Affliction and suffering have been appointed by God as instruments He uses to make us more holy, to make us more like Jesus. They remind us that we are weak and we must rely not on ourselves, but on Jesus. They remind us that this world is not our home but that we are only passing through toward our real home in heaven with our Father, our Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Comforter, the Holy Spirit.
Michael Beates

The Epistle to the Hebrews

The Epistle to the Hebrews

{1:1} God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in theprophets by divers portions and in divers manners, {1:2} hath at theend of these days spoken unto us in [his] Son, whom he appointed heirof all things, through whom also he made the worlds; {1:3} who beingthe effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, andupholding all things by the word of his power, when he had madepurification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty onhigh; {1:4} having become by so much better than the angels, as he hathinherited a more excellent name than they. {1:5} For unto which of theangels said he at any time,
Thou art my Son,
This day have I begotten thee?

and again,
I will be to him a Father,
And he shall be to me a Son?

{1:6} And when he again bringeth in the firstborn into the world hesaith, And let all the angels of God worship him. {1:7} And of theangels he saith,
Who maketh his angels winds,
And his ministers a flame a fire:

{1:8} but of the Son [he saith,]
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever;And the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.{1:9} Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed theeWith the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

{1:10} And,
Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth,And the heavens are the works of thy hands:{1:11} They shall perish; but thou continuest:And they all shall wax old as doth a garment;{1:12} And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up,As a garment, and they shall be changed:But thou art the same,
And thy years shall not fail.

{1:13} But of which of the angels hath he said at any time,Sit thou on my right hand,
Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet?

{1:14} Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to doservice for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation?

{2:1} Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the thingsthat were heard, lest haply we drift away [from them]. {2:2} For if theword spoken through angels proved stedfast, and every transgression anddisobedience received a just recompense of reward; {2:3} how shall weescape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the firstbeen spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard;{2:4} God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders,and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according tohis own will. {2:5} For not unto angels did he subject the world tocome, whereof we speak. {2:6} But one hath somewhere testified, saying,What is man, that thou art mindful of him?Or the son of man, that thou visitest him?{2:7} Thou madest him a little lower than the angels;Thou crownedst him with glory and honor,And didst set him over the works of thy hands:{2:8} Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet.

For in that he subjected all things unto him, he left nothing thatis not subject to him. But now we see not yet all things subjected tohim. {2:9} But we behold him who hath been made a little lower than theangels, [even] Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned withglory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death forevery [man]. {2:10} For it became him, for whom are all things, andthrough whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to makethe author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. {2:11} Forboth he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one:for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, {2:12} saying,I will declare thy name unto my brethren,In the midst of the congregation will I sing thy praise.

{2:13} And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold, Iand the children whom God hath given me. {2:14} Since then the childrenare sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partookof the same; that through death he might bring to nought him that hadthe power of death, that is, the devil; {2:15} and might deliver allthem who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject tobondage. {2:16} For verily not to angels doth he give help, but hegiveth help to the seed of Abraham. {2:17} Wherefore it behooved him inall things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become amerciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to makepropitiation for the sins of the people. {2:18} For in that he himselfhath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.

{3:1} Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling,consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, [even] Jesus;{3:2} who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also was Moses inall his house. {3:3} For he hath been counted worthy of more glory thanMoses, by so much as he that built the house hath more honor than thehouse. {3:4} For every house is builded by some one; but he that builtall things is God. {3:5} And Moses indeed was faithful in all his houseas a servant, for a testimony of those things which were afterward tobe spoken; {3:6} but Christ as a son, over his house; whose house arewe, if we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm untothe end. {3:7} Wherefore, even as the Holy Spirit saith,To-day if ye shall hear his voice,
{3:8} Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation,Like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness,{3:9} Where your fathers tried [me] by proving [me,]And saw my works forty years.
{3:10} Wherefore I was displeased with this generation,And said, They do always err in their heart:But they did not know my ways;
{3:11} As I sware in my wrath,
They shall not enter into my rest.

{3:12} Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one ofyou an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God:{3:13} but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is calledTo-day; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin:{3:14} for we are become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast thebeginning of our confidence firm unto the end: {3:15} while it is said,To-day if ye shall hear his voice,
Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

{3:16} For who, when they heard, did provoke? nay, did not all theythat came out of Egypt by Moses? {3:17} And with whom was he displeasedforty years? was it not with them that sinned, whose bodies fell in thewilderness? {3:18} And to whom sware he that they should not enter intohis rest, but to them that were disobedient? {3:19} And we see thatthey were not able to enter in because of unbelief.

{4:1} Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left ofentering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come shortof it. {4:2} For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, evenas also they: but the word of hearing did not profit them, because itwas not united by faith with them that heard. {4:3} For we who havebelieved do enter into that rest; even as he hath said,As I sware in my wrath,
They shall not enter into my rest:

although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.{4:4} For he hath said somewhere of the seventh [day] on this wise, AndGod rested on the seventh day from all his works; {4:5} and in this[place] again,
They shall not enter into my rest.

{4:6} Seeing therefore it remaineth that some should enterthereinto, and they to whom the good tidings were before preachedfailed to enter in because of disobedience, {4:7} he again defineth acertain day, To-day, saying in David so long a time afterward (even ashath been said before),
To-day if ye shall hear his voice,
Harden not your hearts.

{4:8} For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spokenafterward of another day. {4:9} There remaineth therefore a sabbathrest for the people of God. {4:10} For he that is entered into his resthath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. {4:11}Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, that no manfall after the same example of disobedience. {4:12} For the word of Godis living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, andpiercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints andmarrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.{4:13} And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight: butall things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom wehave to do. {4:14} Having then a great high priest, who hath passedthrough the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast ourconfession. {4:15} For we have not a high priest that cannot be touchedwith the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in allpoints tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin. {4:16} Let ustherefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we mayreceive mercy, and may find grace to help [us] in time of need.

{5:1} For every high priest, being taken from among men, isappointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer bothgifts and sacrifices for sins: {5:2} who can bear gently with theignorant and erring, for that he himself also is compassed withinfirmity; {5:3} and by reason thereof is bound, as for the people, soalso for himself, to offer for sins. {5:4} And no man taketh the honorunto himself, but when he is called of God, even as was Aaron. {5:5} SoChrist also glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but he thatspake unto him,
Thou art my Son,
This day have I begotten thee:

{5:6} as he saith also in another [place,]Thou art a priest for ever
After the order of Melchizedek.

{5:7} Who in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers andsupplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able tosave him from death, and having been heard for his godly fear, {5:8}though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which hesuffered; {5:9} and having been made perfect, he became unto all themthat obey him the author of eternal salvation; {5:10} named of God ahigh priest after the order of Melchizedek. {5:11} Of whom we have manythings to say, and hard of interpretation, seeing ye are become dull ofhearing. {5:12} For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers,ye have need again that some one teach you the rudiments of the firstprinciples of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need ofmilk, and not of solid food. {5:13} For every one that partaketh ofmilk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is ababe. {5:14} But solid food is for fullgrown men, [even] those who byreason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.

{6:1} Wherefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles ofChrist, let us press on unto perfection; not laying again a foundationof repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, {6:2} of theteaching of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection ofthe dead, and of eternal judgment. {6:3} And this will we do, if Godpermit. {6:4} For as touching those who were once enlightened andtasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the HolySpirit, {6:5} and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of theage to come, {6:6} and [then] fell away, it is impossible to renew themagain unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of Godafresh, and put him to an open shame. {6:7} For the land which hathdrunk the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meetfor them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God:{6:8} but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nighunto a curse; whose end is to be burned. {6:9} But, beloved, we arepersuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation,though we thus speak: {6:10} for God is not unrighteous to forget yourwork and the love which ye showed toward his name, in that yeministered unto the saints, and still do minister. {6:11} And we desirethat each one of you may show the same diligence unto the fulness ofhope even to the end: {6:12} that ye be not sluggish, but imitators ofthem who through faith and patience inherit the promises. {6:13} Forwhen God made promise to Abraham, since he could swear by none greater,he sware by himself, {6:14} saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee,and multiplying I will multiply thee. {6:15} And thus, having patientlyendured, he obtained the promise. {6:16} For men swear by the greater:and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation.{6:17} Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirsof the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with anoath; {6:18} that by two immutable things, in which it is impossiblefor God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled forrefuge to lay hold of the hope set before us: {6:19} which we have asan anchor of the soul, [a hope] both sure and stedfast and enteringinto that which is within the veil; {6:20} whither as a forerunnerJesus entered for us, having become a high priest for ever after theorder of Melchizedek.

{7:1} For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High,who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessedhim, {7:2} to whom also Abraham divided a tenth part of all (beingfirst, by interpretation, King of righteousness, and then also King ofSalem, which is King of peace; {7:3} without father, without mother,without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life,but made like unto the Son of God), abideth a priest continually. {7:4}Now consider how great this man was, unto whom Abraham, the patriarch,gave a tenth out of the chief spoils. {7:5} And they indeed of the sonsof Levi that receive the priest’s office have commandment to taketithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren,though these have come out of the loins of Abraham: {7:6} but he whosegenealogy is not counted from them hath taken tithes of Abraham, andhath blessed him that hath the promises. {7:7} But without any disputethe less is blessed of the better. {7:8} And here men that die receivetithes; but there one, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. {7:9}And, so to say, through Abraham even Levi, who receiveth tithes, hathpaid tithes; {7:10} for he was yet in the loins of his father, whenMelchizedek met him. {7:11} Now if there was perfection through theLevitical priesthood (for under it hath the people received the law),what further need [was there] that another priest should arise afterthe order of Melchizedek, and not be reckoned after the order of Aaron?{7:12} For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity achange also of the law. {7:13} For he of whom these things are saidbelongeth to another tribe, from which no man hath given attendance atthe altar. {7:14} For it is evident that our Lord hath sprung out ofJudah; as to which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priests. {7:15}And [what we say] is yet more abundantly evident, if after the likenessof Melchizedek there ariseth another priest, {7:16} who hath been made,not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of anendless life: {7:17} for it is witnessed [of him,]Thou art a priest for ever
After the order of Melchizedek.

{7:18} For there is a disannulling of a foregoing commandmentbecause of its weakness and unprofitableness {7:19} (for the law madenothing perfect), and a bringing in thereupon of a better hope, throughwhich we draw nigh unto God. {7:20} And inasmuch as [it is] not withoutthe taking of an oath {7:21} (for they indeed have been made priestswithout an oath; but he with an oath by him that saith of him,The Lord sware and will not repent himself,Thou art a priest for ever);

{7:22} by so much also hath Jesus become the surety of a bettercovenant. {7:23} And they indeed have been made priests many in number,because that by death they are hindered from continuing: {7:24} but he,because he abideth for ever, hath his priesthood unchangeable. {7:25}Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost them that draw nearunto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession forthem. {7:26} For such a high priest became us, holy, guileless,undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;{7:27} who needeth not daily, like those high priests, to offer upsacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the [sins] of thepeople: for this he did once for all, when he offered up himself.{7:28} For the law appointeth men high priests, having infirmity; butthe word of the oath, which was after the law, [appointeth] a Son,perfected for evermore.

{8:1} Now in the things which we are saying the chief point [isthis]: We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand ofthe throne of the Majesty in the heavens, {8:2} a minister of thesanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.{8:3} For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts andsacrifices: wherefore it is necessary that this [high priest] also havesomewhat to offer. {8:4} Now if he were on earth, he would not be apriest at all, seeing there are those who offer the gifts according tothe law; {8:5} who serve [that which is] a copy and shadow of theheavenly things, even as Moses is warned [of God] when he is about tomake the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all thingsaccording to the pattern that was showed thee in the mount. {8:6} Butnow hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he isalso the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted uponbetter promises. {8:7} For if that first [covenant] had been faultless,then would no place have been sought for a second. {8:8} For findingfault with them, he saith,
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
That I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the

house of Judah;
{8:9} Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathersIn the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the

land of Egypt;
For they continued not in my covenant,
And I regarded them not, saith the Lord.{8:10} For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of

Israel
After those days, saith the Lord;
I will put my laws into their mind,
And on their heart also will I write them:And I will be to them a God,
And they shall be to me a people:
{8:11} And they shall not teach every man his fellow-citizen,And every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord:For all shall know me,
From the least to the greatest of them.{8:12} For I will be merciful to their iniquities,And their sins will I remember no more.

{8:13} In that he saith, A new [covenant] he hath made the firstold. But that which is becoming old and waxeth aged is nigh untovanishing away.

{9:1} Now even a first [covenant] had ordinances of divine service,and its sanctuary, [a sanctuary] of this world. {9:2} For there was atabernacle prepared, the first, wherein [were] the candlestick, and thetable, and the showbread; which is called the Holy place. {9:3} Andafter the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holy ofholies; {9:4} having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of thecovenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein [was] a golden potholding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of thecovenant; {9:5} and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing themercy-seat; of which things we cannot now speak severally. {9:6} Nowthese things having been thus prepared, the priests go in continuallyinto the first tabernacle, accomplishing the services; {9:7} but intothe second the high priest alone, once in the year, not without blood,which he offereth for himself, and for the errors of the people: {9:8}the Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holy place hathnot yet been made manifest, while the first tabernacle is yet standing;{9:9} which [is] a figure for the time present; according to which areoffered both gifts and sacrifices that cannot, as touching theconscience, make the worshipper perfect, {9:10} [being] only (withmeats and drinks and divers washings) carnal ordinances, imposed untila time of reformation. {9:11} But Christ having come a high priest ofthe good things to come, through the greater and more perfecttabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation,{9:12} nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through hisown blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtainedeternal redemption. {9:13} For if the blood of goats and bulls, and theashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled, sanctify untothe cleanness of the flesh: {9:14} how much more shall the blood ofChrist, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemishunto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the livingGod? {9:15} And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant,that a death having taken place for the redemption of thetransgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have beencalled may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. {9:16} Forwhere a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him thatmade it. {9:17} For a testament is of force where there hath beendeath: for it doth never avail while he that made it liveth. {9:18}Wherefore even the first [covenant] hath not been dedicated withoutblood. {9:19} For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses untoall the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calvesand the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkledboth the book itself and all the people, {9:20} saying, This is theblood of the covenant which God commanded to you-ward. {9:21} Moreoverthe tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled in likemanner with the blood. {9:22} And according to the law, I may almostsay, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding ofblood there is no remission. {9:23} It was necessary therefore that thecopies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; butthe heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.{9:24} For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, likein pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear beforethe face of God for us: {9:25} nor yet that he should offer himselfoften, as the high priest entereth into the holy place year by yearwith blood not his own; {9:26} else must he often have suffered sincethe foundation of the world: but now once at the end of the ages hathhe been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. {9:27}And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this[cometh] judgment; {9:28} so Christ also, having been once offered tobear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, tothem that wait for him, unto salvation.

{10:1} For the law having a shadow of the good [things] to come, notthe very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices yearby year, which they offer continually, make perfect them that drawnigh. {10:2} Else would they not have ceased to be offered? because theworshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no moreconsciousness of sins. {10:3} But in those [sacrifices] there is aremembrance made of sins year by year. {10:4} For it is impossible thatthe blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. {10:5} Whereforewhen he cometh into the world, he saith,Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not,But a body didst thou prepare for me;
{10:6} In whole burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sin thou hadst no

pleasure
{10:7} Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is

written of me)To do thy will, O God.

{10:8} Saying above, Sacrifices and offerings and whole burntofferings and [sacrifices] for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadstpleasure therein (the which are offered according to the law), {10:9}then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will. He taketh away thefirst, that he may establish the second. {10:10} By which will we havebeen sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ oncefor all. {10:11} And every priest indeed standeth day by dayministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, the which cannever take away sins: {10:12} but he, when he had offered one sacrificefor sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; {10:13}henceforth expecting till his enemies be made the footstool of hisfeet. {10:14} For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them thatare sanctified. {10:15} And the Holy Spirit also beareth witness to us;for after he hath said,
{10:16} This is the covenant that I will make with themAfter those days, saith the Lord:
I will put my laws on their heart,
And upon their mind also will I write them;

[then saith he,]
{10:17} And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

{10:18} Now where remission of these is, there is no more offeringfor sin. {10:19} Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into theholy place by the blood of Jesus, {10:20} by the way which he dedicatedfor us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, hisflesh; {10:21} and [having] a great priest over the house of God;{10:22} let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, havingour hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our bodywashed with pure water, {10:23} let us hold fast the confession of ourhope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised: {10:24} andlet us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works;{10:25} not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom ofsome is, but exhorting [one another]; and so much the more, as ye seethe day drawing nigh. {10:26} For if we sin wilfully after that we havereceived the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more asacrifice for sins, {10:27} but a certain fearful expectation ofjudgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries.{10:28} A man that hath set at nought Moses law dieth withoutcompassion on [the word of] two or three witnesses: {10:29} of how muchsorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath troddenunder foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenantwherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite untothe Spirit of grace? {10:30} For we know him that said, Vengeancebelongeth unto me, I will recompense. And again, The Lord shall judgehis people. {10:31} It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of theliving God. {10:32} But call to remembrance the former days, in which,after ye were enlightened, ye endured a great conflict of sufferings;{10:33} partly, being made a gazingstock both by reproaches andafflictions; and partly, becoming partakers with them that were soused. {10:34} For ye both had compassion on them that were in bonds,and took joyfully the spoiling of you possessions, knowing that ye havefor yourselves a better possession and an abiding one. {10:35} Cast notaway therefore your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward.{10:36} For ye have need of patience, that, having done the will ofGod, ye may receive the promise.
{10:37} For yet a very little while,
He that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry.{10:38} But my righteous one shall live by faith:And if he shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in him.

{10:39} But we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition; butof them that have faith unto the saving of the soul.

{11:1} Now faith is assurance of [things] hoped for, a conviction ofthings not seen. {11:2} For therein the elders had witness borne tothem. {11:3} By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed bythe word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of thingswhich appear. {11:4} By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellentsacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that hewas righteous, God bearing witness in respect of his gifts: and throughit he being dead yet speaketh. {11:5} By faith Enoch was translatedthat he should not see death; and he was not found, because Godtranslated him: for he hath had witness borne to him that before histranslation he had been well-pleasing unto God: {11:6} And withoutfaith it is impossible to be well-pleasing [unto him]; for he thatcometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder ofthem that seek after him. {11:7} By faith Noah, being warned [of God]concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared anark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world,and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.{11:8} By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto aplace which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, notknowing whither he went. {11:9} By faith he became a sojourner in theland of promise, as in a [land] not his own, dwelling in tents, withIsaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: {11:10} for helooked for the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and makeris God. {11:11} By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceiveseed when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who hadpromised: {11:12} wherefore also there sprang of one, and him as goodas dead, [so many] as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as thesand, which is by the sea-shore, innumerable. {11:13} These all died infaith, not having received the promises, but having seen them andgreeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangersand pilgrims on the earth. {11:14} For they that say such things makeit manifest that they are seeking after a country of their own. {11:15}And if indeed they had been mindful of that [country] from which theywent out, they would have had opportunity to return. {11:16} But nowthey desire a better [country], that is, a heavenly: wherefore God isnot ashamed of them, to be called their God; for he hath prepared forthem a city. {11:17} By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac:yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offering up his onlybegotten [son]; {11:18} even he to whom it was said, In Isaac shall thyseed be called: {11:19} accounting that God [is] able to raise up, evenfrom the dead; from whence he did also in a figure receive him back.{11:20} By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning thingsto come. {11:21} By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of thesons of Joseph; and worshipped, [leaning] upon the top of his staff.{11:22} By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of thedeparture of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerninghis bones. {11:23} By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid threemonths by his parents, because they saw he was a goodly child; and theywere not afraid of the king’s commandment. {11:24} By faith Moses, whenhe was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;{11:25} choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God,than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; {11:26} accounting thereproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for helooked unto the recompense of reward. {11:27} By faith he forsookEgypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing himwho is invisible. {11:28} By faith he kept the passover, and thesprinkling of the blood, that the destroyer of the firstborn should nottouch them. {11:29} By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dryland: which the Egyptians assaying to do were swallowed up. {11:30} Byfaith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassedabout for seven days. {11:31} By faith Rahab the harlot perished notwith them that were disobedient, having received the spies with peace.{11:32} And what shall I more say? for the time will fail me if I tellof Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah; of David and Samuel and theprophets: {11:33} who through faith subdued kingdoms, wroughtrighteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, {11:34}quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, fromweakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight armiesof aliens. {11:35} Women received their dead by a resurrection: andothers were tortured, not accepting their deliverance; that they mightobtain a better resurrection: {11:36} and others had trial of mockingsand scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: {11:37} theywere stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slainwith the sword: they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins; beingdestitute, afflicted, ill-treated {11:38} (of whom the world was notworthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and the holes ofthe earth. {11:39} And these all, having had witness borne to themthrough their faith, received not the promise, {11:40} God havingprovided some better thing concerning us, that apart from us theyshould not be made perfect.

{12:1} Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with sogreat a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin whichdoth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that isset before us, {12:2} looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of[our] faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne ofGod. {12:3} For consider him that hath endured such gainsaying ofsinners against himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls.{12:4} Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin:{12:5} and ye have forgotten the exhortation which reasoneth with youas with sons,
My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord,Nor faint when thou art reproved of him;{12:6} For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

{12:7} It is for chastening that ye endure; God dealeth with you aswith sons; for what son is there whom [his] father chasteneth not?{12:8} But if ye are without chastening, whereof all have been madepartakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. {12:9} Furthermore, wehad the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we gave them reverence:shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits,and live? {12:10} For they indeed for a few days chastened [us] asseemed good to them; but he for [our] profit, that [we] may bepartakers of his holiness. {12:11} All chastening seemeth for thepresent to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yieldethpeaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, [even thefruit] of righteousness. {12:12} Wherefore lift up the hands that hangdown, and the palsied knees; {12:13} and make straight paths for yourfeet, that that which is lame be not turned out of the way, but ratherbe healed. {12:14} Follow after peace with all men, and thesanctification without which no man shall see the Lord: {12:15} lookingcarefully lest [there be] any man that falleth short of the grace ofGod; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble [you], andthereby the many be defiled; {12:16} lest [there be] any fornication,or profane person, as Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his ownbirthright. {12:17} For ye know that even when he afterward desired toinherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place for achange of mind [in his father,] though he sought is diligently withtears. {12:18} For ye are not come unto [a mount] that might betouched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness,and tempest, {12:19} and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice ofwords; which [voice] they that heard entreated that no word more shouldbe spoken unto them; {12:20} for they could not endure that which wasenjoined, If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned;{12:21} and so fearful was the appearance, [that] Moses said, Iexceedingly fear and quake: {12:22} but ye are come unto mount Zion,and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and toinnumerable hosts of angels, {12:23} to the general assembly and churchof the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge ofall, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, {12:24} and to Jesusthe mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling thatspeaketh better than [that of] Abel. {12:25} See that ye refuse not himthat speaketh. For if they escaped not when they refused him thatwarned [them] on earth, much more [shall not] we [escape] who turn awayfrom him that [warneth] from heaven: {12:26} whose voice then shook theearth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more will I make totremble not the earth only, but also the heaven. {12:27} And this[word], Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that areshaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which arenot shaken may remain. {12:28} Wherefore, receiving a kingdom thatcannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer servicewell-pleasing to God with reverence and awe: {12:29} for our God is aconsuming fire.

{13:1} Let love of the brethren continue. {13:2} Forget not to showlove unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.{13:3} Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; them thatare illtreated, as being yourselves also in the body. {13:4} [Let]marriage [be] had in honor among all, and [let] the bed [be] undefiled:for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. {13:5} Be ye free fromthe love of money; content with such things as ye have: for himselfhath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wiseforsake thee. {13:6} So that with good courage we say,The Lord is my helper; I will not fear:What shall man do unto me?

{13:7} Remember them that had the rule over you, men that spake untoyou the word of God; and considering the issue of their life, imitatetheir faith. {13:8} Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday and to-day,[yea] and for ever. {13:9} Be not carried away by divers and strangeteachings: for it is good that the heart be established by grace; notby meats, wherein they that occupied themselves were not profited.{13:10} We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat that servethe tabernacle. {13:11} For the bodies of those beasts whose blood isbrought into the holy place by the high priest [as an offering] forsin, are burned without the camp. {13:12} Wherefore Jesus also, that hemight sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered without thegate. {13:13} Let us therefore go forth unto him without the camp,bearing his reproach. {13:14} For we have not here an abiding city, butwe seek after [the city] which is to come. {13:15} Through him then letus offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, thefruit of lips which make confession to his name. {13:16} But to do goodand to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is wellpleased. {13:17} Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit [tothem]: for they watch in behalf of your souls, as they that shall giveaccount; that they may do this with joy, and not with grief: for this[were] unprofitable for you. {13:18} Pray for us: for we are persuadedthat we have a good conscience, desiring to live honorably in allthings. {13:19} And I exhort [you] the more exceedingly to do this,that I may be restored to you the sooner. {13:20} Now the God of peace,who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep withthe blood of an eternal covenant, [even] our Lord Jesus, {13:21} makeyou perfect in every good thing to do his will, working in us thatwhich is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom [be]the glory for ever and ever. Amen. {13:22} But I exhort you, brethren,bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written unto you in fewwords. {13:23} Know ye that our brother Timothy hath been set atliberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you. {13:24} Saluteall them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italysalute you. {13:25} Grace be with you all. Amen.

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