Hebrews 5–6

5For every high priest chosen from among men ^jis appointed to act on behalf of men ^kin relation to God, ^lto offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ^2mHe can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself ⁿis beset with weakness. ³Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins ^ojust as he does for those of the people. ⁴And ^pno one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, ^qjust as Aaron was.

⁵So also Christ ^rdid not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

^s“You are my Son,

today I have begotten you”;

⁶as he says also in another place,

^t“You are a priest forever,

after the order of Melchizedek.”

⁷In the days of his flesh, ^uJesus¹ offered up prayers and supplications, ^vwith loud cries and tears, to him ^wwho was able to save him from death, and ^xhe was heard because of his reverence. ⁸Although ^yhe was a son, ^zhe learned obedience through what he suffered. ⁹And ^abeing made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, ¹⁰being designated by God a high priest ^bafter the order of Melchizedek.

Warning Against Apostasy

¹¹About this we have much to say, and it is ^chard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. ¹²For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again ^dthe basic principles of the oracles of God. You need ^emilk, not solid food, ¹³for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is ^fa child. ¹⁴But solid food is for ^gthe mature, for those who have their powers ^hof discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

6Therefore ⁱlet us leave ^jthe elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance ^kfrom dead works and of faith toward God, ²and of ^linstruction about washings,^{1 m}the laying on of hands, ⁿthe resurrection of the dead, and ^oeternal judgment. ³And this we will do ^pif God permits. ⁴For it is impossible, in the case of those ^qwho have once been enlightened, who have tasted ^rthe heavenly gift, and ^shave shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵and ^thave tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶and ^uthen have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since ^vthey are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. ⁷For ^wland that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. ⁸But ^xif it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, ^yand its end is to be burned.

⁹Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. ¹⁰For ^zGod is not unjust so as to overlook ^ayour work and the love that you have shown for his name in ^bserving the saints, as you still do. ¹¹And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance ^cof hope until the end, ¹²so that you may not be sluggish, but ^dimitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The Certainty of God’s Promise

¹³For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, ^ehe swore by himself, ¹⁴saying, ^f“Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” ¹⁵And thus Abraham,^{2 g}having patiently waited, obtained the promise. ¹⁶For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes ^han oath is final for confirmation. ¹⁷So when God desired to show more convincingly to ⁱthe heirs of the promise ^jthe unchangeable character of his purpose, ^khe guaranteed it with an oath, ¹⁸so that by two unchangeable things, in which ^lit is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope ^mset before us. ¹⁹We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into ⁿthe inner place behind the curtain, ²⁰where Jesus has gone ^oas a forerunner on our behalf, ^phaving become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.