New King James Version (NKJV)

The King of Righteousness

1 For thisMelchizedek, 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 manwas,to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.

5 And indeedthose 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 Abrahamand blessedhim who had the promises.

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

8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there hereceivesthem,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.

Need for a New Priesthood

11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further needwastherethat 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 Foritisevident thatour Lord arose fromJudah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.

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:

# “Youarea priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek.”

18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because ofits weakness and unprofitableness,

19 forthe law made nothing perfect; on the other hand,thereisthebringing in ofa better hope, through whichwe draw near to God.

Greatness of the New Priest

20 And inasmuch asHewasnotmadepriestwithout an oath

21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:

# “TheLordhas sworn

And will not relent,

‘Youarea priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek’ ”),

22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of abetter 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 alsoable to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always livesto make intercession for them.

26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us,whoisholy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,and has become higher than the heavens;

27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for Hisown 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,appointsthe Son who has been perfected forever.

The New Priestly Service

1 Nowthisisthe main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest,who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

2 a Minister ofthe sanctuary and ofthe true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

3 Forevery high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Thereforeitisnecessary 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 servethe copy andshadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said,“Seethatyou make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

6 But nowHe has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of abetter covenant, which was established on better promises.

A New Covenant

7 For if thatfirstcovenanthad been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.

8 Because finding fault with them, He says:“Behold, the days are coming, says theLord, 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 theLord.

10 For thisisthe covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says theLord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; andI will be their God, and they shall be My people.

11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know theLord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.

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

13 In that He says, “A newcovenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

The Earthly Sanctuary

1 Then indeed, even the firstcovenanthad ordinances of divine service andthe earthly sanctuary.

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

3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,

4 which had thegolden censer andthe ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in whichwerethe golden pot that had the manna,Aaron’s rod that budded, andthe tablets of the covenant;

5 andabove it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

Limitations of the Earthly Service

6 Now when these things had been thus prepared,the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.

7 But into the second part the high priestwentaloneonce a year, not without blood, which he offered forhimself andforthe people’s sinscommittedin ignorance;

8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, thatthe way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.

9 Itwassymbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offeredwhich cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—

10 concernedonly withfoods and drinks,various washings,and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

The Heavenly Sanctuary

11 But Christ cameasHigh Priest ofthe good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.

12 Notwith the blood of goats and calves, butwith His own blood He entered the Most Holy Placeonce for all,having obtained eternal redemption.

13 For ifthe blood of bulls and goats andthe ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,

14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,cleanse your conscience fromdead worksto serve the living God?

15 And for this reasonHe is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, thatthose who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

The Mediator’s Death Necessary

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

17 Fora testamentisin force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.

18 Therefore not even the firstcovenantwas dedicated without blood.

19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law,he took the blood of calves and goats,with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

20 saying,“Thisistheblood of the covenant which God has commanded you.”

21 Then likewisehe 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, andwithout shedding of blood there is no remission.

Greatness of Christ’s Sacrifice

23 Thereforeitwasnecessary thatthe copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

24 ForChrist has not entered the holy places made with hands,whicharecopies ofthe true, but into heaven itself, nowto appear in the presence of God for us;

25 not that He should offer Himself often, asthe 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 And as it is appointed for men to die once,but after this the judgment,

28 soChrist wasoffered once to bear the sinsof many. To those whoeagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Animal Sacrifices Insufficient

1 For the law, having ashadow of the good things to come,andnot the very image of the things,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 thosesacrificesthereisa reminder of sins every year.

4 Foritisnot possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

Christ’s Death Fulfills God’s Will

5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

# “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,

But a body You have prepared for Me.

6 In burnt offerings andsacrificesfor 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, andofferingsfor sin You did not desire, nor had pleasureinthem” (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 By that will we have been sanctifiedthrough the offering of the body of Jesus Christ onceforall.

Christ’s Death Perfects the Sanctified

11 And every priest standsministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat downat the right hand of God,

13 from that time waitingtill 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 “Thisisthe covenant that I will make with them after those days, says theLord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”

17 thenHeadds,“Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

18 Now where there is remission of these,thereisno longer an offering for sin.

Hold Fast Your Confession

19 Therefore, brethren, havingboldness to enterthe Holiest by the blood of Jesus,

20 by a new andliving way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,

21 andhavinga High Priest over the house of God,

22 let usdraw near with a true heartin 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 ofourhope without wavering, forHe who promisedisfaithful.

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

25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, asisthe manner of some, but exhortingoneanother,andso much the more as you seethe Day approaching.

The Just Live by Faith

26 Forif we sin willfullyafter we have received the knowledge of the truth, thereno longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, andfiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy onthetestimonyoftwo or threewitnesses.

29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot,counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing,and insulted the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know Him who said,“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again,“TheLordwill judge His people.”

31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 Butrecall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings:

33 partly while you were madea spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly whileyou became companions of those who were so treated;

34 for you had compassion on mein my chains, andjoyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing thatyou have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.

35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence,which has great reward.

36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God,you may receive the promise:

37 “Foryet a little while,

# AndHe who is coming will come and will not tarry.

38 Nowthe just shall live by faith;

But ifanyonedraws back,

My soul has no pleasure in him.”

39 But we are not of thosewho draw back to perdition, but of those whobelieve to the saving of the soul.

By Faith We Understand

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidenceof things not seen.

2 For by it the elders obtained agoodtestimony.

3 By faith we understand thatthe 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 Dawn of History

4 By faithAbel 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 stillspeaks.

5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death,“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 faithitisimpossible to pleaseHim,for he who comes to God must believe that He is, andthatHe is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

7 By faithNoah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear,prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir ofthe righteousness which is according to faith.

Faithful Abraham

8 By faithAbraham 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 asina foreign country,dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob,the heirs with him of the same promise;

10 for he waited forthe city which has foundations,whose builder and makerisGod.

11 By faithSarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, andshe bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Himfaithful who had promised.

12 Therefore from one man, and him as good asdead, were bornasmanyas thestars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

The Heavenly Hope

13 These all died in faith,not having received thepromises, buthaving seen them afar off were assured of them, embracedthemandconfessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

14 For those who say such thingsdeclare plainly that they seek a homeland.

15 And truly if they had called to mindthatcountryfrom which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.

16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenlycountry.Therefore God is not ashamedto be called their God, for He hasprepared a city for them.

The Faith of the Patriarchs

17 By faith Abraham,when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begottenson,

18 of whom it was said,“In Isaac your seed shall be called,”

19 concluding that Godwasable to raisehimup, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

20 By faithIsaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying,blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped,leaningon the top of his staff.

22 By faithJoseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

The Faith of Moses

23 By faithMoses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they sawhewasa beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’scommand.

24 By faithMoses, 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 esteemingthe reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to thereward.

27 By faithhe forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

28 By faithhe kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

29 By faiththey passed through the Red Sea as by dryland, whereasthe Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

By Faith They Overcame

30 By faiththe walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.

31 By faiththe harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, whenshe had received the spies with peace.

32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell ofGideon andBarak andSamson andJephthah, alsoofDavid andSamuel and the prophets:

33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises,stopped the mouths of lions,

34 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 Women received their dead raised to life again.

# Others weretortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, andof chains and imprisonment.

37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword.They wandered aboutin sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—

38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains,indens and caves of the earth.

39 And all these,having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,

40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not bemade perfect apart from us.

The Race of Faith

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnaresus,andlet us runwith endurance the race that is set before us,

2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher ofourfaith,who for the joy that was set before Himendured the cross, despising the shame, andhas sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Discipline of God

3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself,lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

# “My son, do not despise the chastening of theLord,

Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6 Forwhom theLordloves He chastens,

And scourges every son whom He receives.”

7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for whatson is there whom a father does not chasten?

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

9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who correctedus,and we paidthemrespect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection tothe Father of spirits and live?

10 For they indeed for a few days chastenedusas seemedbestto them, but He forourprofit,thatwemay be partakers of His holiness.

11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yieldsthe peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Renew Your Spiritual Vitality

12 Thereforestrengthen 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 Pursue peace with allpeople,and holiness,without which no one will see the Lord:

15 looking carefully lest anyonefall short of the grace of God; lest anyroot of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

16 lest therebeanyfornicator or profane person like Esau,who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he wasrejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

The Glorious Company

18 For you have not come tothe 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 hearditbegged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.

20 (For they could not endure what was commanded:“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 sightthatMoses said,“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 ofthe firstbornwhoareregistered in heaven, to Godthe Judge of all, to the spirits of just menmade perfect,

24 to Jesusthe Mediator of the new covenant, and tothe blood of sprinkling that speaks better thingsthanthatofAbel.

Hear the Heavenly Voice

25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. Forif they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much moreshallwenotescapeif we turn away from Him whospeaksfrom heaven,

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

27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates theremoval 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 mayserve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

29 Forour Godisa consuming fire.

Concluding Moral Directions

1 Letbrotherly love continue.

2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by sodoingsome have unwittingly entertained angels.

3 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

4 Marriageishonorable among all, and the bed undefiled;but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

5 Letyourconductbewithout covetousness;becontent with such things as you have. For He Himself has said,“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

6 So we may boldly say:

# “TheLordismy helper;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?”

Concluding Religious Directions

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

8 Jesus Christisthe same yesterday, today, and forever.

9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. Foritisgood 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, bearingHis reproach.

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

15 Therefore by Him let us continually offerthe sacrifice of praise to God, that is,the fruit ofourlips, giving thanks to His name.

16 But do not forget to do good and to share, forwith such sacrifices God is well pleased.

17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, forthey 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.

Prayer Requested

18 Pray for us; for we are confident that we havea good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably.

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

Benediction, Final Exhortation, Farewell

20 Now maythe God of peacewho brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead,that great Shepherd of the sheep,through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

21 make you complete in every good work to do His will,working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whombeglory 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 thatourbrother 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 Gracebewith you all. Amen.