For, every house, is prepared by someone, - but, he that hath prepared all things, is, God.

And Moses was indeed faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of the things that were going to be spoken,

but Christ as a Son set over the house of God was faithful; and we are that house, if we keep up our courage and the joy that hope inspires to the very end.

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks!

Do not harden your hearts as your forefathers provoked me by doing, As in that time of trial in the desert,

where your forefathers so sorely tried My patience and saw all that I did during forty years.

Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, They are always led astray in their heart, and they did not know my ways.

so I swear in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest."

See to it, my brothers, that no wicked, unbelieving heart is found in any of you, as shown by your turning away from the ever-living God,

but day by day, as long as "Today" shall last, continue to encourage one another, so that not one of you may be hardened by sin's deceiving ways,

For we have become companions of the Messiah if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.

in that it is said, To-day if ye will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the provocation;

For who was it that heard and yet provoked Him? Was it not all who came out of Egypt led by Moses?

But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?

To whom did He take oath that they should not be admitted to His rest, if it was not to those who disobeyed Him?

And we see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief.

So let us fear that when the promise for us to be admitted to His rest is still remaining valid some one of you may be found to have missed it.

For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

For those who believe enter into that rest, just as he said, So I swore in my wrath, They will not enter into my rest, although the works occurred from the foundation of the world.

Again, in that passage He says, They will never enter My rest.

Since then it still remains that some are being admitted to it and that those who first had the good news told to them were not admitted because of disobedience,

He again sets a definite day, [a new] “Today,” [providing another opportunity to enter that rest by] saying through David after so long a time, just as has been said before [in the words already quoted],

“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”

For, if, unto them, Joshua had given rest, it had not in that case, concerning another day, been speaking, after, these things.

So that there is still a Sabbath-keeping for the people of God.

For, he that hath entered into his rest, He too, hath rested from his works, just as, from his own, God, rested .

Let us therefore be diligent to enter into that rest, so that not any man may fall by the same example of disobedience.

For God's message is alive and full of power in action, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the depths of soul and spirit, to the dividing of joints and marrow, and passing judgment on the thoughts and purposes of the heart.

And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Let us therefore come near with boldness to the throne of grace, so that we may take mercy, and may find grace for timely help.

For every high priest taken from men is appointed for men in things toward God, so that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.

For that reason he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for those of the people.

And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

Thus, also the Christ, glorified not himself to become a high-priest, but he that spake unto him - My Son, art, thou, I, this day, have begotten thee;

Who, in the days of his flesh, having offered up, both supplications and entreaties unto him that was able to save him out of death, with mighty outcries and tears, and been hearkened to by reason of his devoutness,

although being a Son, he learned obedience from the things that he suffered.

And, being made perfect, became, to all them that obey him, Author of salvation age-abiding;

Concerning him I have much to say, and much that is hard to make clear to you, because you have grown dull of hearing.

For although you ought to be teachers of others because you have been Christians so long, you actually need someone to teach you over and over again the very elements of the truths that God has given us, and you have gotten into such a state that you are in constant need of milk instead of solid food.

For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

But solid food is for adults, that is, for those who by constant practise have their faculties trained to discriminate between good and evil.

So then let us once for all quit the elementary teaching about Christ and continue progressing toward maturity; let us stop relaying a foundation of repentance from works that mean only death, and of faith in God,

for it is impossible that those,

For it is not possible that they which were once lighted, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were become partakers of the holy ghost,

and have known by experience the truth of the divine promises, and the miracles of the age that was to come; it is impossible,

For the soil that has drunk the rain often coming upon it, and bringing forth vegetation useful for those by whom also it is cultivated, partakes of a blessing from God.

but if it persistently produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

But we are persuaded better things about you, beloved, and things that have salvation, even though we speak this way.

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work, and the labor of love that ye showed toward his name, having served the sanctified, and who are serving.

And we desire each one of you to continue to show the same earnestness to the very end, that you may enjoy your hope to the fullest,

so that ye may not become lazy, but imitators of those who, through faith and longsuffering, inherit the promises.

Saying, Be certain that I will give you my blessing, and make your numbers very great.

And so, having patiently waited, he realized the promise [in the miraculous birth of Isaac, as a pledge of what was to come from God].

For it is a custom among men to take oath by something greater than themselves, and an oath taken for confirmation settles any dispute among them.

So that when it was God's desire to make it specially clear to those who by his word were to have the heritage, that his purpose was fixed, he made it more certain with an oath;

So that by two immutable events, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, having fled for refuge to seize the hope being openly displayed.

Which we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and that enters into the interior of the veil,

whither the forerunner is for us entered in, I mean Jesus that is made a high priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.

For Melchizedek, the king of Salem, a priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham on his return from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him ??2 who had a tenth part of everything assigned him by Abraham ??this Melchizedek is primarily a king of righteousness (that is the meaning of his name); then, besides that, king of Salem (which means, king of peace).

and it was to him that Abraham apportioned a tithe of all the spoil. He was first, as his name signifies, King of righteousness, and then King of Salem, that is, King of Peace;

Now see how great this man must have been that even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of his spoils.

Now indeed those of the sons of Levi who receive the priesthood have commandment to collect tithes from the people according to the law, that is, of their brothers, although having come out of the loins of Abraham.

But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.

Now beyond any contradiction, it is always the inferior that is blessed by the superior.

And here indeed, men who die receive tithes, but there, he who is testified about that he lives.

And we may say that in Abraham, even Levi, who has a right to take the tenth part, gave it;

Now if there were perfection through the Levitical priesthood, (and it was under it that the people received the Law) why was it still necessary for another kind of priest to arise, after the order of Melchizedek, instead of being reckoned according to the order of Aaron?

It is evident that, when the priest hood is changed, there is of necessity a change also of the law.

Yet the one these things are spoken about belongs to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever officiated at the altar.

For it is evident that our Lord arose out of Judah, regarding which tribe Moses spoke nothing about the priesthood.

And, yet more abundantly evident it is - that, according to the likeness of Melchizedek, there is to be raised up, a different priest.

who is appointed not on the basis of a physical qualification but on the basis of a power flowing from a life that cannot end.

for that is the meaning of the declaration-- 'Thou art for all time a priest of the order of Melchizedek.'

Then the commandment that went afore, is disannulled, because of her weakness and unprofitableness.

And indeed it was not without the taking of an oath [that Christ was made priest]

(For those were made priests without an oath, but this one was made a priest with an oath by him who says of him, The Lord gave his oath, which he will not take back, that you are a priest for ever);

so that Jesus was made guarantee of an alliance so much the more excellent, as it was not without the solemnity of an oath.

And it is true that there have been a great number of those priests, because death does not let them go on for ever;

but He, on the other hand, because He Himself lives on forever, enjoys the only priesthood that has no successors in office.

Hence also he is able to continue saving to the uttermost those who are ever drawing near to God through him, seeing that he is ever living to intercede for them.

For such a high priest is fitting for us, devout, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and having become higher than the heavens.

Who hath no daily necessity, like the high-priests, beforehand, over his own sins, to be offering sacrifices, after that, over those, of the people, - for, this, he did once for all when, himself, he offered up.

For the Law appoints human beings to be high priests, men with all their weakness; but the word of the oath, which was later than the Law, appoints a Son, perfected forevermore.

The pith of all that we have been saying is this; we do have such a High Priest; and he has taken his seat on the right hand of the throne of Majesty in the heavens,

as officiating Priest in that sanctuary, which is also the true tent of worship, which the Lord and not man set up.

For every high priest is appointed in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices, whereupon it is necessary for this man also have something that he may offer.

Now were he on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there are here those who present the gifts according to the Law??5 those priests who serve a mere outline and shadow of the heavenly reality, just as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to build the Tabernacle. "See", he says, "that you make everything on the pattern showed you on the mountain."

who serve for an example and shadow of the heavenly things. Just as Moses who was divinely warned while going to complete the tabernacle, for he says, See thou make all things according to the pattern that was shown thee on the mou

But as it is, Christ has acquired a [priestly] ministry which is more excellent [than the old Levitical priestly ministry], for He is the Mediator (Arbiter) of a better covenant [uniting God and man], which has been enacted and rests on better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then would no place have been sought for a second.

For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, That I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers In the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt; For they continued not in my covenant, And I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, And on their heart also will I write them: And I will be to them a God, And they shall be to me a people:

In that he saith, A new covenant he hath made the first old. But that which is becoming old and waxeth aged is nigh unto vanishing away.

That first tabernacle verily had ordinances and servings of God, and worldly holiness.

for the disposition of the tabernacle was such, that in the first part named the sanctuary, were placed the candlestick, the table, and the shew-bread;

But behind the second curtain is the tent that is called the holy of holies,

having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was a golden pot holding the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;