Hebrews 1–8

God’s Supreme Revelation

1God, who ¹at various times and ^ain various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, ²has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the ²worlds; ^3bwho being the brightness of His glory and the express ^cimage of His person, and ^dupholding all things by the word of His power, ^ewhen He had ³by Himself ⁴purged ⁵our sins, ^fsat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴having become so much better than the angels, as ^gHe has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

The Son Exalted Above Angels

⁵For to which of the angels did He ever say:

^h“You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You”?

And again:

ⁱ“I will be to Him a Father,

And He shall be to Me a Son”?

⁶But when He again brings ^jthe firstborn into the world, He says:

^k“Let all the angels of God worship Him.”

⁷And of the angels He says:

^l“Who makes His angels spirits

And His ministers a flame of fire.”

⁸But to the Son He says:

^m“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;

A ⁶scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

⁹You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;

Therefore God, Your God, ⁿhas anointed You

With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

¹⁰And:

^o“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,

And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

^11pThey will perish, but You remain;

And ^qthey will all grow old like a garment;

¹²Like a cloak You will fold them up,

And they will be changed.

But You are the ^rsame,

And Your years will not fail.”

¹³But to which of the angels has He ever said:

^s“Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?

^14tAre they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will ^uinherit salvation?

Do Not Neglect Salvation

2Therefore we must give ¹the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. ²For if the word ^aspoken through angels proved steadfast, and ^bevery transgression and disobedience received a just ²reward, ^3chow shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, ^dwhich at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was ^econfirmed to us by those who heard Him, ^4fGod also bearing witness ^gboth with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and ^hgifts ³of the Holy Spirit, ⁱaccording to His own will?

The Son Made Lower Than Angels

⁵For He has not put ^jthe world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. ⁶But one testified in a certain place, saying:

^k“What is man that You are mindful of him,

Or the son of man that You take care of him?

⁷You have made him ⁴a little lower than the angels;

You have crowned him with glory and honor,

⁵And set him over the works of Your hands.

^8lYou have put all things in subjection under his feet.”

For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now ^mwe do not yet see all things put under him. ⁹But we see Jesus, ⁿwho was made ⁶a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death ^ocrowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death ^pfor everyone.

Bringing Many Sons to Glory

¹⁰For it was fitting for Him, ^qfor whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation ^rperfect through sufferings. ¹¹For ^sboth He who ⁷sanctifies and those who are being sanctified ^tare all of one, for which reason ^uHe is not ashamed to call them brethren, ¹²saying:

^v“I will declare Your name to My brethren;

In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”

¹³And again:

^w“I will put My trust in Him.”

And again:

^x“Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”

¹⁴Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He ^yHimself likewise shared in the same, ^zthat through death He might destroy him who had the power of ^adeath, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and release those who ^bthrough fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. ¹⁶For indeed He does not ⁸give aid to angels, but He does ⁹give aid to the seed of Abraham. ¹⁷Therefore, in all things He had ^cto be made like His brethren, that He might be ^da merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ^18eFor in that He Himself has suffered, being ¹tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

The Son Was Faithful

3Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, ²who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as ^aMoses also was faithful in all His house. ³For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as ^bHe who built the house has more honor than the house. ⁴For every house is built by someone, but ^cHe who built all things is God. ^5dAnd Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as ^ea servant, ^ffor a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, ⁶but Christ as ^ga Son over His own house, ^hwhose house we are ⁱif we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope ¹firm to the end.

Be Faithful

⁷Therefore, as ^jthe Holy Spirit says:

^k“Today, if you will hear His voice,

⁸Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,

In the day of trial in the wilderness,

⁹Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,

And saw My works forty years.

¹⁰Therefore I was angry with that generation,

And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,

And they have not known My ways.’

¹¹So I swore in My wrath,

‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

¹²Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ¹³but ²exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, ¹⁵while it is said:

^l“Today, if you will hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

Failure of the Wilderness Wanderers

^16mFor who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? ¹⁷Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, ⁿwhose corpses fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸And ^oto whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? ¹⁹So we see that they could not enter in because of ^punbelief.

The Promise of Rest

4Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, ^alet us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. ²For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, ¹not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. ³For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:

^b“So I swore in My wrath,

‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ”

although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: ^c“And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; ⁵and again in this place: ^d“They shall not enter My rest.”

⁶Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, ⁷again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:

^e“Today, if you will hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts.”

⁸For if ²Joshua had ^fgiven them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. ¹⁰For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

The Word Discovers Our Condition

^11gLet us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. ¹²For the word of God is ^hliving and powerful, and ⁱsharper than any ^jtwo-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is ^ka discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ^13lAnd there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are ^mnaked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Our Compassionate High Priest

¹⁴Seeing then that we have a great ⁿHigh Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, ^olet us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵For ^pwe do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but ^qwas in all points tempted as we are, ^ryet without sin. ^16sLet us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Qualifications for High Priesthood

5For every high priest taken from among men ^ais appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. ²He can ¹have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to ^bweakness. ³Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for ^chimself, to offer sacrifices for sins. ⁴And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as ^dAaron was.

A Priest Forever

^5eSo also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:

^f“You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You.”

⁶As He also says in another place:

^g“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek”;

⁷who, in the days of His flesh, when He had ^hoffered up prayers and supplications, ⁱwith vehement cries and tears to Him ^jwho was able to save Him from death, and was heard ^kbecause of His godly fear, ⁸though He was a Son, yet He learned ^lobedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹And ^mhaving been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, ¹⁰called by God as High Priest ⁿ“according to the order of Melchizedek,” ¹¹of whom ^owe have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become ^pdull of hearing.

Spiritual Immaturity

¹²For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the ²oracles of God; and you have come to need ^qmilk and not solid food. ^…