HEBREWS 1 1 AFTER speaking to the fathers long ago by fragments and forms manifold 2 in the prophets, God spoke to us at the end of these days in a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also made the worlds; 3 who, as the reflected radiance of his majesty and the facsimile of his nature, sustaining also all things with the word of his power, sat down, after he had made purification of sins, at the right hand of the Sovereignty 4 on high, becoming so far better than the angels as the name he has 5 inherited is more excellent than they. For to which of the angels did he ever say, My Son thou art, to-day have I begotten thee? and again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be a Son to me? 6 And again, when he introduces the first-born into the world, he says, And let all God's angels do him reverence. 7 And while he says of the angels, Who makes his angels winds, And his servants a flame of fire; 8 he says of the Son, 9 10 And, 11 12 Thy throne, O God, is ever and for ever, And the sceptre of thy reign is the sceptre of equity. With oil of rejoicing above thy comrades. Thou Lord didst found the earth at the beginning, They shall perish, but thou remainest; They shall all become worn out like a garment, Yea, like a mantle thou shalt fold them up and1 they shall be changed, 13 And to which of the angels has he ever said, Sit at my right hand, Till I make thine enemies a footstool for thy feet? 14 Are they not all spirits for service, sent out to minister on behalf of 21 those who are to inherit salvation? 2 away. Therefore we must more and more devote ourselves to what we have been taught, in case we drift For if the word spoken through angels held good, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, 3 how shall we escape if we have paid no heed to so great a salvation?which began by being spoken through the Lord and was confirmed for 4 us by the hearers, while God bore witness along with them by signs and also by wonders and by manifold miracles and by distributions of the holy Spirit in virtue of his will. 1 Omitting [[s ¡μáriov]]. 5 For it was not to angels that he subjected the world to come, of which 6 we speak but someone has testified somewhere, saying, What is man that thou rememberest him? Or the son of man that thou carest for him? 7 Thou didst make him for a little while lower than the angels, 8 With majesty and honour thou didst crown him ; Thou didst make all things subject under his feet. In making all things subject to him he left nothing unsubjected to him. 9 Now as it is, we do not yet see all things subjected to him; but we see Jesus, who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, crowned with majesty and honour for the suffering of death, that by the grace of 10 God he might taste death for everyone. For it became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to majesty to make the leader of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For the sanctifier and the sanctified all come from One; and this is 12 why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, I will declare thy name to my brothers, In the midst of the assembly I will sing thy praise: 13 and again, I will put my trust in him : and again, Here am I with the children whom God has given me ! 14 Since then the children's share is blood and flesh, 15 Of these did he partake in the same way, That through death he might put down him who has the power of death (that is, the devil), And deliver all who through fear of death were all their life-time held under bondage. 16 For, one need hardly say, it is not angels that he takes in hand; No, he takes in hand the offspring of Abraham. 17 Hence he needed to be made like his brothers in all things, That he might be merciful and a faithful high priest with regard to God, To make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For as he was tempted himself in what he suffered, He is able to help the tempted. 31 Wherefore, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, Consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession; 2 Who was faithful to him who appointed him, Like Moses in God's whole household. 3 For this man has been held worthy of more majesty than Moses, Inasmuch as he who established the household is more honoured than the household. 4 For every household is established by someone ; But he who established all things is God. 5 And while Moses was faithful in God's whole household as a servant— 6 To bear testimony to what was to be spoken Christ was faithful as a son over his household; And we are his household, If we hold fast and firm to the end our confidence and the hope wherein we exult. 7 Therefore, as the holy Spirit says, To-day, when you hear his voice, 12 Brothers, take care lest there is ever in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, and you depart from the living God: 13 But exhort one "To-day " another day by day, as long as the call comes so that none of you may become stubborn by the deceit of sin. 14 For we are partakers of Christ, If we hold fast and firm to the end the confidence with which we began 15 While it is said, To-day, when you hear his voice, Make not your hearts stubborn as in the wilderness. 16 For who heard and yet provoked? Was it not all who came out of Egypt under Moses? 17 And with whom was he exasperated for forty years? Was it not with those who had sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest? To whom but to those who had disobeyed? 19, 41 So it was owing to unbelief, we see, that they could not enter. Let us then be afraid lest, when there is still a promise left of entering into his rest, any one of you be held to have fallen short of it. 2 For indeed we have had the glad tidings preached to us as they had also ; but to them the word of the message was of no avail, since the hearers 3 did not make it their own1 by faith. For it is we who have believed that enter into the rest; as he said, So I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter into my rest"— although from the foundation of the world the works were finished. 4 For he spoke somewhere about the seventh day thus: And God rested on 5 the seventh day from all his works, and again in this place, they shall not 6 enter into my rest.-Well then, since it is reserved for some to enter into it, and since those who had the glad tidings previously preached to them 7 did not enter on account of disobedience, he appoints a day once more; To-day (speaking in David after so long a time, as it has been already said) To-day, when you hear his voice, 8 For had they been given rest by Joshua, he would not afterwards have 9 spoken of another day. So then there is reserved for the people of God 10 a sabbath-rest; for he who has entered into his rest, he also has rest from 11 his works, as God from his. Let us then eagerly endeavour to enter into that rest, so that no one may follow the same example and fall into 12 disobedience. For the Logos of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even to the division of soul 1 Reading συνκεκερά μενες. 13 and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to judge the thoughts and convictions of the heart: And before him nothing created is concealed, But all things are bare and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 14 As we have then a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, Let us hold to our confession. 15 For we have not a high priest who cannot be touched with compassion for our weaknesses, 16 5 1 But one who has been tempted in all points like ourselves, apart from sin. For every high priest, being selected from among men, is wont to be appointed for men Godward, that he may offer both gifts and 2 sacrifices for sins; one who can bear gently with the ignorant and erring, 3 since he too is himself compassed with weakness, and needs for that reason to make offering for sins, as for the people so also for himself. 4 And no one takes the office to himself, but takes it when called by 5 God, exactly like Aaron. So Christ also did not exalt himself to the high priesthood; nay it was he who spoke to him, My Son thou art, to-day have I begotten thee: 6 as he says also in another place, Thou art priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek. 7 He who in the days of his flesh offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from 8 death, and owing to his reverence was heard; he learned obedience9 though he was a Son-by what he suffered; and after being made perfect, 10 he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him, styled by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. 11 12 13 14 6 1 2 34 5 6 In regard to him we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become dull. For while you ought to be teachers (considering the length of time), you again require someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to require milk and not solid food. For anyone who partakes of milk is inexperienced in the word of uprightness, he is an infant. But solid food is for the full-grown, for those who by virtue of practice have their faculties trained to discern good and evil. Let us therefore leave the elementary Christian instruction and pass on to what is full-grown, instead of laying a foundation over again with repentance from dead actions and with faith towards God, with the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead and of judgment eternal. And this we will do, if God permit. For in regard to those who were once enlightened, Who tasted the heavenly gift and became partakers of the holy Spirit, And tasted the goodness of God's word and the powers of the age to come, And then fell away It is impossible to be renewing them over again to repentance, selves And making him a public spectacle. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14, 15 16 17 18 19 20 For the land which drinks in the rain that falls often upon it, And bears plants suited for those for whose sake it is also tilled, partakes of blessing from God: But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is reprobate and on the verge of a curse; its fate is to be burned. But we are persuaded better things of you, beloved, and things con- 71 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met man was, a man to whom the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth from the best 5 of the spoils. Also, while those of Levi's sons who receive the priesthood have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law (that is, from their brothers), although these people have come out of the 6 loins of Abraham, he who can trace no descent from them received tithes 7 from Abraham and blessed the possessor of the promises. Now it is quite 8 indisputable that the inferior is blessed by the superior. Also, while here it is mortal men who receive tithes, there it is one of whom the 9 witness is, "he lives." And, one might almost say, even Levi the receiver of 10 tithes paid tithes through Abraham; for he was yet in the loins of his father 11 when Melchizedek met him. Now again, had there been perfection by the Levitical priesthood (for it was on the basis of that priesthood that the law was established for the people), what further need was there for another priest arising after the order of Melchizedek and not being spoken 12 of as not after the order of Aaron ?-for when the priesthood is changed, 13 a change of the law necessarily takes place as well. For he who is thus spoken of belongs to another tribe, no man of which devoted himself to 14 the altar. For it is evident that our Lord has sprung from Judah, and 15 Moses said nothing about priests in connection with that tribe. And all this is more plainly evident than ever, if another priest arises after the |