Hebrews 2

Chapter 2

A Warning against Drifting Away

1 So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.2 For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished.3 So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?

4 And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.

Jesus, the Man

5 And furthermore, it is not angels who will control the future world we are talking about.

6 For in one place the Scriptures say,
“What are mere mortals that you should think about them,
or a son of mant that you should care for him?7 Yet you made them only a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.t8 You gave them authority over all things.”t
Now when it says “all things,” it means nothing is left out. But we have not yet seen all things put under their authority.9 What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position “a little lower than the angels”; and because he suffered death for us, he is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone.

10 God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.
11 So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.t

12 For he said to God,
“I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise you among your assembled people.”t

13 He also said,
“I will put my trust in him,”
that is, “I and the children God has given me.”t14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who hadt the power of death.

15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
16 We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham.17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters,t so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.

18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.

HEBREWS 2

This Great Way of Being Saved

1 We must give our full attention to what we were told, so we won't drift away. 2 The message spoken by angels proved to be true, and all who disobeyed or rejected it were punished as they deserved. 3 So if we refuse this great way of being saved, how can we hope to escape? The Lord himself was the first to tell about it, and people who heard the message proved to us that it was true.

4 God himself showed that his message was true by working all kinds of powerful miracles and wonders. He also gave his Holy Spirit to anyone he chose to.

The One Who Leads Us To Be Saved

6 t Somewhere in the Scriptures someone says to God,
“What makes you care
about us humans?
Why are you concerned
for weaklings such as we?

7 You made us lower
than the angels
for a while.
Yet you have crowned us
with glory and honor.t

8 And you have put everything
under our power!”
God has put everything under our power and has not left anything out of our power. But we still don't see it all under our control.

9 What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels. Because of God's gift of undeserved grace, Jesus died for everyone. And now that Jesus has suffered and died, he is crowned with glory and honor!
10 Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made Jesus perfect by suffering, as Jesus led many of God's children to be saved and to share in his glory. 11 Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. This is why he isn't ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.

12 t He even said to God,
“I will tell them your name
and sing your praises
when they come together
to worship.”

13  t He also said,
“I will trust God.”
Then he said,
“Here I am with the children
God has given me.”
14 We are people of flesh and blood. This is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. 15 But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying. 16 t Jesus clearly did not come to help angels, but he did come to help Abraham's descendants. 17 He had to be one of us, so he could serve God as our merciful and faithful high priest and sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of our sins. 18 And now that Jesus has suffered and was tempted, he can help anyone else who is tempted.