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In days gone by, God spoke in many and varied ways to the Fathers through the prophets. But now, in the acharit-hayamim, he has spoken to us through his Son, to whom he has given ownership of everything and through whom he created the universe. This Son is the radiance of the Sh’khinah, the very expression of God’s essence, upholding all that exists by his powerful word; and after he had, through himself, made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of HaG’dulah BaM’romim.[a]

So he has become much better than angels, and the name God has given him is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father”?[b]

Also, God never said of any angel,

“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son.”[c]

And again, when God brings his Firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”[d]

Indeed, when speaking of angels, he says,

“. . . who makes his angels winds
and his servants fiery flames”;[e]

but to the Son, he says,

“Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever;
you rule your Kingdom with a scepter of equity;
you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you
with the oil of joy in preference to your companions”;[f]

10 and,

“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth;
heaven is the work of your hands.
11 They will vanish, but you will remain;
like clothing, they will all grow old;
12 and you will fold them up like a coat.
Yes, they will be changed like clothing,
but you remain the same,
your years will never end.”[g]

13 Moreover, to which of the angels has he ever said,

“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?[h]

14 Aren’t they all merely spirits who serve, sent out to help those whom God will deliver?

Therefore, we must pay much more careful heed to the things we have heard, so that we will not drift away. For if the word God spoke through angels became binding, so that every violation and act of disobedience received its just deserts in full measure, then how will we escape if we ignore such a great deliverance? This deliverance, which was first declared by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him; while God also bore witness to it with various signs, wonders and miracles, and with gifts of the Ruach HaKodesh which he distributed as he chose.

For it was not to angels that God subjected the ‘olam haba — which is what we are talking about. And there is a place where someone has given this solemn testimony:

“What is mere man, that you concern yourself with him?
or the son of man, that you watch over him with such care?
You made him a little lower than the angels,
you crowned him with glory and honor,
you put everything in subjection under his feet.”[i]

In subjecting everything to him, he left nothing unsubjected to him. However, at present, we don’t see everything subjected to him — at least, not yet. But we do see Yeshua — who indeed was made for a little while lower than the angels — now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by God’s grace he might taste death for all humanity. 10 For in bringing many sons to glory, it was only fitting that God, the Creator and Preserver of everything, should bring the Initiator of their deliverance to the goal through sufferings. 11 For both Yeshua, who sets people apart for God, and the ones being set apart have a common origin — this is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers 12 when he says,

“I will proclaim your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”[j]

13 Also,

“I will put my trust in him, . . .”[k]

and then it goes on,

“Here I am, along with the children God has given me.”[l]

14 Therefore, since the children share a common physical nature as human beings, he became like them and shared that same human nature; so that by his death he might render ineffective the one who had power over death (that is, the Adversary) 15 and thus set free those who had been in bondage all their lives because of their fear of death.

16 Indeed, it is obvious that he does not take hold of angels to help them; on the contrary,

“He takes hold of the seed of Avraham.”[m]

17 This is why he had to become like his brothers in every respect — so that he might become a merciful and faithful cohen gadol in the service of God, making a kapparah for the sins of the people. 18 For since he himself suffered death when he was put to the test, he is able to help those who are being tested now.

Therefore, brothers whom God has set apart, who share in the call from heaven, think carefully about Yeshua, whom we acknowledge publicly as God’s emissary and as cohen gadol. He was faithful to God, who appointed him; just as

“Moshe was faithful in all God’s house.”[n]

But Yeshua deserves more honor than Moshe, just as the builder of the house deserves more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the one who built everything is God.

Also, Moshe was faithful in all God’s house, as a servant giving witness to things God would divulge later. But the Messiah, as Son, was faithful over God’s house. And we are that house of his, provided we hold firmly to the courage and confidence inspired by what we hope for.

Therefore, as the Ruach HaKodesh says,

“Today, if you hear God’s voice,
don’t harden your hearts, as you did in the Bitter Quarrel
on that day in the Wilderness when you put God to the test.
Yes, your fathers put me to the test;
they challenged me, and they saw my work for forty years!
10 Therefore, I was disgusted with that generation —
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
they have not understood how I do things’;
11 in my anger, I swore
that they would not enter my rest.”[o]

12 Watch out, brothers, so that there will not be in any one of you an evil heart lacking trust, which could lead you to apostatize from the living God! 13 Instead, keep exhorting each other every day, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you will become hardened by the deceit of sin. 14 For we have become sharers in the Messiah, provided, however, that we hold firmly to the conviction we began with, right through until the goal is reached.

15 Now where it says,

“Today, if you hear God’s voice,
don’t harden your hearts, as you did in the Bitter Quarrel,” [p]

16 who were the people who, after they heard, quarreled so bitterly? All those whom Moshe brought out of Egypt. 17 And with whom was God disgusted for forty years? Those who sinned — yes, they fell dead in the Wilderness! 18 And to whom was it that he swore that they would not enter his rest? Those who were disobedient. 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of lack of trust.

Therefore, let us be terrified of the possibility that, even though the promise of entering his rest remains, any one of you might be judged to have fallen short of it; for Good News has also been proclaimed to us, just as it was to them. But the message they heard didn’t do them any good, because those who heard it did not combine it with trust. For it is we who have trusted who enter the rest.

It is just as he said,

“And in my anger, I swore
that they would not enter my rest.”[q]

He swore this even though his works have been in existence since the founding of the universe. For there is a place where it is said, concerning the seventh day,

“And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.”[r]

And once more, our present text says,

“They will not enter my rest.”[s]

Therefore, since it still remains for some to enter it, and those who received the Good News earlier did not enter, he again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David, so long afterwards, in the text already given,

“Today, if you hear God’s voice, don’t harden your hearts.”[t]

For if Y’hoshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later of another “day.”

So there remains a Shabbat-keeping for God’s people. 10 For the one who has entered God’s rest has also rested from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Therefore, let us do our best to enter that rest; so that no one will fall short because of the same kind of disobedience.

12 See, the Word of God is alive! It is at work and is sharper than any double-edged sword — it cuts right through to where soul meets spirit and joints meet marrow, and it is quick to judge the inner reflections and attitudes of the heart. 13 Before God, nothing created is hidden, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

14 Therefore, since we have a great cohen gadol who has passed through to the highest heaven, Yeshua, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we acknowledge as true. 15 For we do not have a cohen gadol unable to empathize with our weaknesses; since in every respect he was tempted just as we are, the only difference being that he did not sin. 16 Therefore, let us confidently approach the throne from which God gives grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need.

For every cohen gadol taken from among men is appointed to act on people’s behalf with regard to things concerning God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and with those who go astray, since he too is subject to weakness. Also, because of this weakness, he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as those of the people. And no one takes this honor upon himself, rather, he is called by God, just as Aharon was.

So neither did the Messiah glorify himself to become cohen gadol; rather, it was the One who said to him,

“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.”[u]

Also, as he says in another place,

“You are a cohen forever,
to be compared with Malki-Tzedek.”[v]

During Yeshua’s life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions, crying aloud and shedding tears, to the One who had the power to deliver him from death; and he was heard because of his godliness. Even though he was the Son, he learned obedience through his sufferings. And after he had been brought to the goal, he became the source of eternal deliverance to all who obey him, 10 since he had been proclaimed by God as a cohen gadol to be compared with Malki-Tzedek.

11 We have much to say about this subject, but it is hard to explain, because you have become sluggish in understanding. 12 For although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the very first principles of God’s Word all over again! You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who has to drink milk is still a baby, without experience in applying the Word about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by continuous exercise to distinguish good from evil.

Therefore, leaving behind the initial lessons about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of turning from works that lead to death, trusting God, and instruction about washings, s’mikhah, the resurrection of the dead and eternal punishment. And, God willing, this is what we will do.

For when people have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become sharers in the Ruach HaKodesh, and tasted the goodness of God’s Word and the powers of the ‘olam haba and then have fallen away — it is impossible to renew them so that they turn from their sin, as long as for themselves they keep executing the Son of God on the stake all over again and keep holding him up to public contempt. For the land that soaks up frequent rains and then brings forth a crop useful to its owners receives a blessing from God; but if it keeps producing thorns and thistles, it fails the test and is close to being cursed;[w] in the end, it will be burned.

Now even though we speak this way, dear friends, we are confident that you have the better things that come with being delivered. 10 For God is not so unfair as to forget your work and the love you showed for him in your past service to his people — and in your present service too. 11 However, we want each one of you to keep showing the same diligence right up to the end, when your hope will be realized; 12 so that you will not become sluggish, but will be imitators of those who by their trust and patience are receiving what has been promised.

13 For when God made his promise to Avraham, he swore an oath to do what he had promised; and since there was no one greater than himself for him to swear by, he swore by himself[x] 14 and said,

“I will certainly bless you,
and I will certainly give you many descendants”;[y]

15 and so, after waiting patiently, Avraham saw the promise fulfilled. 16 Now people swear oaths by someone greater than themselves, and confirmation by an oath puts an end to all dispute. 17 Therefore, when God wanted to demonstrate still more convincingly the unchangeable character of his intentions to those who were to receive what he had promised, he added an oath to the promise; 18 so that through two unchangeable things, in neither of which God could lie, we, who have fled to take a firm hold on the hope set before us, would be strongly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as a sure and safe anchor for ourselves, a hope that goes right on through to what is inside the parokhet, 20 where a forerunner has entered on our behalf, namely, Yeshua, who has become a cohen gadol forever, to be compared with Malki-Tzedek.[z]

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 1:3 Psalm 110:1
  2. Hebrews 1:5 Psalm 2:7
  3. Hebrews 1:5 2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 17:13
  4. Hebrews 1:6 Psalm 97:7
  5. Hebrews 1:7 Psalm 104:4
  6. Hebrews 1:9 Psalm 45:7–8(6–7)
  7. Hebrews 1:12 Psalm 102:26–28(25–27)
  8. Hebrews 1:13 Psalm 110:1
  9. Hebrews 2:8 Psalm 8:5–7(4–6)
  10. Hebrews 2:12 Psalm 22:23(22)
  11. Hebrews 2:13 Isaiah 8:17
  12. Hebrews 2:13 Isaiah 8:18 (Septuagint)
  13. Hebrews 2:16 Isaiah 41:8–9
  14. Hebrews 3:2 Numbers 12:7
  15. Hebrews 3:11 Psalm 95:7–11
  16. Hebrews 3:15 Psalm 95:7–8
  17. Hebrews 4:3 Psalm 95:11
  18. Hebrews 4:4 Genesis 2:2
  19. Hebrews 4:5 Psalm 95:11
  20. Hebrews 4:7 Psalm 95:7–8
  21. Hebrews 5:5 Psalm 2:7
  22. Hebrews 5:6 Psalm 110:4
  23. Hebrews 6:8 Genesis 3:17–18
  24. Hebrews 6:13 Genesis 22:16
  25. Hebrews 6:14 Genesis 22:17
  26. Hebrews 6:20 Psalm 110:4

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