And because of this he is obligated, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.

And no one takes this honor upon himself but is called to it by God, as Aaron was.

So even the Christ was not raised to the high glory of the priesthood by himself, but on the contrary by Him who said to him. Thou art my Son; this day have I become thy Father;

And He says in another place [Psa. 110:4], "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." [Note: This is the first mention of this mysterious Old Testament priest who, throughout this book, is represented as a type of Christ].

this was Jesus, who while he was in a mortal body, having offered up prayers and supplications, with strong cries, and with tears, to him that was able to save him from that death, was heard so as to be delivered from his fear;

And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

Concerning this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull and sluggish in [your spiritual] hearing and disinclined to listen.

And this too, although you ought by this time to be teaching others, you are still needing some one to teach you the very rudiments of divine revelation. You need milk, not solid food.

For this reason let us go on from the first things about Christ to full growth; not building again that on which it is based, that is, the turning of the heart from dead works, and faith in God,

and of faith in God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and laying on of hands, and of the resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgement: (tho' we will do this also, if God permit:)

And this we will do, if of course God will permit.

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

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

And this way, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

In this way desiring to declare more fully to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, God interposed by an oath,

so that by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge would have strong encouragement and indwelling strength to hold tightly to the hope set before us.

This hope we have as an anchor for our souls, secure and safe, which reaches up behind the heavenly veil,

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, having met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, also blessed him.

with no father or mother, and no record of ancestry: having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made a type of the Son of God--this man Melchizedek remains a priest for ever.

And notice how great this man was, to whom also the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth out of the best spoils.

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.

And in this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case it is testified that he lives.

Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood for on this basis the people received the Law what further need would there be to speak of appointing another kind of priest according to the order of Melchizedek, not one according to the order of Aaron?

For He of whom this is said became a member of a different tribe no member of which ever officiated at the altar.

And this is yet more abundantly clear if, after the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another Priest,

for the law made no man perfect, but this was effected by introducing a better hope, which brings us nearer to the divine presence.

And as this is not without the taking of an oath

(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);

By as much as this, hath, Jesus, become surety of a better covenant also.

But this priest, because his life goes on for ever, is unchanging.

For, such a high-priest as this, for us, was evensuited: Loving, noble, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and become, higher than the heavens;

Who has no need to offer up sacrifices each day, as those high priests, first for his own sins, then for those of the people, for this he did, once, when he offered 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, one who has taken His seat at the right hand of God's majestic throne in heaven

He is a minister in the sanctuary, [serving about holy things] in the true tabernacle, which was set up by the Lord and not by man [Note: This sanctuary/tabernacle represents either heaven or the church].

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.

They serve in a sanctuary that is a copy, a shadow of the heavenly one. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tent: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain."

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:

And there will be no need for every man to be teaching his brother, or his neighbour, saying, This is the knowledge of the Lord: for they will all have knowledge of me, great and small.

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

For the first Tent was made ready, having in it the vessels for the lights and the table and the ordering of the bread; and this is named the holy place.

having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered entirely with gold. This contained a golden jar which held the manna, and the rod of Aaron that sprouted, and the [two stone] tablets of the covenant [inscribed with the Ten Commandments];

and above this was the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; concerning which things it is not pertinent to speak specifically.

With these arrangements completed in this way, the priests in conducting their official services regularly go into the outer part of the tent of worship;

the Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holy place hath not yet been made manifest, while the first tabernacle is yet standing;

This is a parable, for the present time, according to which gifts and sacrifices are offered that are not able, as far as conscience is concerned, to perfect the worshiper;

But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation,

not made with hands, that is, not of this building, And not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

This is why even the first covenant was not ratified without blood.

saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded to you-ward.

For this cause it was necessary to make the copies of the things in heaven clean with these offerings; but the things themselves are made clean with better offerings than these.

He did not do this to offer Himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another.

And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment;

For if this had been possible, would there not have been an end of those offerings, because the worshippers would have been made completely clean and would have been no longer conscious of sins?

It is for this reason that the Christ, on coming into the world, declared. Sacrifice and offerings thou dost not desire, But a body didst thou prepare for me;

Then I said, "See, I have come to do your will, O God' In the volume of the scroll this is written about me."

In this passage he says, "You never wanted or took delight in sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings, and sin offerings," which are offered according to the Law.

It is by this will of God that we are consecrated through the offering of Jesus' body once for all.

But this man, having offered one sacrifice on behalf of sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,

And the Holy Spirit also adds His testimony to us [in confirmation of this]; for after having said,

This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws on their heart, And upon their mind also will I write them; then saith he,

by this new and living way which He initiated and opened for us through the veil [as in the Holy of Holies], that is, through His flesh,

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, according to the custom of some, but exhorting, and by so much the more as this, by as much as ye behold, the day, drawing near.

partly by being exposed as a public spectacle to insults and violent sufferings, and partly by showing yourselves ready to share with those who were living in this condition.

For by this the ancients were well reported.

By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

By faith [with confidence in God and His word] Noah, being warned by God about events not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his family. By this [act of obedience] he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith.

For he was looking forward to [living in] a city with [lasting] foundations, designed and built by God. [Note: This undoubtedly refers to heaven].

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].

So in fact children were fathered by one man -- and this one as good as dead -- like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore.

For people who make such a profession as this show that they are in search of a country of their own.

But in reality they were aspiring for a better country, I mean, a heavenly one. This is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Judging that God was able to give life even to the dead; and because of this he did get him back as if from death.

By [having] faith, he established the Passover Festival [Note: This festival was first celebrated in Egypt by the fleeing Israelites, then observed annually in commemoration of that event], and had [lambs'] blood sprinkled [on the door jambs] to prevent the one who destroyed the firstborn children from touching them. [See Ex. 12:23].

By faith the people crossed over the Red Sea as on dry land; and when the Egyptians tried to do this they were swallowed up.

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,

It is for your discipline that you have to endure all this. God is dealing with you as his Children. For where is there a child whom his father does not discipline?

Besides this, we have had fathers of our flesh to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

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

Actively seek to live in peace with all people. And be dedicated to God, because no one will see God without this.

Looking carefully lest any man fall short, away from the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness sprouting up would cause trouble, and by this many may be defiled,

And this word , Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain.

Let us, therefore, be thankful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and in this way continue to serve God acceptably in reverence and fear;

Do not forget love for strangers, for by this some lodged heavenly agents, unaware.

Remember your leaders who told you God's message. [Note: This probably refers to former preachers who had since died]. Consider the outcome of the way they lived and imitate their faith.

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

So, we should go out to Him, outside of the camp [Note: This probably signifies separating from the whole system of Judaism, as well as full commitment to Christ], bearing the abuse that He suffered.

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit to them : for they watch in behalf of your souls, as they that shall give account; that they may do this with joy, and not with grief: for this were unprofitable for you.

Pray for us: for we have confidence that we maintain a good conscience, in all things desirous to conduct ourselves with propriety.??19 But I entreat you the rather to do this, that I may the more speedily be restored to you.

And I exhort you the more exceedingly to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

I beg you, brothers, to listen patiently to this message, for I have written you only a short letter.

[This letter is from] James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, [who sends] greetings to the twelve tribes which are scattered throughout the world. [Note: This refers to Christians, probably of Jewish descent].

Consider the various tryals that surround you, my brethren, as matter of great joy; knowing this,

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

But let this power have its full effect, so that you may be made complete, needing nothing.

Make no mistake about this, my beloved brothers:

Ye know this , my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

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.