Salvation Confirmed

¹We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

²For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every transgression and disobedience received its just punishment,

³how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

⁴and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.

Jesus like His Brothers

⁵For it is not to angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.

⁶But somewhere it is testified in these words:“What is man that You are mindful of him,or the son of man that You care for him?

⁷You made him a little lowerthan the angels;You crowned him with glory and honor

⁸and placed everything under his feet.”When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.

⁹But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

¹⁰In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the authorof their salvation perfect through suffering.

¹¹For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.

¹²He says:“I will proclaim Your name to My brothers;I will sing Your praises in the assembly.”

¹³And again:“I will put My trust in Him.”And once again:“Here am I, and the children God has given Me.”

¹⁴Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,

¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

¹⁶For surely it is not the angels He helps, but the descendants of Abraham.

¹⁷For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonementfor the sins of the people.

¹⁸Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

Accept One Another

¹We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

²Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

³For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me.”

⁴For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.

⁵Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you harmony with one another in Christ Jesus,

⁶so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ the Servant of Jews and Gentiles

⁷Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring glory to God.

⁸For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,

⁹so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written:“Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles;I will sing hymns to Your name.”

¹⁰Again, it says:“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”

¹¹And again:“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,and extol Him, all you peoples.”

¹²And once more, Isaiah says:“The Root of Jesse will appear,One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles;in Him the Gentiles will put their hope.”

¹³Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

¹⁴I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, brimming with knowledge, and able to instruct one another.

¹⁵However, I have written you a bold reminder on some points, because of the grace God has given me

¹⁶to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷Therefore I exult in Christ Jesus in my service to God.

¹⁸I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,

¹⁹by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God.So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

²⁰In this way I have aspired to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.

²¹Rather, as it is written:“Those who were not told about Him will see,and those who have not heard will understand.”

²²That is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.

Paul’s Travel Plans

²³But now that there are no further opportunities for me in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to visit you,

²⁴I hope to see you on my way to Spain. And after I have enjoyed your company for a while, you can equip me for my journey.

²⁵Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem to serve the saints there.

²⁶For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

²⁷They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual blessings, they are obligated to minister to them with material blessings.

²⁸So after I have completed this service and have safely delivered this bounty to them, I will set off to Spain by way of you.

²⁹I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessingof Christ.

³⁰Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

³¹Pray that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,

³²so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.

³³The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.

The Perfect High Priest

¹Every high priest is appointed from among men to represent them in matters relating to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

²He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and misguided, since he himself is subject to weakness.

³That is why he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.

⁴No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.

⁵So also Christ did not take upon Himself the glory of becoming a high priest, but He was called by the One who said to Him:“You are My Son;today I have become Your Father.”

⁶And in another passage God says:“You are a priest foreverin the order of Melchizedek.”

⁷During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.

⁸Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered.

⁹And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him

¹⁰and was designated by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Milk and Solid Food

¹¹We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are dull of hearing.

¹²Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word.You need milk, not solid food!

¹³For everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness.

¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.

How Majestic Is Your Name!

¹O LORD, our Lord,how majestic is Your name in all the earth!You have set Your gloryabove the heavens.

²From the mouths of children and infantsYou have ordained praiseon account of Your adversaries,to silence the enemy and avenger.

³When I behold Your heavens,the work of Your fingers,the moon and the stars,which You have set in place—

⁴what is man that You are mindful of him,or the son of man that You care for him?

⁵You made him a little lower than the angels;You crowned him with glory and honor.

⁶You made him ruler of the works of Your hands;You have placed everything under his feet:

⁷all sheep and oxen,and even the beasts of the field,

⁸the birds of the air and the fish of the sea,all that swim the paths of the seas.

⁹O LORD, our Lord,how majestic is Your name in all the earth!