God’s Final Revelation

1 God, who at various times and Num. 12:6, 8; Joel 2:28 in various ways spoke in time past to the our ancestors by the prophets, 

Spoke to our ancestors - to Israel = the writier's "to us" means Israel. How does it the writer's "to us" include all readers and hearers of all time? Only as they go on to learn their correct way of inclusion in Israel by the definition of God.

KJV has "to the fathers". This is literal Hebraic. Its usage puts the emphasis on Abraham and the covenant, Isaac and Jacob and the promise, and expands this to all previous Israelite generations.

The question will be why does the author say, "a son" and not "the son"?  Almost all translatord supply a definite article or translate, "his Son", assuming that this was the intended meaning.  The literal text with the indefinite article seems awkward to read or translate literally in any langauge. But this very awkwardness requires us to ask if this, or these, clearly very skillful writer or writers did not know exactly what they were doing using the indefinite form to say, "a son".  We will ask, therefore, what is meant by saying, "a son"? [nt.1]

The verse could have simply said: "In the past God spoke by prophets but now speaks by a son." That the verse specifies that it was to the ancestors of the Hebrews to whom the Hebrew author or authors is/are writing is to bring to the very front of all that is being said that it is forever to Israel that God speaks by a son.

Against Replacement Theology.  We must take a brief detour at this point and face off with historic replacement theology.  Does the writer mean to dismiss the message of all the prophets of Israel now and replace it with the message of the son?  No.  Rather, this is like the parable of the Vineyard. The message brought by the son is of much greater import than that brought by the servant — but essentially it is not a different message.  The message brought by the servant and the message brought by the son are one in nature.  Indeed, the message as brought by the son builds upon the message as brought by the servants.  The message of the son cannot even be understood unless the message of the servants is first understood.

It is in this comparison between how God spoke to Israel in the past and how he is now speaking to Israel, and not in the contrast, that the meaning of the Jewish author to the Hebrews will be fully understood.  The contrast is, again, like the contrast between the servants and the son in the Vineyard Parable.  It is not a new message that the son brings but it is new that the son brings it, and that the son brings it makes the importance of hearing the message much greater.  It is a new message in its own right; that is to say, it is the message of the son that the servant's messages were representative of in the first place. [See more on this here]

2 has in these last days spoken to us by a son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 

Returning Again to 1:1-2a. We have then, a Jew speaking to Jews, a Hebrew speaking to Hebrews, an Israelite speaking to Israelites, saying to them, "God has spoken to us, to us who are Jews, to us who are Hebrews, to us who are the nation, Israel.  Before he spoke to us by servants, the prophets, but now he has spoken to us, and is speaking to us, by a son.  Our first fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were servants in the house of God. By them God began to form and instruct us as his nation. He made them prophets.  Joseph and Judah and their brothers were also servant prophets, like Moses, by all of whom God brought us into the experience of redemption and the covenant of life, which covenant we broke. 

3 John 1:14 who being the brightness of His glory and the express 2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15 image of His person, and Col. 1:17 upholding all things by the word of His power, (Heb. 7:27) when He had by Himself purged our sins, Ps. 110:1 sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 

Yet God continued to speak to us by other servant prophets, even by David and all the prophets, promising us that the one whom he had promised to Abraham would come as the Son of David and restore to us the covenant of life, which we broke, that he would restore it to us eternally. And now he has spoken to us by a son, even that son whom he promised.

In approaching the subject of Mashiach's purging of our sins, the sins of Israel and of those incorporated into Israel, you might find the short article by the Jewish scholar, David Flusser, on the subject of the cross of help.  It can be found here.

 4 having become so much better than the angels, as Is. 9:6, 7; Luke 1:32, 33; (Phil. 2:9, 10) He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

“having become…” the message here is not about a divinity of nature being Yehoshua’s/Jesus’ true nature — and therefore being the reason he is superior to angels.  The writer is not arguing to convince his readers of the Divinity of Christ.

The message is as in Psalms 8, that he as a son of Adam, declared to be the son of God, has been elevated from below the level of angels to above the level of angels. Everything is about the complete revelation of the Father and the Son through the death and resurrection of the Son. His birth in the world is not that which reveals him, or that which enables him to reveal the Father.  It is his death and resurrection.

Therefore, when the writer here says that he has inherited a name, the inheritance is not a reference to his having the name of God before the creation of the world. That would not be an inheritance, for what is eternally owned cannot be inherited.  The inheritance of a name spoken of here is the inheritance of the name of the Messiah of Israel, which as the writer is setting out to show is a name of such glory that all creation in time and in eternity rests upon it.  

It is the name of the Messiah of Israel that is above the angels. What is the meaning of this, the Messiah of Israel is above the angels? This is the point of the whole Book of Hebrews. [a name above every name: Eph. 1:21; Phil. 2:9]

Verse 4 Paraphrase:

4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Ch. 1 Verse 5 The God of Israel, The Father of Mashiach

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your father."

5a — the message here also is not an argument to say, (again, but now by proof text), that he is the 2nd person of the Godhead and not a creation by nature. The text here is not being used as a proof text at all.

The message here is to say that the angels were never elevated to the status of son by the prophecies of Scripture, that is, by the word of God. Rather the message that is the words of Holy Scripture concerning a son are words about the glory of the promised Mashiach\Messiah. They speak of a day that is at the centre of both time and eternity when God says to this man, this Jewish son, this Anointed King of all Israel, “Today I have become your father.”

And again:  2 Sam. 7:14 “I will be to him a father, And He shall be to me a son”?

5b — The same message as above continues. Here, with the quotation of this verse, the emphasis now being more on the revelation of the relationship of God and Adam, through the Adam who is anointed king and redeemer of Israel. Israel shall be defined for eternity in relation to her anointed King. The revelation will be that Israel as redeemed in this Adam, the Son of Adam, is the meaning of the Name of God: Because of this son, God’s name will for eternity be the God of Israel.  And that God and his Name shall be one.

6 But when He again brings Ps. 89:27; (Rom. 8:29) the firstborn into the world, He says:

Deut. 32:43, LXX, DSS; Ps. 97:7; 1 Pet. 3:22; Rev. 5:11–13 “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”

7 And of the angels He says: Ps. 104:4 “Who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.”

8 But to the Son He says: Ps. 45:6, 7 “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, Is. 61:1, 3 has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

10 And:  Ps. 102:25–27 “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

11(Is. 34:4) They will perish, but You remain; and Is. 50:9; 51:6; Heb. 8:13 they will all grow old like a garment;

12 Like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed.  But You are the Heb. 13:8 same, and Your years will not fail.”

13 But to which of the angels has He ever said:  Ps. 110:1; Matt. 22:44; Heb. 1:3 “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?

14 Ps. 103:20; Dan. 7:10 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will Rom. 8:17 inherit salvation?

1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 

What is most important  is that we have come to know God through His revelation of Himself in the humanity of Israel, speaking His word of Redemption and Torah to Israel, ultimately through the humanity of the son of promise to Israel, Mashiach the Son of David. And what is all important is that we go on to grow to perfection in knowlege and grace only through the same revelation of God through knowing him in his resurrected and glorified humanity.  It is only in this way that we will not drift away from the things Israel heard from the apostolic writers.

2 For if the word spoken Deut. 33:2; Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19 through angels proved steadfast, and Num. 15:30 every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 

• In Deut. 33:2;  He said,  “The  Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came a from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand.

• In Acts 7:53;  "...you who received the Torah as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

• In Gal. 3:19  Why then the torah? g It was added because of transgressions until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was i put in place through angels j by an intermediary.

3 Heb. 10:28 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, Matt. 4:17 which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was Mark 16:20; Luke 1:2; 1 John 1:1 confirmed to us by those who heard Him,  

4 Mark 16:20 God also bearing witness Acts 2:22, 43; 2 Cor. 12:2 both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and 1 Cor. 12:4, 7, 11; Eph. 4:7 gifts of the Holy Spirit, Eph. 1:5, 9 according to His own will?

The Son Made Lower than Angels For The Crowning of Glory

5 For He has not put (2 Pet. 3:13) the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 

6 But one testified in a certain place, saying:  Job 7:17; Ps. 8:4–6 “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him"?  

7 "You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands."

8 Matt. 28:18 "You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing thatis not put under him. But now Ps. 8:6; 1 Cor. 15:25, 27 we do not yet see all things put under him. 

9 But we see Yehoshua/Jesus, Phil. 2:7–9; Heb. 1:9 who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death Acts 2:33; 3:13; 1 Pet. 1:2 crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death Is. 53:12; (John 3:16) for everyone.

Bringing Many Sons to Glory

10 For it was fitting for Him, Col. 1:16 for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation Heb. 5:8, 9; 7:28 perfect through sufferings. 

11 For Heb. 10:10 both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified Acts 17:26 are all of one, for which reason Matt. 28:10 He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 

12 saying:  Ps. 22:22 “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”

13 And again:  2 Sam. 22:3; Is. 8:17  “I will put My trust in Him.”  And again:  Is. 8:18 “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”

14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he John 1:14 himself likewise shared in the same, Col. 2:15 that through death He might destroy him who had the power of (1 Cor. 15:54–57); 2 Tim. 1:10 death, that is, the devil, 

It can seem logical to say from reading the New Testament that Christ is God, the Second Person of the Trinity, and that through him one has a way of conceiving of God the Father.  Satisfied with this logical theology, many have read this verse to be talking about the incarnation of God.  However, the writer of this letter is not attempting to present a logical systematic theology.  

Setting aside for a moment the language used to speak about the way in which the children and the son are related to humanity, "partaking of flesh and blood", or "sharing" in it, we can paraphrase the essential statement that opens the verse. 'The children [of Israel] being human beings, he [the son] was also a human being'.  

What is being emphasized is the solidarity of nature between the children of Israel and the son by whom God has spoken to them.  It is this human to human relationship, Jew to Jew, that the author looks to in order to destroy the deception of sin and the devil and bring him, himself, Israel and the world back to a true knowledge of the Deity.  He is in awe of this human, Jewish son just as he encounters him.  And this awe of this Jewish son, in whom he hears all of God's word to Israel, is the source of his faith and through that faith his understanding.

The author of this book does not evidence the compulsive need of a lost mind that as soon as it sees this Jewish son seeks to satisfy its need for understanding reality by logically thinking about him and imagining him as the Cosmic Son, the Deity.  The writer sees the Jewish son and looks no further.  He has no compulsive need to satisfy reason or to systematically make things make sense to his own understanding. He knows already that the revelation of the true Deity is in Israel.  And now he has seen and heard the Jewish son by whom the God of Israel has spoken to Israel.  He will allow that Jewish, flesh and blood son to take him to the cross and there to the destruction of the works of the devil, and from there to the resurrection of the dead and to the Presence of the Father.  It is all he needs.

15 and release those who Ps. 68:18; Is. 42:7; 45:13; 49:9; 61:1; (Luke 1:74) through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 

16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 

17 Therefore, in all things He had Phil. 2:7; Heb. 2:14 to be made like Hisbrethren, that He might be (Heb. 4:15; 5:1–10) a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 

18 (Heb. 4:15, 16) For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

The UC and Hebrews

The commandment of the Father to the Son is the UC directly reframed for the purpose of establishing justice and mercy in creation forever through the redeeming power of God's once for all judgment of the world.

( Hebrews 3:1-6)

Therefore, holy family members, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Yehoshua, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

We have seen that by using the indefinite form "a son", rather than the definite form, "the son", in his opening statement, the author intended it to be not assumed what is meant by “son”.  And just as all that was meant by "son" was not to be assumed at the outset, it is still not to be assumed here. So the nature of the relationship to “servant” in our verse here also is not assumed. If the author is not saying that Mashiach is superior to Moshe because the Son of God is superior to a human being, then what is he saying is the reason or nature of this superiority? What it means that Mashiach is called a son by Hashem is what the author has set out to establish.  It means that the message he conveys from God is of much greater weight than that of angels, or even than that of the prophets.  Here he states that it is even of greater weight than that of the singular prophet and man of God, Moshe.  He gives his own argument as to why this is so.

The one who built a house is worthy of more regard than the house itself.  The assertion is that Mashiach built Moshe.  Take the promise of Mashiach out of the life of Moshe and the life and work of Moshe would not stand.  

The author adds immediately that God is the builder of all things. Those who assume that the author is saying that Mashiach is superior to Moshe because Mashiach is the Son of God and Moshe is only a created human being read this as the author clarifying that he wants to say that Mashiach is God and therefore created Moshe, and that the reader should therefore realize that Mashiach is superior to Moshe.  They thereby have the author saying that the only reason Mashiach is superior to Moshe is that Mashiach is not a human being like Moshe.  He could not say that as a human being Mashiach is superior to Moshe as a human being.  This is not tenable.

What is more, prematurely turning this into a discussion about the divinity of Mashiach really misses the point that the author is talking about the superiority of Mashiach in all cases in order to say that the message as brought by Mashiach to Israel is superior, both in content and form, to all other times and forms of God speaking to Israel. And it is the purpose of the author to show that it is only by coming to know the Mashiach of Israel fully as the ultimate messenger of God that you can come to fully know him personally in his highest office in relation to Israel, and that it is by coming to fully know him personally in this way that he takes you into the presence of the Father in peace.

If he is saying, then, as it appears by reading his words directly, that it is Mashiach who built Moshe, what does he mean by parenthetically adding that every house is built by someone and that God is the one who built all things? Reading the whole text carefully we see that the author has said two things about the house here.  First he said that Moshe himself was a house that was built. Then he said that Moshe was faithful in all God’s house. It is this dual usage that the author stops to clarify.  How can Moshe be faithful in the house and also be the house?  In direct relation to Mashiach Moshe is the house that the promise of Mashiach built.  Because Mashiach would be, with his whole soul and work, the redemption of Israel, he would be made by God to stand as the Redeemer of Israel.  Likewise, therefore, the one who incarnated the epitome of the promise of Mashiach as the Redeemer of Israel, Moshe, would also be called the Redeemer of Israel, due to his life and work.  Moshe would be built by Mashiach.  And out of the life and work of Moshe God would build the whole house of Israel.  Indeed, all of this was built by God, both Moshe and the whole house of Israel, through Mashiach.  This, I think, is the clarification to which the author alludes in a few words.

From this we can see that it directly follows that the author should state that Moshe was a servant who was given to Israel to speak of the one who would come speak as a son in his own house.  And to Israel he says: We are that house which was built.  That is, we will prove to be that house if we remain steadfast in our faith and hope while we transition from hearing the message of the redeemer built in the image of the redeemer to come — to hearing the message of that ultimate redeemer himself.  

High Priest of The World To Come

1Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Yehoshua HaMashiach, 

Because they are Israelites, like all Israelites, they are partakers of the heavenly calling. Because they have heard the calling of Mashiach they know what Israel's heavenly calling is. Since this is so, the one who writes to them here, says to them, consider the one who is the true apostle, the Sent One, of this calling, the one who was sent to Israel with this calling, and who, like Moses was sent to Pharaoh, was sent to command the nations to let Israel go to serve Hashem. Consider him also, who not only was prepared to lay down his won life to deliver Israel from the power of the nation's captivity, but also to offer himself up in doing so as a sacrifice of prayer to God, as a High Priest of God, to make Israel worthy of such a salvation.

What else is Israel's confession in the end but that God chose Israel as an unmerited gift and saved Israel and gave them the Land of Testimony as an unmerited gift? Who else is the ultimate Messenger of this truth? And who else makes Israel's testimony heard in all of heaven and earth?

2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Ex. 40:16; Num. 12:7; Heb. 3:5 Moses also was  faithful in all His house. 

3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as Zech. 6:12, 13 He who built the house has more honor than the house. 

4 For every house is built by someone, but (Eph. 2:10) He who built all things is God. 

5 Ex. 40:16; Num. 12:7; Heb. 3:2 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as Ex. 14:31; Num. 12:7 a servant, Deut. 18:15, 18, 19 for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward,  

6 but Mashiach as Ps. 2:7; 110:4; Heb. 1:2a Son over His own house, (1 Cor. 3:16); 1 Tim. 3:15 whose house we are (Matt. 10:22) if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

If You Hear His Voice

7 Therefore, as Acts 1:16 the Holy Spirit says: Ps. 95:7–11; Heb. 3:15; 4:7 “Today, if you will hear His voice,

8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness,

9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years.

10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’

11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 

13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 

14 For we have become partakers of Mashiach if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 

15 while it is said:  Ps. 95:7, 8 “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

Lesson of The Wilderness

16 Num. 14:2, 11, 30; Deut. 1:35, 36, 38 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was  it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 

17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was  it not with those who sinned, Num. 14:22, 23 whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 

18 And Num. 14:30 to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 

19 So we see that they could not enter in because of Num. 14:1–39; 1 Cor. 10:11, 12 unbelief.

1Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, 2 Cor. 6:1; (Gal. 5:4); Heb. 12:15 let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 

The writer's audience here is those Jews who are coming into the assembly of Messianic Israel, ...

It should not be thought that in the early decades of the apostolic assembly in Jerusalem, Judah and the Galilee that the apostolic leaders saw the assembling believers as an assembly apart from Israel as a whole.  They saw Israel assembling in faith in the Mashiach, who had made atonement for the sin of the nation, had been raised again from the dead, bringing about a new creation, and had been taken up to sit at the right hand of God.  All Israel was in the process of being saved. How long it would take and exactly what the process would look like, the apostolic leaders did not know. That it was now beginning and that it would continue until all was accomplished they were certain.  For they had seen the risen Lord.

We see evidence of this apostolic consciousness in 2 Corinthians 6, where Paul brings out the promise of Israel's entering the Land through the Mashiach being made a covenant of redemption for the People of Israel. As we read there: "Thus says the  Lord:  'In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages.'" (Isa. 49:8 ESV) This is the faith of the apostles, which remains our faith until this day. For nothing has changed from then until now, only the process of Israel's salvation has developed greatly and the time of completion has drawn near.

2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.  

3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:  Ps. 95:11; Heb. 3:11 “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 

4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: Gen. 2:2; Ex. 20:11; 31:17 “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 

5 and again in this place:  Ps. 95:11 “They shall not enter My rest.”

6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 

7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:  Ps. 95:7, 8 “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had Josh. 22:4 given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 

9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 

10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

Enter The Rest Now

11 2 Pet. 1:10 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 

12 For the word of God is  Ps. 147:15 living and powerful, and Is. 49:2 sharper than any Eph. 6:17; Rev. 2:12 two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is (John 12:48); 1 Cor. 14:24, 25 a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

13 2 Chr. 16:9; Ps. 33:13–15; 90:8 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are  Job 26:6; Prov. 15:11 naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must  give account.

The Eternal Human High Priest

14 Seeing then that we have a great Heb. 2:17; 7:26 High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Yehoshua the Son of God, Heb. 10:23 let us hold fast our confession. 

15 For Is. 53:3–5 we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but Luke 22:28 was in all points tempted as we are, 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26 yet without sin. 

16 (Eph. 2:18; Heb. 10:19, 22) Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

What Is A High Priest?

🔝

1 For every high priest taken from among men Heb. 2:17; 8:3 is appointed for humans in issues with God, that he may bring both gifts and offerings for sins. 

2 He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself also experiences Heb. 7:28 human frailty. 

3 Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for Lev. 9:7; 16:6; (Heb. 7:27; 9:7) himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. 

4 And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Ex. 28:1; Num. 16:40; 1 Chr. 23:13 Aaron was.

An Eternal Priest

5 John 8:54 So also Mashiach did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it  was He who said to Him:  Ps. 2:7 “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”

See also in notes for Heb. 1:5. 

Having established already that a priest, a cohen, is a mediator, not just any kind of mediator, ...

6 As He also says in another place:  Ps. 110:4; Heb. 7:17  “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek”;

That is to say, the order of the firstborn. Because of the promise of the Seed of the Woman ...

7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had Matt. 26:39, 42, 44; Mark 14:36, 39; Luke 22:41, 44 offered up prayers and supplications, Ps. 22:1 with vehement cries and tears to Him Matt. 26:53 who was able to save Him from death, and was heard Matt. 26:39 because of His godly fear, 

8 though He was a son, yet He learned Phil. 2:8 obedience by the things which He suffered. 

9 And Heb. 2:10 having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 

Even as All-Israel shall obey him, since All-Israel shall be saved, and is therefore revealed to be the object of his atonement.

10 called by God as High Priest Ps. 110:4 “according to the order of Melchizedek,” 

And to this end was he called by God to be the eternal High Priest of Israel, according to the order of Melekizedek....

11 of whom (John 16:12); Heb. 7:1–22 we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become (Matt. 13:15) dull of hearing.

Again, this does not refer to a Christian idea of apostasy, but to the failure to understand as the Torah revelation ascends to a higher level.

Growing To Maturity

12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need 1 Cor. 3:1–3; 1 Pet. 2:2 milk and not solid food. 

The meaning is that they have a true foundation that has been laid but it has been laid only for the building of a house to one story, one level.....

13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is Eph. 4:14 a newborn. 

...communicate the word of rightesousness, the word of Mashiach, to others...

14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that  is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised Is. 7:15; Phil. 1:9 to discern both good and evil.

Let Us Go On

1 Therefore, Heb. 5:12 leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Mashiach, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from (Heb. 9:14) dead works and of faith toward God, 

2 John 3:25; Acts 19:3–5 of the doctrine of baptisms, (Acts 8:17) of laying on of hands, Acts 17:31 of resurrection of the dead, Acts 24:25 and of eternal judgment. 

3 And this we will do if God permits.

4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted (John 4:10); Eph. 2:8 the heavenly gift, and (Gal. 3:2, 5); Heb. 2:4 have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 

5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 

6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, Heb. 10:29 since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, Ps. 65:10 receives blessing from God; 

8 Is. 5:6 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

We are confident of you

9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 

10 For Rom. 3:4 God is not unjust to forget 1 Thess. 1:3 your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have Rom. 15:25; Heb. 10:32–34 ministered to the saints, and do minister. 

11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence Col. 2:2 to the full assurance of hope until the end, 

12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience Heb. 10:36 inherit the promises.

God’s Purpose in Mashiach

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, Gen. 22:16, 17; Luke 1:73 He swore by Himself, 

14 saying, Gen. 22:16, 17“ Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 

15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the Gen. 12:4; 21:5 promise. 

16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and Ex. 22:11 an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 

17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to Rom. 8:17; Heb. 11:9 the heirs of promise Rom. 11:29 the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 

18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29; Titus 1:2 lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope (Col. 1:5); Heb. 3:6; 7:19; 12:1 set before us.

19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, Lev. 16:2, 15; Heb. 9:3, 7 and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 

20 (John 14:2; Heb. 4:14) where the forerunner has entered for us, that is, Yehoshua, Gen. 14:17–19; Ps. 110:4; Heb. 3:1; 5:10, 11 having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

The King of Righteousness

1 For this Gen. 14:18–20; Heb. 7:6 Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 

2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” 

3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 

5 And indeed Num. 18:21–26; 2 Chr. 31:4 those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; 

6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham Gen. 14:19, 20 and blessed (Rom. 4:13) him who had the promises. 

7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. 

The priesthood of the firstborn which is eternal is better than that of the Levitical priesthood which holds its place from Sinai to the end of This World.  The situation of Abraham going to war to rescue Lot was a situation that prophetically spoke of the time when only the merit of the covenant would keep the Mixed Multitude from dragging Israel down into oblivion.  Melekizedek blessed Abraham before blessing Hashem, in part showing this prophecy.

8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives  them,  Heb. 5:6; 6:20; (Rev. 1:18) of whom it is witnessed that he lives. 

9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, 

10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

An Eternal Priesthood

11 (Rom. 7:7–14); Gal. 2:21; Heb. 7:18; 8:7 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was  there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? 

12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. 

13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.

14 For it  is evident that Gen. 49:8–10; Num. 24:17; Is. 1:1; Mic. 5:2; Matt. 1:3; 2:6; Rev. 5:5 our Lord arose from Matt. 1:2 Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. 

As the chosen son, he is the firstborn of Judah.

15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest 

16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. 

17 For He testifies:  Ps. 110:4; Heb. 5:6; 6:20; 7:21 “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of (Rom. 8:3); Gal. 3:21; Heb. 7:11 its weakness and unprofitableness, 

19 for (Acts 13:39); Rom. 3:20; 7:7; Gal. 2:16; 3:21; Heb. 9:9; 10:1 the Torah made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there  is the bringing in of Heb. 6:18, 19 a better hope, through which Lam. 3:57; Rom. 5:2; (Eph. 2:18); Heb. 4:16; James 4:8 we draw near to God.

The Eternal Priest

20 And inasmuch as He  was not made  priest without an oath 

21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: Ps. 110:4; Heb. 5:6; 7:17 “The Lord has sworn And will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’ ”),

22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a Heb. 8:6 better covenant.

23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. 

24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 

25 Therefore He is also Jude 24 able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, (2 Cor. 5:21); Heb. 4:15 who  is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, Eph. 1:20 and has become higher than the heavens; 

27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His Lev. 9:7; 16:6; Heb. 5:3 own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 

28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

The Eternal Priestly Service

1 Now this  is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, Ps. 68:18; 110:1; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 2:17; 3:1; 10:12 who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 

2 a Minister of Heb. 9:8, 12 the sanctuary and of Heb. 9:11, 24 the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

3 For (Rom. 4:25; 5:6, 8; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 5:2); Heb. 5:1; 8:4 every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore (Eph. 5:2; Heb. 9:14) it  is necessary that this One also have something to offer. 

4 For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; 

5 who serve Heb. 9:23, 24 the copy and Col. 2:17; Heb. 10:1 shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, Ex. 25:40 “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” 

6 But now (2 Cor. 3:6–8) He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a (Luke 22:20); Heb. 7:22 better covenant, which was established on better promises.

It is made through the blood of Mashiach with the House of Judah and the House of Israel; all its promises become realized.

The Covenant Made New

7 For if that Ex. 3:8; 19:5 first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 

8 Because finding fault with them, He says: Jer. 31:31–34 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 

9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Jer. 31:33; Rom. 11:27; Heb. 10:16 Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and Zech. 8:8 I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 

11 Is. 54:13; John 6:45; (1 John 2:27) None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Jer. 31:34 Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 

12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, Rom. 11:27 and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

13 (2 Cor. 5:17); Heb. 1:11In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

It is just the first making of the covenant that is obsolete, certainly not the covenant itself, for it is made new, and certainly not Israel for it is Israel, in the form of its two houses that the new version of the covenant is made.

The Earthly Sanctuary

1 Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and Ex. 25:8; (Heb. 8:2; 9:11, 24) the earthly sanctuary. 

2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; 

3 Ex. 26:31–35; 40:3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, 

4 which had the Lev. 16:12 golden censer and Ex. 25:10 the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were  Ex. 16:33 the golden pot that had the manna, Num. 17:1–10 Aaron’s rod that budded, and Ex. 25:16; 34:29; Deut. 10:2–5 the tablets of the covenant; 

5 and Ex. 25:17, 20; Lev. 16:2; 1 Kin. 8:7 above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

Temple Service Before Mashiach

6 Now when these things had been thus prepared, Num. 18:2–6; 28:3 the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. 

7 But into the second part the high priest went alone Ex. 30:10; Lev. 16:34; Heb. 10:3 once a year, not without blood, which he offered for Heb. 5:3himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance; 

8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that (John 14:6; Heb. 10:20) the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.                                                                                                                                                                                  

9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered (Gal. 3:21); Heb. 7:19 which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience— 

10 concerned only with Lev. 11:2; Col. 2:16 foods and drinks, Num. 19:7 various washings, Eph. 2:15 and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

The Temple Service To Come

11 But Mashiach came as High Priest of (Eph. 1:3–11); Heb. 10:1 the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 

12 Not Heb. 10:4 with the blood of goats and calves, but Is. 53:12; Eph. 1:7 with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place Zech. 3:9 once for all, (Dan. 9:24) having obtained eternal redemption. 

13 For if Lev. 16:14, 15; Heb. 9:19; 10:4 the blood of bulls and goats and Num. 19:2 the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 

14 how much more shall the blood of Mashiach, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, 1 John 1:7 cleanse your conscience from Heb. 6:1 dead works Luke 1:74 to serve the living God? 

15 And for this reason Rom. 3:25 He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that Heb. 3:1 those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

Mashiach's Death As Mediator

16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 

17 For Gal. 3:15 a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. 

18 Ex. 24:6 Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. 

19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, Ex. 24:5, 6 he took the blood of calves and goats, Lev. 14:4, 7; Num. 19:6, 18 with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 

20 saying, (Matt. 26:28) “This is the Ex. 24:3–8 blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.” 

21 Then likewise Ex. 29:12, 36 he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. 

22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and Lev. 17:11 without shedding of blood there is no remission.

Mashiach’s Sacrifice

23 Therefore it  was necessary that Heb. 8:5 the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 

24 For Heb. 6:20 Mashiach has not entered the holy places made with hands, which  are copies of Heb. 8:2the true, but into heaven itself, now Rom. 8:34 to appear in the presence of God for us; 

25 not that He should offer Himself often, as Heb. 9:7 the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— 

26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 

27 Gen. 3:19; Eccl. 3:20 And as it is appointed for men to die once, (2 Cor. 5:10); 1 John 4:17 but after this the judgment, 

28 so Rom. 6:10 Mashiach was Is. 53:12; 1 Pet. 2:24 offered once to bear the sins Matt. 26:28 of many.  To those who 1 Cor. 1:7; Titus 2:13 eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

The Meaning of Animal Sacrifices

1 For the law, having a Heb. 8:5 shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, Heb. 7:19; 9:9 can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 

2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 

3 But in those sacrifices there  is a reminder of sins every year. 

4 For Mic. 6:6, 7 it  is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

Mashiach’s Death Fulfills God’s Will

5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:  Ps. 40:6–8 “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.

6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.

7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come — In the volume of the book it is written of Me — to do Your will, O God.’ ”

8 Previously 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), 

9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 

10 John 17:19; (Eph. 5:26; Heb. 2:11; 10:14, 29; 13:12) By that will we have been sanctified (Heb. 9:12) through the offering of the body of Yehoshua HaMashiach once for all.

Mashiach’s Death Perfects the Sanctified People

11 And every priest stands Num. 28:3 ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 

12 Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down Ps. 110:1 at the right hand of God, 

13 from that time waiting Ps. 110:1; Heb. 1:13 till His enemies are made His footstool. 

14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

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

16 Jer. 31:33, 34; Heb. 8:10 “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,” 

17 then  He  adds,  Jer. 31:34 “ Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 

18 Now where there is remission of these, there  is no longer an offering for sin.

Stay With Your Testimony

19 Therefore, brethren, having (Eph. 2:18) ; Heb. 4:16 boldness to enter Heb. 9:8,12 the Holiest by the blood of Yehoshua, 

20 by a new and John 14:6; (Heb. 7:24, 25) living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 

21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 

22 let us Heb. 7:19; 10:1 draw near with a true heart Eph. 3:12 in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; 1 Thess. 5:24; Heb. 11:11He who promised is faithful. 

24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 

25 Acts 2:42 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one  another, and Rom. 13:11 so much the more as you see Phil. 4:5 the Day approaching.

The Justified Live by Faith

26 For Num. 15:30 if we sin willfully 2 Pet. 2:20 after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there Heb. 6:6 no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 

27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and Zeph. 1:18 fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 

28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the  testimony  of two or three Deut. 17:2–6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16; Heb. 2:2 witnesses. 

29 (Heb. 2:3) Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, 1 Cor. 11:29 counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, (Matt. 12:31) and insulted the Spirit of grace? 

30 For we know Him who said, Deut. 32:35; Rom. 12:19 “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.  And again, Deut. 32:36 “The Lord will judge His people.” 

31 (Luke 12:5) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 But Gal. 3:4; Heb. 6:9, 10 recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: 

33 partly while you were made 1 Cor. 4:9; Heb. 12:4 a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while Phil. 1:7 you became companions of those who were so treated; 

34 for you had compassion on me 2 Tim. 1:16 in my chains, and Matt. 5:12 joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that Matt. 6:20 you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. 

The readers of the book/letter know the writer personally and that it is he who is writing to them, even though we do not have his name.

35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, Matt. 5:12 which has great reward. 

36 Luke 21:19; Heb. 12:1 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, (Col. 3:24) you may receive the promise:

37 “For Luke 18:8 yet a little while, and  Hab. 2:3, 4; Heb. 10:25; Rev. 22:20 he who is coming will come and will not tarry.

38 Now Hab. 2:3, 4; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

39 But we are not of those 2 Pet. 2:20 who draw back to perdition, but of those who Acts 16:31 believe to the saving of the soul.

Understand By Faith!

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence Rom. 8:24; (2 Cor. 4:18; 5:7); Heb. 11:7, 27 of things not seen. 

2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

3 By faith we understand that Gen. 1:1; Ps. 33:6; (John 1:3); 2 Pet. 3:5 the worlds 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 Beginning

4 By faith Gen. 4:3–5; Matt. 23:35; 1 John 3:12 Abel 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 Gen. 4:8–10; Heb. 12:24 speaks.

5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, Gen. 5:21–24 “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 

6 But without faith it  is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is one who rewards those who diligently seek Him.

7 By faith Gen. 6:13–22 Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, 1 Pet. 3:20 prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of Rom. 3:22 the righteousness which is according to faith.

Abraham's Faith

8 By faith Gen. 12:1–4; Acts 7:2–4 Abraham 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. 

9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, Gen. 12:8; 13:3, 18; 18:1, 9 dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, Heb. 6:17 the heirs with him of the same promise; 

10 for he waited for (Heb. 12:22; 13:14) the city which has foundations, (Rev. 21:10) whose builder and maker is God.

11 By faith Gen. 17:19; 18:11–14; 21:1, 2 Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and Luke 1:36 she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him Heb. 10:23 faithful who had promised. 

12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as Rom. 4:19 dead, were born as  many as the Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 32:12 stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

The Heavenly Hope

13 These all died in faith, Heb. 11:39 not having received the Gen. 12:7 promises, but John 8:56; Heb. 11:27 having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and Gen. 23:4; 47:9; 1 Chr. 29:15; Ps. 39:12; Eph. 2:19; 1 Pet. 1:17; 2:11 confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 

14 For those who say such things Heb. 13:14 declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 

15 And truly if they had called to mind Gen. 11:31 that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 

16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed Gen. 26:24; 28:13; Ex. 3:6, 15; 4:5 to be called their God, for He has (John 14:2); Heb. 11:10; (Rev. 21:2) prepared a city for them.

The Faith of all the Patriarchs

17 By faith Abraham, Gen. 22:1–14; James 2:21 when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,  

18 of whom it was said, Gen. 21:12; Rom. 9:7 “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 

19 concluding that God Rom. 4:17 was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

20 By faith Gen. 27:26–40 Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, Gen. 48:1, 5, 16, 20 blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

22 By faith Gen. 50:24, 25; Ex. 13:19 Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

The Faith of Moshe

23 By faith Ex. 2:1–3 Moses, 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 Ex. 1:16, 22 command.

24 By faith Ex. 2:11–15 Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 

25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 

26 esteeming Heb. 13:13 the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17 reward.

27 By faith Ex. 10:28 he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 

28 By faith Ex. 12:21 he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

29 By faith Ex. 14:22–29; Jude 5 they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

By Faith They Overcame This World

30 By faith Josh. 6:20 the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. 

31 By faith Josh. 2:9; 6:23; James 2:25 the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when Josh. 2:1 she had received the spies with peace.

32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Judg. 6:11; 7:1–25 Gideon and Judg. 4:6–24 Barak and Judg. 13:24—16:31 Samson and Judg. 11:1–29; 12:1–7 Jephthah, also of  1 Sam. 16; 17 David and 1 Sam. 7:9–14 Samuel and the prophets: 

33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, Judg. 14:6; 1 Sam. 17:34; Dan. 6:22 stopped the mouths of lions, 

34 Dan. 3:23–28 quenched 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. 

35 1 Kin. 17:22; 2 Kin. 4:35–37 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were Acts 22:25 tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 

36 Still others had trials of being mocked and scourged, yes, and Gen. 39:20; 1 Kin. 22:27; 2 Chr. 18:26; Jer. 20:2; 37:15 of chains and imprisonment. 

37 1 Kin. 21:13; 2 Chr. 24:21; Acts 7:58 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. 2 Kin. 1:8; Matt. 3:4 They wandered about 1 Kin. 19:13, 19; 2 Kin. 2:8, 13; Zech. 13:4 in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented — 

38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, 1 Kin. 18:4, 13; 19:9 in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And all these, Heb. 11:2, 13 having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 

40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be Heb. 5:9 made perfect apart from us.

The Cloud of Witnesses

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, Col. 3:8 let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and 1 Cor. 9:24; Gal. 2:2; Heb. 10:39 let us run Rom. 12:12; Heb. 10:36 with endurance the race that is set before us, 

2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, Luke 24:26 who for the joy that was set before Him Ps. 69:7, 19; Phil. 2:8; (Heb. 2:9) endured the cross, despising the shame, and Ps. 110:1 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Disciplined by God

3 Matt. 10:24 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, Gal. 6:9; Heb. 12:5 lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 

4 (1 Cor. 10:13) You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 

5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:  Job 5:17; Prov. 3:11, 12 “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6 For Ps. 94:12; Rev. 3:19 whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”

7 Deut. 8:5; 2 Sam. 7:14 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what Prov. 13:24; 19:18; 23:13 son is there whom a father does not chasten? 

8 But if you are without chastening, 1 Pet. 5:9 of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 

9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid themrespect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to (Job 12:10) the Father of spirits and live? 

10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, Lev. 11:44 that we may be partakers of His holiness. 

11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields Is. 32:17; 2 Tim. 4:8; James 3:17, 18 the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Spiritual Renewal 

12 Therefore Is. 35:3 strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 

13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

14 Ps. 34:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, Matt. 5:8; (Heb. 9:28) without which no one will see the Lord: 

15 looking carefully lest anyone 2 Cor. 6:1; Gal. 5:4; Heb. 4:1 fall short of the grace of God; lest any Deut. 29:18 root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 

16 lest there be any (1 Cor. 6:13–18) fornicator or profane person like Esau, Gen. 25:33 who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 

17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was Gen. 27:30–40 rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

The Glorified Assembly

18 For you have not come to Ex. 19:12, 16; 20:18; Deut. 4:11; 5:22 the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 

19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it  Ex. 20:18–26; Deut. 5:25; 18:16 begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 

20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: Ex. 19:12, 13 “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” 

21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, Deut. 9:19  “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 

23 to the general assembly and church of (James 1:18) the firstborn Luke 10:20 who  are registered in heaven, to God Gen. 18:25; Ps. 50:6; 94:2 the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men (Phil. 3:12) made perfect, 

24 to Jesus 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 8:6; 9:15 the Mediator of the new covenant, and to Ex. 24:8 the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things Gen. 4:10; Heb. 11:4 than that of Abel.

The Heavenly Voice

25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For Heb. 2:2, 3 if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall  we  not  escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 

26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, Hag. 2:6 “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 

27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the (Is. 34:4; 54:10; 65:17; Rom. 8:19, 21); 1 Cor. 7:31; Heb. 1:10 removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may Heb. 13:15, 21 serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 

29 For Ex. 24:17 our God is a consuming fire.

Admonitions

1 Let Rom. 12:10 brotherly love continue. 

2 Matt. 25:35; Rom. 12:13 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing  Gen. 18:1–22; 19:1 some people without realizing it have entertained angels. 

3 Matt. 25:36; Heb. 10:34 Remember the prisoners as if encarcerated with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

4 Prov. 5:18, 19 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; 1 Cor. 6:9; Gal. 5:19, 21; 1 Thess. 4:6 but fornicators and adulterers God will be the one to judge.

5 Let  your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, Gen. 28:15; Deut. 31:6, 8; Josh. 1:5 “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

6 So we may boldly say:  Ps. 27:1; 118:6 “The Lord  is my helper; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?”

7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 

8 Yehoshua HaMashiach is  (John 8:58); 2 Cor. 1:19; Heb. 1:12 the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it  is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 

11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 

12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 

13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing 1 Pet. 4:14 His reproach. 

14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. 

15 Eph. 5:20 Therefore by Him let us continually offer Lev. 7:12 the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, Is. 57:19; Hos. 14:2 the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 

16 Rom. 12:13 But do not forget to do good and to share, for 2 Cor. 9:12; Phil. 4:18 with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

17 Phil. 2:29 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for Is. 62:6; Ezek. 3:17; Acts 20:28 they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Pray for us

18 Eph. 6:19 Pray for us; for we are confident that we have Acts 23:1a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. 

19 But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Farewell Benediction

20 Now may Rom. 5:1, 2, 10; 15:33 the God of peace Ps. 16:10, 11; Hos. 6:2; Rom. 4:24 who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, Ps. 23:1; Is. 40:11; 63:11; John 10:11; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4 that great Shepherd of the sheep, Zech. 9:11; Heb. 10:29 through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 

21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, Phil. 2:13 working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Yehoshua HaMashiach, to whom beglory forever and ever. Amen.

22 And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words. 

23 Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly.

24 Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.

25 Grace be with you all. Amen.