better life to come;

Wandering in waste places and in mountains and in holes in the rocks; for whom the world was not good enough.

Because God had kept some better thing for us, so that it was not possible for them to become complete without us.

For this reason, as we are circled by so great a cloud of witnesses, putting off every weight, and the sin into which we come so readily, let us keep on running in the way which is marked out for us,

Having our eyes fixed on Jesus, the guide and end of our faith, who went through the pains of the cross, not caring for the shame, because of the joy which was before him, and who has now taken his place at the right hand of God's seat of power.

For the Lord sends punishment on his loved ones; everyone whom he takes as his son has experience of his rod.

It is for your training that you undergo these things; God is acting to you as a father does to his sons; for what son does not have punishment from his father?

For they truly gave us punishment for a short time, as it seemed good to them; but he does it for our profit, so that we may become holy as he is.

For this cause let the hands which are hanging down be lifted up, and let the feeble knees be made strong,

And make straight roads for your feet, so that the feeble may not be turned out of the way, but may be made strong.

Let your desire be for peace with all men, and to be made holy, without which no man may see the Lord;

Looking with care to see that no man among you in his behaviour comes short of the grace of God; for fear that some bitter root may come up to be a trouble to you, and that some of you may be made unclean by it;

And that there may not be any evil liver, or any man without respect for God, like Esau, who let his birthright go for a plate of food.

For you have knowledge that even long after, when he was desiring the blessing for his heritage, he was turned away, though he made his request frequently and with weeping; because the past might not be changed.

You have not come to a mountain which may be touched, and is burning with fire, and to a black cloud, and a dark smoke, and a violent wind,

For the order which said, If the mountain is touched even by a beast, the beast is to be stoned, seemed hard to them;

And the vision was so overpowering that even Moses said, I am shaking and full of fear.

See that you give ear to his voice which comes to you. For if those whose ears were shut to the voice which came to them on earth did not go free from punishment, what chance have we of going free if we give no attention to him whose voice comes from heaven?

If then, we have a kingdom which will never be moved, let us have grace, so that we may give God such worship as is pleasing to him with fear and respect:

For our God is an all-burning fire.

Let married life be honoured among all of you and not made unclean; for men untrue in married life will be judged by God.

Be free from the love of money and pleased with the things which you have; for he himself has said, I will be with you at all times.

So that we say with a good heart, The Lord is my helper; I will have no fear: what is man able to do to me?

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.

Do not be turned away by different strange teachings, because it is good for your hearts to be made strong by grace, and not by meats, which were of no profit to those who took so much trouble over them.

For the bodies of the beasts whose blood is taken into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin are burned outside the circle of the tents.

For this reason Jesus was put to death outside the walls, so that he might make the people holy by his blood.

For here we have no fixed resting-place, but our search is for the one which is to come.

Give ear to those who are rulers over you, and do as they say: for they keep watch over your souls, ready to give an account of them; let them be able to do this with joy and not with grief, because that would be of no profit to you.

Make prayers for us, for we are certain that our hearts are free from the sense of sin, desiring the right way of life in all things.

Make you full of every good work and ready to do all his desires, working in us whatever is pleasing in his eyes through Jesus Christ; and may the glory be given to him for ever and ever. So be it.

But, brothers, take kindly the words which I have said for your profit; for I have not sent you a long letter.

Let him make his request in faith, doubting nothing; for he who has doubt in his heart is like the waves of the sea, which are troubled by the driving of the wind.

For there is a division in his mind, and he is uncertain in all his ways.

For when the sun comes up with its burning heat, the grass gets dry and the grace of its form is gone with the falling flower; so the man of wealth comes to nothing in his ways.

There is a blessing on the man who undergoes testing; because, if he has God's approval, he will be given the crown of life, which the Lord has said he will give to those who have love for him.

Let no man say when he is tested, I am tested by God; for it is not possible for God to be tested by evil, and he himself puts no man to such a test:

For the righteousness of God does not come about by the wrath of man.

For this reason, putting away all dirty behaviour and the overweight of evil, take into your souls without pride the word which, being planted there, is able to give you salvation.

For after looking at himself he goes away, and in a short time he has no memory of what he was like.

But he who goes on looking into the true law which makes him free, being not a hearer without memory but a doer putting it into effect, this man will have a blessing on his acts.

The religion which is holy and free from evil in the eyes of our God and Father is this: to take care of children who have no fathers and of widows who are in trouble, and to keep oneself untouched by the world.

For if a man comes into your Synagogue in fair clothing and with a gold ring, and a poor man comes in with dirty clothing,

And you do honour to the man in fair clothing and say, Come here and take this good place; and you say to the poor man, Take up your position there, or be seated at my feet;

Give ear, my dear brothers; are not those who are poor in the things of this world marked out by God to have faith as their wealth, and for their heritage the kingdom which he has said he will give to those who have love for him?

But if you keep the greatest law of all, as it is given in the holy Writings, Have love for your neighbour as for yourself, you do well:

For anyone who keeps all the law, but makes a slip in one point, is judged to have gone against it all.

For he who said, Do not be untrue in married life, is the same who said, Put no man to death. Now if you are not untrue in married life, but you put a man to death, the law is broken.

Let your words and your acts be those of men who are to be judged by the law which makes free.

For the man who has had no mercy will be judged without mercy, but mercy takes pride in overcoming judging.

What use is it, my brothers, for a man to say that he has faith, if he does nothing? will such a faith give him salvation?

You have the belief that God is one, and you do well: the evil spirits have the same belief, shaking with fear.

For as the body without the spirit is dead even so faith without works is dead.

For we all go wrong in a number of things. If a man never makes a slip in his talk, then he is a complete man and able to keep all his body in control.

Even so the tongue is a small part of the body, but it takes credit for great things. How much wood may be lighted by a very little fire!

And the tongue is a fire; it is the power of evil placed in our bodies, making all the body unclean, putting the wheel of life on fire, and getting its fire from hell.

For every sort of beast and bird and every living thing on earth and in the sea has been controlled by man and is under his authority;

Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, it is not right for these things to be so.

For where envy is, and the desire to get the better of others, there is no order, but every sort of evil-doing.

And the fruit of righteousness is planted in peace for those who make peace.

You are burning with desire, and have not your desire, so you put men to death; you are full of envy, and you are not able to get your desire, so you are fighting and making war; you have not your desire, because you do not make request for it.

You make your request but you do not get it, because your request has been wrongly made, desiring the thing only so that you may make use of it for your pleasure.

Or does it seem to you that it is for nothing that the holy Writings say, The spirit which God put into our hearts has a strong desire for us?

For this cause be ruled by God; but make war on the Evil One and he will be put to flight before you.

How foolish it is to say, Today or tomorrow we will go into this town, and be there for a year and do business there and get wealth:

When you are not certain what will take place tomorrow. What is your life? It is a mist, which is seen for a little time and then is gone.

You have been living delicately on earth and have taken your pleasure; you have made your hearts fat for a day of destruction.

Go on waiting calmly, my brothers, till the coming of the Lord, like the farmer waiting for the good fruit of the earth till the early and late rains have come.

Is anyone among you ill? let him send for the rulers of the church; and let them say prayers over him, putting oil on him in the name of the Lord.

And by the prayer of faith the man who is ill will be made well, and he will be lifted up by the Lord, and for any sin which he has done he will have forgiveness.

So then, make a statement of your sins to one another, and say prayers for one another so that you may be made well. The prayer of a good man is full of power in its working.

Elijah was a man of flesh and blood as we are, and he made a strong prayer that there might be no rain; and there was no rain on the earth for three years and six months.

Be certain that he through whom a sinner has been turned from the error of his way, keeps a soul from death and is the cause of forgiveness for sins without number.

And a heritage fair, holy and for ever new, waiting in heaven for you,

Who, by the power of God are kept, through faith, for that salvation, which will be seen at the last day.

You have cause for great joy in this, though it may have been necessary for you to be troubled for a little time, being tested in all sorts of ways,

So that the true metal of your faith, being of much greater value than gold (which, though it comes to an end, is tested by fire), may come to light in praise and glory and honour, at the revelation of Jesus Christ:

For so you have the true end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.