Hebrews 10–12

The Perfect Sacrifice

10Since the law has only a shadow of the good things ^oto come, and not the actual form of those realities, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. ²Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, once purified, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? ³But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵Therefore, as He was coming into the world, He said:

You did not want sacrifice and offering,

but You prepared a body for Me.

⁶You did not delight

in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings.

⁷Then I said, “See—

it is written about Me

in the volume of the scroll—

I have come to do Your will, God!” ^pq

⁸After He says above, You did not want or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law ^r), ⁹He then says, See, I have come to do Your will. ^sHe takes away the first to establish the second. ¹⁰By this will of God, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. ^t

¹¹Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. ^u12But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. ^v13He is now waiting until His enemies are made His footstool. ^w14For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified. ¹⁵The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. For after He says:

¹⁶This is the covenant I will make with them

after those days, says the Lord:

I will put My laws on their hearts

and write them on their minds,

¹⁷He adds:

I will never again remember

their sins and their lawless acts. ^xy

¹⁸Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Exhortations to Godliness

¹⁹Therefore, brothers, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus, ^z20by a new and living way He has opened for us through the curtain (that is, His flesh ^a), ²¹and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, ^b22let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. ^c23Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. ^d24And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, ²⁵not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, ^eand all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Warning against Deliberate Sin

²⁶For if we deliberately sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ^f27but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries. ^g28If anyone disregards Moses’ law, he dies without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ^h29How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, regarded as profane ⁱthe blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and insulted the Spirit of grace? ^j30For we know the One who has said, Vengeance belongs to Me, I will repay, ^kland again, The Lord will judge His people. ^mn31It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God! ^o

³²Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. ^p33Sometimes you were publicly exposed to taunts and afflictions, and at other times you were companions of those who were treated that way. ^q34For you sympathized with the prisoners ^rand accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession. ^st35So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ^u36For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. ^v

³⁷For yet in a very little while,

the Coming One will come and not delay.

³⁸But My righteous one ^wwill live by faith;

and if he draws back,

I have no pleasure in him. ^xy

³⁹But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and obtain life.

Heroes of Faith

11Now faith is the reality ^zof what is hoped for, the proof ^aof what is not seen. ^b2For our ancestors won God’s approval by it.

³By faith we understand that the universe was ^ccreated by God’s command, ^deso that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.

⁴By 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. ^f

⁵By faith Enoch was taken away so he did not experience death, and he was not to be found because God took him away. ^gFor prior to his removal he was approved, since he had pleased God. ^h6Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.

⁷By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. ⁱ

⁸By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going. ^j9By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise. ^k10For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ^l

¹¹By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she ^mconsidered that the One who had promised was faithful. ⁿ¹²Therefore from one man—in fact, from one as good as dead—came offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as innumerable as the grains of sand by the seashore. ^o

¹³These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, ^pgreeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. ^q14Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. ¹⁶But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. ^r

¹⁷By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. ^sHe received the promises and he was offering his unique son, ¹⁸the one it had been said about, Your seed will be traced ^tthrough Isaac. ^uv19He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead, ^wand as an illustration, ^xhe received him back.

²⁰By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau ^yconcerning things to come. ²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. ^za22By faith Joseph, as he was nearing the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones. ^b

²³By faith, after Moses was born, he was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn’t fear the king’s edict. ^c24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter ²⁵and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin. ^d26For he considered the reproach because of the Messiah to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since his attention was on the reward. ^e

²⁷By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees Him who is invisible. ^f28By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites. ²⁹By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned. ^g

³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being encircled by the Israelites for seven days. ³¹By faith Rahab the prostitute received the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed. ^h

³²And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, ⁱDavid, Samuel, and the prophets, ^j33who by faith conquered kingdoms, ^kadministered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, ^l34quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight. ^m35Women received their dead—they were raised to life again. Some men were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection, ³⁶and others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. ⁿ³⁷They were stoned, ^opthey were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, ^qdestitute, afflicted, and mistreated. ³⁸The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

³⁹All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us. ^r

The Call to Endurance

12Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses ^ssurrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance ^tthe race that lies before us, ²keeping our eyes on Jesus, ^uthe source and perfecter ^vof our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him ^wendured a cross and despised the shame ^xand has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.

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