not to be quickly shaken in your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as from us, saying that the day of the Lord had come.

So that they all may be judged, who had no faith in what is true, but took pleasure in evil.

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who had love for us and has given us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,

And we have had confidence in the Lord for you, that what we announce to you, and ye do and will do.

Now we give you orders, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from all those whose behaviour is not well ordered and in harmony with the teaching which they had from us.

not, that we had no just claim, but to present ourselves as a pattern, which you should imitate,

although I had formerly been a blasphemer and a persecutor and a doer of outrage. But I obtained mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief.

but God had mercy on me in order that in my case as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display his perfect patience, as an example to those who would later believe in him and find eternal life.

keeping hold of faith and a good conscience. For some people have let that go and have had their faith ruined,

I exhort therefore that above all things, prayers, supplications, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be had for all men:

And without argument, great is the secret of religion: He who was seen in the flesh, who was given God's approval in the spirit, was seen by the angels, of whom the good news was given among the nations, in whom the world had faith, who was taken up in glory.

If you point this out to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, living on the principles of the faith and the excellent teaching you have had.

No widow under sixty years of age should be put on this roll. A widow must have had but one husband,

And if witness is given of her good works; if she has had the care of children, if she has been kind to travellers, washing the feet of the saints, helping those who are in trouble, giving herself to good works.

for which they are much to be condemn'd, because they violate the engagements they had before enter'd into:

For He saved us and called us with a holy call, not in accordance with anything that we had done, but in accordance with His own purpose and unmerited favor which was shown us through union with Christ Jesus eternal ages ago,

Keep the form of those true words which you had from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

You have had news that all those in Asia went away from me; among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes:

May the Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus because he frequently gave me help, and had no feeling of shame because I was in chains;

and that they will come to their senses and escape from being trapped by the devil, who had captured them to do what he wanted.

my persecutions, my sufferings ??all that befell me at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, all the persecutions I had to undergo, from which the Lord rescued me.

And that from the time when you were a child, you have had knowledge of the holy Writings, which are able to make you wise to salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus.

I have had a part in the great contest, I have run my race, I have preserved my faith.

From now on, the crown of righteousness is made ready for me, which the Lord, the upright judge, Will give to me at that day: and not only to me, but to all those who have had love for his revelation.

(I have had to send Tychicus to Ephesus.)

At my first defence, I had no assistance, for every body deserted me. I wish it may never be laid to their charge.

But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message could be fully proclaimed and that all the Gentiles could hear it. And I was rescued from the lion's mouth. [Note: This is probably a figure of speech indicating that Paul had escaped some immediate danger. See Psa. 22:20-21].

in hope of life eternal, which God, who cannot lie, hath promised before time had a being;

I left you in Crete for this reason, that you might set right the things left unfinished, and appoint presbyters in every city as I had instructed you;

He saved us, not for upright deeds that we had done, but in accordance with His mercy, through the bath of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

This is a true saying; and it is my desire that you may give certain witness about these things, so that those who have had faith in God may give attention to good works. These things are good and of profit to men;

For I had great joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been made strong again through you, brother.

I had rather apply to your benevolent temper, and desire you would regard the years of Paul, who am now also a prisoner for Jesus Christ,

but in these latter days He has spoken to us through a Son, whom He had appointed lawful owner of everything, and through whom He had made the worlds.

He is the reflection of God's glory and the perfect representation of His being, and continues to uphold the universe by His mighty word. After He had procured man's purification from sins, He took His seat at the right hand of God's majesty,

He had become as much superior [in rank] to the angels as the name He inherited [i.e., "Son." See next verse] was superior to theirs [i.e., the name "angels" means "messengers"].

For if the message spoken through angels proved to be valid, and every violation and infraction of it had its adequate penalty,

What will come on us, if we do not give our minds to such a great salvation? a salvation of which our fathers first had knowledge through the words of the Lord, and which was made certain to us by those to whom his words came;

but Jesus, who was for a while inferior to the angels by his sufferings and death, we see was crown'd with glory and honour; when by the divine goodness, he had pass'd thro' death for every man.

For it became him - for whom are all things, and by whom are all things - after that he had brought many sons unto glory, that he should make the Lord of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Therefore, since the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also similarly partook of the same, in order that through death he might render powerless him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

and set at liberty those who all their lifetime had been subject to slavery because of their dread of death.

Therefore He had to be made like His brothers, so that He could be a sympathetic High Priest, as well as a faithful one, in things relating to God, in order to atone for the people's sins.

For every house has had a builder, and the builder of all things is God.

even though they had seen my actions for 40 years. That is why I was indignant with that generation and said, "They are always going astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.'

For we have become real sharers in Christ, if we keep firm to the end the faith we had at first,

For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.

With whom was He disgusted forty years? Was it not with those who had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the desert?

And to whom did he swear that they should never enter into his rest, if not to those who had proved faithless?

So we see that they were not able to go in because they had no belief.

For we have had the good news told to us as well as they, but the message heard did them no good, because they were not by faith made one with those who heeded it.

For we who have believed are being admitted to that rest, just as He has said: "As in my anger I took oath, they shall not be admitted to my rest," although God's works had been completed at the creation of the world.

For in one place he has said of the seventh day, And God had rest from all his works on the seventh day;

Since therefore it remains for some to enter into it, and those who formerly had good-news did not enter because of disobedience,

After a long time, again naming a certain day, he says in David, Today (as he had said before), Today if you will let his voice come to your ears, be not hard of heart,

For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken about another day after these things.

For the man who comes into his rest has had rest from his works, as God did from his.

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter upon that Rest, so that none of us fall through such disbelief as that of which we have had an example.

Thus the Christ also has not glorified himself to be made a high priest; but he who had said to him, Thou art my Son, I have to-day begotten thee.

Who in the days of his flesh, having sent up prayers and requests with strong crying and weeping to him who was able to give him salvation from death, had his prayer answered because of his fear of God.

And when he had been made complete, he became the giver of eternal salvation to all those who are under his orders;

since He had received from God the title of a High Priest with the rank of Melchizedek.

For it is impossible to arouse people to a fresh repentance when they have once for all come into the light and had a taste of the gift from heaven, and shared in the holy Spirit

and who had experienced the good teaching of God and the powers of the coming age [i.e., they had already received some of the blessings of the Christian life, perhaps even miraculous signs].

For God who promised to Abraham, since he had none greater to swear by, swore by himself,

And so by patiently waiting he obtained what God had promised him.

And therefore God, in his desire to show, with unmistakable plainness, to those who were to enter on the enjoyment of what he had promised, the unchangeableness of his purpose, bound himself with an oath.

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 to whom Abraham gave a tenth part of everything which he had, being first named King of righteousness, and then in addition, King of Salem, that is to say, King of peace;

Now see how great this man was, to whom our father Abraham gave a tenth part of what he had got in the fight.

But in this case, the man whose ancestry is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham, and put his blessing on the man who had the promises from God.

for when Melchizedek met him, he was still in Abraham's body [i.e., Levi had not yet been born as a descendant of Abraham].

If indeed therefore perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people had received the law), what further need is there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated

for he of whom these things are said in another tribe hath had part, of whom no one gave attendance at the altar,

for the law had never made anything perfect -- and so a better hope is brought to us, through which we have approach to God.

For although those priests became such without an oath, He had an oath form God who said to him, The Lord hath sworn and will not change, Thou art a priest forever.

And on one hand, many people were appointed to be [Levitical] priests because they were prevented by death from continuing [to serve]. [Note: The idea is that Levitical priests had to be constantly replaced].

who hath no need, as the Levitical high-priests had, daily to offer sacrifices first for his own sins, and then for those of the people: for this He did once for all, in offering up Himself.

For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. So this one too had to have something to offer.

If he had been on earth he would not have been a priest at all, because there are other priests who make the offerings ordered by the law;

Being servants of that which is a copy and an image of the things in heaven, as Moses, when he was about to make the Tent, had special orders from God: for, See, he said, that you make everything like the design which you saw in the mountain.

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

"It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord.

Now even a first covenant had ordinances of divine service, and its sanctuary, a sanctuary of this world.

Having a vessel of gold in it for burning perfumes, and the ark of the agreement, which was covered with gold and which had in it a pot made of gold for the manna, and Aaron's rod which put out buds, and the stones with the writing of the agreement;

When everything had been arranged like this, the priests always went into the first part of the tent to perform their duties.

The Holy Spirit witnessing by this that the way into the holy place had not at that time been made open, while the first Tent was still in being;

But when Christ had become a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and a [burnt] heifer's ashes sprinkled on people who had been [ceremonially] defiled, could purify them so as to make them [ceremonially] clean on the outside,

And this is why He is the Mediator of a new covenant, in order that, after He had suffered death for securing redemption from the offenses committed under the first covenant, those who had been invited to share it might obtain the eternal inheritance promised them.

For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses unto all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

So, on the one hand, the copies of the original things in heaven had to be purified with such sacrifices; but on the other hand, the original things themselves in heaven with better sacrifices than these.

For Christ did not go into a holy place which had been made by men's hands as the copy of the true one; but he went into heaven itself, and now takes his place before the face of God for us.

Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, like the high priest entering the holy place every year with blood that was not his own: ??26 for in that case he would have had to suffer repeatedly, ever since the world was founded. Nay, once for all, at the end of the world, he has appeared with his self-sacrifice to abolish sin.

for, if that had been the case, He would have had to suffer over and over again, ever since the creation of the world. But, as it is, once at the close of the ages He has appeared, to put away sin by His sacrifice.

The Law, though able to foreshadow the Better System which was coming, never had its actual substance. Its priests, with those sacrifices which they offer continuously year after year, can never make those who come to worship perfect.

Else would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins.

So that when he comes into the world, he says, You had no desire for offerings, but you made a body ready for me;

You had no joy in burned offerings or in offerings for sin.

After saying, You had no desire for offerings, for burned offerings or offerings for sin (which are made by the law) and you had no pleasure in them,