Hebrews 5–6

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 you are so slow to understand. ¹²By now you should be teachers, but you need someone to teach you again the first lessons of God’s message. You still need the teaching that is like milk. You are not ready for solid food. ¹³Anyone who lives on milk is still a baby and knows nothing about right teaching. ¹⁴But solid food is for those who are grown up. They are mature enough to know the difference between good and evil.

6So let us go on to grown-up teaching. Let us not go back over the beginning lessons we learned about Christ. We should not again start teaching about faith in God and about turning away from those acts that lead to death. ²We should not return to the teaching about baptisms, ⁿ about laying on of hands, ⁿ about the raising of the dead and eternal judgment. ³And we will go on to grown-up teaching if God allows.

⁴Some people cannot be brought back again to a changed life. They were once in God’s light, and enjoyed heaven’s gift, and shared in the Holy Spirit. ⁵They found out how good God’s word is, and they received the powers of his new world. ⁶But they fell away from Christ. It is impossible to bring them back to a changed life again, because they are nailing the Son of God to a cross again and are shaming him in front of others.

⁷Some people are like land that gets plenty of rain. The land produces a good crop for those who work it, and it receives God’s blessings. ⁸Other people are like land that grows thorns and weeds and is worthless. It is about to be cursed by God and will be destroyed by fire.

⁹Dear friends, we are saying this to you, but we really expect better things from you that will lead to your salvation. ¹⁰God is fair; he will not forget the work you did and the love you showed for him by helping his people. And he will remember that you are still helping them. ¹¹We want each of you to go on with the same hard work all your lives so you will surely get what you hope for. ¹²We do not want you to become lazy. Be like those who through faith and patience will receive what God has promised.

¹³God made a promise to Abraham. And as there is no one greater than God, he used himself when he swore to Abraham, ¹⁴saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” ^{n 15}Abraham waited patiently for this to happen, and he received what God promised.

¹⁶People always use the name of someone greater than themselves when they swear. The oath proves that what they say is true, and this ends all arguing. ¹⁷God wanted to prove that his promise was true to those who would get what he promised. And he wanted them to understand clearly that his purposes never change, so he made an oath. ¹⁸These two things cannot change: God cannot lie when he makes a promise, and he cannot lie when he makes an oath. These things encourage us who came to God for safety. They give us strength to hold on to the hope we have been given. ¹⁹We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and strong. It enters behind the curtain in the Most Holy Place in heaven, ²⁰where Jesus has gone ahead of us and for us. He has become the high priest forever, a priest like Melchizedek. ⁿ