Hebrews 10–11

Animal Sacrifices Insufficient

10For the law, having a ^ashadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, ^bcan never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. ²For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once ¹purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. ³But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴For ^cit is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

Christ’s Death Fulfills God’s Will

⁵Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

^d“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,

But a body You have prepared for Me.

⁶In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin

You had no pleasure.

⁷Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—

In the volume of the book it is written of Me—

To do Your will, O God.’ ”

⁸Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), ⁹then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, ²O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. ^10eBy that will we have been ³sanctified ^fthrough the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Christ’s Death Perfects the Sanctified

¹¹And every priest stands ^gministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ^12hBut this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down ⁱat the right hand of God, ¹³from that time waiting ^jtill His enemies are made His footstool. ¹⁴For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being ⁴sanctified.

¹⁵But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,

^16k“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” ¹⁷then He adds, ^l“Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” ¹⁸Now where there is ⁵remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Hold Fast Your Confession

¹⁹Therefore, brethren, having ^mboldness ⁶to enter ⁿthe Holiest by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by a new and ^oliving way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹and having a High Priest over the house of God, ²²let us ^pdraw near with a true heart ^qin full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for ^rHe who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ^25snot forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and ^tso much the more as you see ^uthe Day approaching.

The Just Live by Faith

²⁶For ^vif we sin willfully ^wafter we have received the knowledge of the truth, there ^xno longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and ^yfiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. ²⁸Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three ^zwitnesses. ^29aOf how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, ^bcounted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, ^cand insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰For we know Him who said, ^d“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” ⁷says the Lord. And again, ^e“The Lord will judge His people.” ^31fIt is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³²But ^grecall the former days in which, after you were ⁸illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: ³³partly while you were made ^ha spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while ⁱyou became companions of those who were so treated; ³⁴for you had compassion on ⁹me ^jin my chains, and ^kjoyfully accepted the plundering of your ¹goods, knowing that ^lyou have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves ²in heaven. ³⁵Therefore do not cast away your confidence, ^mwhich has great reward. ³⁶ⁿFor you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, ^oyou may receive the promise:

³⁷“For ^pyet a little while,

And ^qHe ³who is coming will come and will not ⁴tarry.

³⁸Now ^rthe ⁵just shall live by faith;

But if anyone draws back,

My soul has no pleasure in him.”

³⁹But we are not of those ^swho draw back to ⁶perdition, but of those who ^tbelieve to the saving of the soul.

By Faith We Understand

11Now faith is the ¹substance of things hoped for, the ²evidence ^aof things not seen. ²For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

³By faith we understand that ^bthe ³worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Faith at the Dawn of History

⁴By faith ^cAbel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still ^dspeaks.

⁵By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ^e“and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. ⁶But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

⁷By faith ^fNoah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, ^gprepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of ^hthe righteousness which is according to faith.

Faithful Abraham

⁸By faith ⁱAbraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, ^jdwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, ^kthe heirs with him of the same promise; ¹⁰for he waited for ^lthe city which has foundations, ^mwhose builder and maker is God.

¹¹By faith ⁿSarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and ^oshe ⁴bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him ^pfaithful who had promised. ¹²Therefore from one man, and him as good as ^qdead, were born as many as the ^rstars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

The Heavenly Hope

¹³These all died in faith, ^snot having received the ^tpromises, but ^uhaving seen them afar off ⁵were assured of them, embraced them and ^vconfessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ¹⁴For those who say such things ^wdeclare plainly that they seek a homeland. ¹⁵And truly if they had called to mind ^xthat country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed ^yto be called their God, for He has ^zprepared a city for them.

The Faith of the Patriarchs

¹⁷By faith Abraham, ^awhen he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, ¹⁸⁶of whom it was said, ^b“In Isaac your seed shall be called,” ¹⁹concluding that God ^cwas able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

²⁰By faith ^dIsaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, ^eblessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

²²By faith ^fJoseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

The Faith of Moses

²³By faith ^gMoses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s ^hcommand.

²⁴By faith ⁱMoses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the ⁷passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶esteeming ^jthe ⁸reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures ⁹in Egypt; for he looked to the ^kreward.

²⁷By faith ^lhe forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. ²⁸By faith ^mhe kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

²⁹By faith ⁿthey passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

By Faith They Overcame

³⁰By faith ^othe walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. ³¹By faith ^pthe harlot Rahab did not perish with those who ¹did not believe, when ^qshe had received the spies with peace.

³²And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of ^rGideon and ^sBarak and ^tSamson and ^uJephthah, also of ^vDavid and ^wSamuel and the prophets: ³³who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, ^xstopped the mouths of lions, ^34yquenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. ^35zWomen received their dead raised to life again.

Others were ^atortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and ^bof chains and imprisonment. ^37cThey were stoned, they were sawn in two, ²were tempted, were slain with the sword. ^dThey wandered about ^ein sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—³⁸of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, ^fin dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹And all these, ^ghaving obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, ⁴⁰God having provided something better for us, that they should not be ^hmade perfect apart from us.