Hebrews 6:4–20

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.