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 3

Chapter 3

Jesus Is Greater Than Moses

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God andt are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messengert and High Priest.

2 For he was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God’s entiret house.
3 But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself.

4 For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God.
5 Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later.

6 But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.t

7 That is why the Holy Spirit says,
“Today when you hear his voice,8 don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled,
when they tested me in the wilderness.9 There your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
even though they saw my miracles for forty years.10 So I was angry with them, and I said,
‘Their hearts always turn away from me.
They refuse to do what I tell them.’11 So in my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”t12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters.t Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

15 Remember what it says:
“Today when you hear his voice,
don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled.”t16 And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt?17 And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness?18 And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him?

19 So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.

Hebrews 4

Chapter 4

Promised Rest for God’s People

1 God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.2 For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God.t

3 For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said,
“In my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest,’”t
even though this rest has been ready since he made the world.4 We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.”t

5 But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.”t
6 So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God.

7 So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted:
“Today when you hear his voice,
don’t harden your hearts.”t8 Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come.9 So there is a special restt still waiting for the people of God.10 For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.

11 So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.
12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

Christ Is Our High Priest

14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe.15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.