Hebrews 1–8

God Spoke Through His Son

1In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets many times and in many different ways. ²But now in these last days God has spoken to us through his Son. God has chosen his Son to own all things, and through him he made the world. ³The Son reflects the glory of God and shows exactly what God is like. He holds everything together with his powerful word. When the Son made people clean from their sins, he sat down at the right side of God, the Great One in heaven. ⁴The Son became much greater than the angels, and God gave him a name that is much greater than theirs.

⁵This is because God never said to any of the angels,

“You are my Son.

Today I have become your Father.”

Nor did God say of any angel,

“I will be his Father,

and he will be my Son.”

⁶And when God brings his firstborn Son into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.” ⁿ

⁷This is what God said about the angels:

“God makes his angels become like winds.

He makes his servants become like flames of fire.”

⁸But God said this about his Son:

“God, your throne will last forever and ever.

You will rule your kingdom with fairness.

⁹You love right and hate evil,

so God has chosen you from among your friends;

he has set you apart with much joy.”

¹⁰God also says,

“Lord, in the beginning you made the earth,

and your hands made the skies.

¹¹They will be destroyed, but you will remain.

They will all wear out like clothes.

¹²You will fold them like a coat.

And, like clothes, you will change them.

But you never change,

and your life will never end.”

¹³And God never said this to an angel:

“Sit by me at my right side

until I put your enemies under your control.” ⁿ

¹⁴All the angels are spirits who serve God and are sent to help those who will receive salvation.

Our Salvation Is Great

2So we must be more careful to follow what we were taught. Then we will not stray away from the truth. ²The teaching God spoke through angels was shown to be true, and anyone who did not follow it or obey it received the punishment that was earned. ³So surely we also will be punished if we ignore this great salvation. The Lord himself first told about this salvation, and those who heard him testified it was true. ⁴God also testified to the truth of the message by using wonders, great signs, many kinds of miracles, and by giving people gifts through the Holy Spirit, just as he wanted.

Christ Became like Humans

⁵God did not choose angels to be the rulers of the new world that was coming, which is what we have been talking about. ⁶It is written in the Scriptures,

“Why are people even important to you?

Why do you take care of human beings?

⁷You made them a little lower than the angels

and crowned them with glory and honor. ⁿ

⁸You put all things under their control.”

When God put everything under their control, there was nothing left that they did not rule. Still, we do not yet see them ruling over everything. ⁹But we see Jesus, who for a short time was made lower than the angels. And now he is wearing a crown of glory and honor because he suffered and died. And by God’s grace, he died for everyone.

¹⁰God is the One who made all things, and all things are for his glory. He wanted to have many children share his glory, so he made the One who leads people to salvation perfect through suffering.

¹¹Jesus, who makes people holy, and those who are made holy are from the same family. So he is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. ¹²He says,

“Then, I will tell my brothers and sisters about you;

I will praise you in the public meeting.”

¹³He also says,

“I will trust in God.”

And he also says,

“I am here, and with me are the children God has given me.”

¹⁴Since these children are people with physical bodies, Jesus himself became like them. He did this so that, by dying, he could destroy the one who has the power of death—the devil—¹⁵and free those who were like slaves all their lives because of their fear of death. ¹⁶Clearly, it is not angels that Jesus helps, but the people who are from Abraham. ^{n 17}For this reason Jesus had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way so he could be their merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Then Jesus could die in their place to take away their sins. ¹⁸And now he can help those who are tempted, because he himself suffered and was tempted.

Jesus Is Greater than Moses

3So all of you holy brothers and sisters, who were called by God, think about Jesus, who was sent to us and is the high priest of our faith. ²Jesus was faithful to God as Moses was in God’s family. ³Jesus has more honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. ⁴Every house is built by someone, but the builder of everything is God himself. ⁵Moses was faithful in God’s family as a servant, and he told what God would say in the future. ⁶But Christ is faithful as a Son over God’s house. And we are God’s house if we confidently maintain our hope.

We Must Continue to Follow God

⁷So it is as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today listen to what he says.

⁸Do not be stubborn as in the past

when you turned against God,

when you tested God in the desert.

⁹There your ancestors tried me and tested me

and saw the things I did for forty years.

¹⁰I was angry with them.

I said, ‘They are not loyal to me

and have not understood my ways.’

¹¹I was angry and made a promise,

‘They will never enter my rest.’ ” ⁿ

¹²So brothers and sisters, be careful that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart that will turn you away from the living God. ¹³But encourage each other every day while it is “today.” ⁿ Help each other so none of you will become hardened because sin has tricked you. ¹⁴We all share in Christ if we keep till the end the sure faith we had in the beginning. ¹⁵This is what the Scripture says:

“Today listen to what he says.

Do not be stubborn as in the past

when you turned against God.”

¹⁶Who heard God’s voice and was against him? It was all those people Moses led out of Egypt. ¹⁷And with whom was God angry for forty years? He was angry with those who sinned, who died in the desert. ¹⁸And to whom was God talking when he promised that they would never enter his rest? He was talking to those who did not obey him. ¹⁹So we see they were not allowed to enter and have God’s rest, because they did not believe.

4Now, since God has left us the promise that we may enter his rest, let us be very careful so none of you will fail to enter. ²The Good News was preached to us just as it was to them. But the teaching they heard did not help them, because they heard it but did not accept it with faith. ^{n 3}We who have believed are able to enter and have God’s rest. As God has said,

“I was angry and made a promise,

‘They will never enter my rest.’ ”

But God’s work was finished from the time he made the world. ⁴In the Scriptures he talked about the seventh day of the week: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his works.” ^{n 5}And again in the Scripture God said, “They will never enter my rest.”

⁶It is still true that some people will enter God’s rest, but those who first heard the way to be saved did not enter, because they did not obey. ⁷So God planned another day, called “today.” He spoke about that day through David a long time later in the same Scripture used before:

“Today listen to what he says.

Do not be stubborn.”

⁸We know that Joshua ⁿ did not lead the people into that rest, because God spoke later about another day. ⁹This shows that the rest ⁿ for God’s people is still coming. ¹⁰Anyone who enters God’s rest will rest from his work as God did. ¹¹Let us try as hard as we can to enter God’s rest so that no one will fail by following the example of those who refused to obey.

¹²God’s word is alive and working and is sharper than a double-edged sword. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones. And it judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts. ¹³Nothing in all the world can be hidden from God. Everything is clear and lies open before him, and to him we must explain the way we have lived.

Jesus Is Our High Priest

¹⁴Since we have a great high priest, Jesus the Son of God, who has gone into heaven, let us hold on to the faith we have. ¹⁵For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. ¹⁶Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.

5Every high priest is chosen from among other people. He is given the work of going before God for them to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ²Since he himself is weak, he is able to be gentle with those who do not understand and who are doing wrong things. ³Because he is weak, the high priest must offer sacrifices for his own sins and also for the sins of the people.

⁴To be a high priest is an honor, but no one chooses himself for this work. He must be called by God as Aaron ⁿ was. ⁵So also Christ did not choose himself to have the honor of being a high priest, but God chose him. God said to him,

“You are my Son.

Today I have become your Father.”

⁶And in another Scripture God says,

“You are a priest forever,

a priest like Melchizedek.” ⁿ

⁷While Jesus lived on earth, he prayed to God and asked God for help. He prayed with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him from death, and his prayer was heard because he trusted God. ⁸Even though Jesus was the Son of God, he learned obedience by what he suffered. ⁹And because his obedience was perfect, he was able to give eternal salvation to all who obey him. ¹⁰In this way God made Jesus a high priest, a priest like Melchizedek.

Warning Against Falling Away

¹¹We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because…