7:1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
7:2 And to him Abraham gave a tenth part of everything. He is first, by interpretation of his name, King of righteousness, and after that is also King of Salem, which is, King of peace.
7:3 He is without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but like the Son of God, he remains a priest continually.
7:4 Now consider how great this man was: to him even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
7:5 And truly, those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brethren, though these also come out of the loins of Abraham:
7:6 But he whose descent is not traced from them received a tithe from Abraham, and blessed him who had the promises.
7:7 And without any dispute, the lesser is blessed by the greater.
7:8 And here, men who die receive tithes; but there, they are received by him of whom it is witnessed that he lives.
7:9 And, one might even say, Levi, who receives tithes, payed tithes through Abraham.
7:10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him.
7:11 Therefore, if perfection was from the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there for another priest to arise, in the order of Melchizedek, and not in the order of Aaron?
7:12 For when the priesthood is changed, there is, of necessity, also a change in the law.
7:13 For he of whom these things are spoken is from another tribe, from which no man ever served at the altar.
7:14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah; and of this tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priests.
7:15 And this becomes far more evident when, in the likeness of Melchizedek, another priest arises,
7:16 Who is made such, not by a law concerning a physical requirement, but by the power of an endless life.
7:17 For it is testified of him, You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
7:18 So, there is a setting aside of the former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness,
7:19 (For the law made nothing perfect;) but there is the bringing in of a better hope; by which we draw near to God.
7:20 And it was not without an oath.
7:21 For others were indeed made priests without an oath; but he with an oath from the one who said to him, The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, You are a priest forever [after the order of Melchizedek].
7:22 By this has Jesus become the guarantee of a better covenant.
7:23 And there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing:
7:24 But he, because he continues forever, has a perpetual priesthood.
7:25 Therefore, he is also able to completely save those who come to God through him, for he ever lives to make intercession for them.
7:26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens;
7:27 Who has no need, as do those high priests, to offer up daily sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people: for this he did once for all, when he offered up himself.
7:28 For the law appoints men, who are frail, to be high priests; but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son, who has been made perfect forever.
8:1 Now of that which we have spoken, this is the sum: We have such a high priest, who is seated on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven;
8:2 A minister in the sanctuary, in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.
8:3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices: therefore it is necessary that this one also have something to offer.
8:4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.
8:5 They serve at a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary. This is why, when Moses was about to make the tabernacle, he was warned by God, saying, See that you make all things according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain.
8:6 But now he has obtained a ministry that is as much superior to the old as the covenant of which he is the mediator is superior, for it was established upon better promises.
8:7 For if the first covenant had been faultless, then there would have been no occasion sought for a second.
8:8 For he finds fault with them, saying, Behold, the days will come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
8:9 Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and I turned away from them, says the Lord.
8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts: and I will be their God, and they shall be my people:
8:11 And no longer shall every man teach his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins I will remember no more.
8:13 When he says, A new covenant, he has made the first one obsolete. Now that which is obsolete and grows old is ready to vanish away.
9:1 Now truly, the first covenant had ordinances of divine service, and an earthly sanctuary.
9:2 For there was a tabernacle prepared, in the first room of which was the lampstand, and the table, and the bread of the presence; this is called the sanctuary.
9:3 And behind the second veil stood the room of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
9:4 Which had the golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, in which was the golden jar that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
9:5 And over it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; of which we cannot now speak in detail.
9:6 Now when these preparations had been made, the priests went regularly into the first room of the tabernacle, performing their ministry.
9:7 But into the second the high priest went alone, once every year, and not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the sins the people committed in ignorance.
9:8 By this the Holy Spirit signifies that the way into the holiest of all has not yet been disclosed, while the first room of the tabernacle remains standing,
9:9 Which is a symbol for the present age, in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshipper perfect in conscience;
9:10 For they are only a matter of food and drink, and various washings, and regulations for the body, imposed until the time of reformation.
9:11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, then, through a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;
9:12 Nor by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption.
9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who are unclean, sanctifies them so their flesh is clean:
9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your consciences from dead works to serve the living God?
9:15 And for this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions committed under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
9:16 For where there is a will, the death of the testator must be established.
9:17 For a will is in force only upon death: it has no strength at all while the testator lives.
9:18 Therefore, even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.
9:19 For when Moses had spoken every commandment to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
9:20 Saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you to keep.
9:21 In the same way, he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels used in the ministry.
9:22 Indeed, under the law almost all things are cleansed with blood; and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
9:23 It was, therefore, necessary that the copies of the heavenly things should be purified with these sacrifices; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
9:24 For Christ has not entered a holy place made with hands, a copy of the true one; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.
9:25 Nor does he need to offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place every year with blood not his own;
9:26 For then he would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world: but now he has appeared once at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
9:27 And as it is appointed for men once to die, and after this comes judgment:
9:28 So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many; shall appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring full salvation to those who eagerly await him.
10:1 For the law, being only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never by those sacrifices, which are offered year by year, continually, make perfect those who draw near.
10:2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased being offered? because the worshippers, once cleansed, would no longer have had a consciousness of sins.
10:3 But those sacrifices are a reminder of sins every year.
10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
10:5 Therefore, when he came into the world, he said, Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me;
10:6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have had no pleasure.
10:7 Then I said, Lo, I come (in the scroll of the book it is written of me,) to do your will, O God.
10:8 After he said above, Sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and offerings for sin you did not desire, neither did you have pleasure in them, which are offered according to the law;
10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do your will, O God. He takes away the first, that he may establish the second.
10:10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
10:11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering, time and again, the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God;
10:13 From that time on waiting until his enemies are made his footstool.
10:14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.
10:15 And the Holy Spirit also is a witness to us: for after he said,
10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them;
10:17 Then he adds, Their sins and iniquities I will remember no more.
10:18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
10:19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus,
10:20 By a new and living way which he has opened for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
10:21 And since we have a high priest over the house of God,
10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our hope, without wavering; (for he who promised is faithful;)
10:24 And let us consider how to arouse one another to love and to good works:
10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.
10:26 For if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins,
10:27 But a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
10:28 He who despised Moses' law died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses:
10:29 How much more severe punishment do you suppose he shall deserve, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant, with which he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and has affronted the Spirit of grace?
10:30 For we know him who has said, Vengeance belongs to me, I will repay, [says the Lord]. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
10:32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle in the face of afflictions;
10:33 Sometimes you were made a public spectacle by insults and afflictions; and sometimes, because you became companions to those who were so treated.
10:34 For you had compassion on the prisoners, and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your goods, knowing that you have a better possession, and an enduring one.
10:35 Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has a great reward.
10:36 For you have need of endurance, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.
10:37 For yet a little while longer, and he who shall come will come, and will not tarry.
10:38 But my righteous one shall live by faith: but if any man draws back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
10:39 But we are not of those who draw back to destruction; but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
11:2 For by it the men of old obtained approval.
11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were made of things which do not appear.
11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, and by it he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by faith, though he is dead, yet he speaks.
11:5 By faith Enoch was caught up so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had taken him: now before he was taken he received this testimony, that he pleased God.
11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God of things not yet seen, reverently prepared an ark for the saving of his household; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out to a place which he should later receive as an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise:
11:10 For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11:11 Through faith Sarah herself received the ability to conceive, and delivered a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
11:12 Therefore there was born from one man, and him as good as dead, a multitude as great as the stars of the sky, and as innumerable as the sand which is on the sea shore.
11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off; and they were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
11:14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a country of their own.
11:15 And truly, if they had been thinking of that country from which they came out, they would have had opportunity to return.
11:16 Instead, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he has prepared for them a city.
11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac: he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only begotten son,
11:18 Of whom it was said, In Isaac shall your descendants be named:
11:19 For he reasoned that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from which, figuratively, he did receive him back.
11:20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
11:21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
11:22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the children of Israel; and gave orders concerning his bones.
11:23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's decree.
11:24 By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin;
11:26 Considering abuse for the sake of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he looked ahead to the reward.
11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
11:28 By faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
11:29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as on dry land: but when the Egyptians attempted to do so, they were drowned.
11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were encircled for seven days.
11:31 By faith the prostitute Rahab did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.
11:32 And what more shall I say? for time would fail me if I told of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
11:33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, established justice, obtained promises, closed the mouths of lions,
11:34 Quenched the power of the raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, grew mighty in battle, turned foreign armies to flight.
11:35 Women received their dead, raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
11:36 And others suffered mockings and scourgings, yea, even chains and imprisonment:
11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn apart, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
11:38 (Men of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
11:39 And all these, having obtained approval through their faith, did not receive the promise,
11:40 Because God had provided something better for us, that without us they should not be made perfect.
12:1 Therefore, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily entangle us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
12:2 Looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
12:3 For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you grow weary and fainthearted.
12:4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood in your striving against sin.
12:5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as sons, My son, do not think lightly of the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked by him:
12:6 For whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, and scourges every son whom he receives.
12:7 You must endure for discipline. God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
12:8 But if you are left without discipline, of which all are partakers, then you are illegitimate children, and not sons.
12:9 Furthermore, we have had earthly fathers who corrected us, and we gave them respect: shall we not much more be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live?
12:10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them; but he disciplines us for our good, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
12:11 At the time, no discipline seems to be joyful, but painful: nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness for those who have been trained by it.
12:12 Therefore, strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
12:13 And make straight paths for your feet, so that which is lame may not be put out of joint; but rather be healed.
12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.
12:15 See to it that no man fails to obtain the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up should trouble you, and thereby defile many;
12:16 That there be no sexually immoral, or godless person, like Esau, who for one meal sold his birthright.
12:17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it with tears.
12:18 For you have not come to a mountain that may be touched, that burns with fire, and to darkness, and gloom, and tempest,
12:19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice whose words made those who heard beg that no further word should be spoken to them.
12:20 For they could not endure that which was commanded: If so much as a beast touches the mountain, it must be stoned.
12:21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and tremble.
12:22 But you have come to mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
12:23 To the general assembly and church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,
12:24 And to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, that speaks better things than that of Abel.
12:25 See that you do not refuse him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven.
12:26 And his voice shook the earth then: but now he has promised, saying, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also heaven.
12:27 And the words, Yet once more, signify the removal of those things which can be shaken, of created things, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
12:28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us be grateful, and worship God acceptably, with reverence and awe:
12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
13:1 Let brotherly love continue.
13:2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers: for by so doing some have entertained angels without knowing it.
13:3 Remember those who are in prison, as if in prison with them; and those who suffer adversity, since you yourselves are also in the body.
13:4 Marriage is to be held in honour by all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled: for the sexually immoral and adulterers God will judge.
13:5 Let your lives be free from the love of money; and be content with such things as you have: for he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.
13:6 So we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man can do to me.
13:7 Remember those who lead you, who have spoken to you the word of God: consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
13:9 Do not be carried away by varied and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing for the heart to be established by grace, not by foods, which have not benefitted those who have been occupied with them.
13:10 We have an altar, from which those who serve at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
13:11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp.
13:12 Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered outside the gate.
13:13 Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach.
13:14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we seek the one which is to come.
13:15 Therefore, through him let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.
13:16 Do not forget to do good and to share: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
13:17 Obey those who lead you, and submit to them: for they watch over your souls as those who must give account. Let it be a joyful task for them, not a sad one: for that would be unprofitable for you.
13:18 Pray for us: for we are sure we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honestly.
13:19 I urge you more earnestly to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.
13:20 Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant,
13:21 Equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
13:22 And I urge you, brethren, bear with this word of exhortation: for I have written to you a letter of few words.
13:23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been set at liberty; with whom, if he arrives shortly, I will come to see you.
13:24 Greet all those who lead you, and all the saints. Those in Italy greet you.
13:25 Grace be with you all. Amen.