Dec 20 - Hebrews 6-9
Hebrews
1Therefore, interrupting an explanation of the basics of Christ, let us consider what is more advanced, not presenting again the fundamentals of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God2of the doctrine of baptism, and also of the imposition of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment3And we shall do this, if indeed God permits it4For it is impossible for those who were once illuminated, and have even tasted of the heavenly gift, and have become sharers in the Holy Spirit5who, despite having tasted the good Word of God and the virtues of the future age, have yet fallen away6to be renewed again to penance, since they are crucifying again in themselves the Son of God and are still maintaining pretenses7For the earth accepts a blessing from God, by drinking in the rain that often falls upon it, and by producing plants that are useful to those by whom it is cultivated8But whatever brings forth thorns and briers is rejected, and is closest to what is accursed; their consummation is in combustion9But from you, most beloved, we are confident that there will be things better and closer to salvation; even though we speak in this way10For God is not unjust, such that he would forget your work and the love that you have shown in his name. For you have ministered, and you continue to minister, to the saints11Yet we desire that each one of you display the same solicitude toward the fulfillment of hope, even unto the end12so that you may not be slow to act, but instead may be imitators of those who, through faith and patience, shall inherit the promises13For God, in making promises to Abraham, swore by himself, (because he had no one greater by whom he might swear)14saying: "Blessing, I shall bless you, and multiplying, I shall multiply you.15And in this way, by enduring patiently, he secured the promise16For men swear by what is greater than themselves, and an oath as confirmation is the end of all their controversy17In this matter, God, wanting to reveal more thoroughly the immutability of his counsel to the heirs of the promise, interposed an oath18so that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have the strongest solace: we who have fled together so as to hold fast to the hope set before us19This we have as an anchor of the soul, safe and sound, which advances even to the interior of the veil20to the place where the forerunner Jesus has entered on our behalf, so as to become the High Priest for eternity, according to the order of Melchizedek
1For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham, as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him2And Abraham divided to him a tenth part of everything. And in translation his name is first, indeed, king of justice, and next also king of Salem, that is, king of peace3Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, he is thereby likened to the Son of God, who remains a priest continuously4Next, consider how great this man is, since the Patriarch Abraham even gave tithes to him from the principal things5And indeed, those who are from the sons of Levi, having received the priesthood, hold a commandment to take tithes from the people in accord with the law, that is, from their brothers, even though they also went forth from the loins of Abraham6But this man, whose lineage is not enumerated with them, received tithes from Abraham, and he blessed even the one who held the promises7Yet this is without any contradiction, for what is less should be blessed by what is better8And certainly, here, men who receive tithes still die; but there, he bears witness that he lives9And so it may be said that even Levi, who received tithes, was himself a tithe through Abraham10For he was still in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him11Therefore, if consummation had occurred through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), then what further need would there be for another Priest to rise up according to the order of Melchizedek, one who was not called according to the order of Aaron12For since the priesthood has been transferred, it is necessary that the law also be transferred13For he about whom these things have been spoken is from another tribe, in which no one attends before the altar14For it is evident that our Lord arose out of Judah, a tribe about which Moses said nothing concerning priests15And yet it is far more evident that, according to the likeness of Melchizedek, there rises up another priest16who was made, not according to the law of a carnal commandment, but according to the virtue of an indissoluble life17For he testifies: "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.18Certainly, there is a setting aside of the former commandment, because of its weakness and lack of usefulness19For the law led no one to perfection, yet truly it introduced a better hope, through which we draw near to God20Moreover, it is not without an oath. For certainly, the others were made priests without an oath21But this man was made a priest with an oath, by the One who said to him: "The Lord has sworn and he will not repent. You are a priest forever.22By so much, Jesus has been made the sponsor of a better testament23And certainly, so many of the others became priests because, due to death, they were prohibited from continuing24But this man, because he continues forever, has an everlasting priesthood25And for this reason, he is able, continuously, to save those who approach God through him, since he is ever alive to make intercession on our behalf26For it was fitting that we should have such a High Priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted higher than the heavens27And he has no need, daily, in the manner of other priests, to offer sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people. For he has done this once, by offering himself28For the law appoints men as priests, though they have infirmities. But, by the word of the oath that is after the law, the Son has been perfected for eternity
1Now the main point in the things that have been stated is this: that we have so great a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of Majesty in the heavens2who is the minister of holy things, and of the true tabernacle, which was established by the Lord, not by man3For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, it is necessary for him also to have something to offer4And so, if he were upon the earth, he would not be a priest, since there would be others to offer gifts according to the law5gifts which serve as mere examples and shadows of the heavenly things. And so it was answered to Moses, when he was about to complete the tabernacle: "See to it," he said, "that you make everything according to the example which was revealed to you on the mountain.6But now he has been granted a better ministry, so much so that he is also the Mediator of a better testament, which has been confirmed by better promises7For if the former one had been entirely without fault, then a place certainly would not have been sought for a subsequent one8For, finding fault with them, he says: "Behold, the days shall arrive, says the Lord, when I will consummate a New Testament over the house of Israel and the house of Judah9not according to the testament which I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand, so that I might lead them away from the land of Egypt. For they did not remain in my testament, and so I disregarded them, says the Lord10For this is the testament which I will set before the house of Israel, after those days, says the Lord. I will instill my laws in their minds, and I will inscribe my laws on their hearts. And so, I will be their God, and they shall be my people11And they will not teach, each one his neighbor, and each one his brother, saying: ‘Know the Lord.’ For all shall know me, from the least, even to the greatest of them12For I will forgive their iniquities, and I will no longer remember their sins.13Now in saying something new, he has made the former old. But that which decays and grows old is close to passing away
1Certainly, the former also had the justifications of worship and a holy place for that age2For a tabernacle was made at first, in which were the lampstand, and the table, and the bread of the Presence, which is called Holy3Then, beyond the second veil, was the tabernacle, which is called the Holy of Holies4having a golden censer, and the ark of the testament, covered all around and on every part with gold, in which was a golden urn containing manna, and the rod of Aaron which had blossomed, and the tablets of the testament5And over the ark were the Cherubim of glory, overshadowing the propitiatory. There is not enough time to speak about each of these things6Yet truly, once such things were placed together, in the first part of the tabernacle, the priests were, indeed, continually entering, so as to carry out the duties of the sacrifices7But into the second part, once a year, the high priest alone entered, not without blood, which he offered on behalf of the neglectful offenses of himself and of the people8In this way, the Holy Spirit is signifying that the way to what is most holy was not yet made manifest, not while the first tabernacle was still standing9And this is a parable for the present time. Accordingly, those gifts and sacrifices that are offered are not able, as concerns the conscience, to make perfect those things that serve only as food and drink10as well as the various washings and justices of the flesh, which were imposed upon them until the time of correction11But Christ, standing as the High Priest of future good things, through a greater and more perfect tabernacle, one not made by hand, that is, not of this creation12entered once into the Holy of Holies, having obtained eternal redemption, neither by the blood of goats, nor of calves, but by his own blood13For if the blood of goats and oxen, and the ashes of a calf, when these are sprinkled, sanctify those who have been defiled, in order to cleanse the flesh14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the Holy Spirit has offered himself, immaculate, to God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, in order to serve the living God15And thus he is the Mediator of the new testament, so that, by his death, he intercedes for the redemption of those transgressions which were under the former testament, so that those who have been called may receive the promise of an eternal inheritance16For where there is a testament, it is necessary for the death of the one who testifies to intervene17For a testament is confirmed by death. Otherwise, it as yet has no force, as long as the one who testifies lives18Therefore, indeed, the first was not dedicated without blood19For when every commandment of the law had been read by Moses to the entire people, he took up the blood of calves and goats, with water and with scarlet wool and hyssop, and he sprinkled both the book itself and the entire people20saying: "This is the blood of the testament which God has commanded for you.21And even the tabernacle, and all the vessels for the ministry, he similarly sprinkled with blood22And nearly everything, according to the law, is to be cleansed with blood. And without the shedding of blood, there is no remission23Therefore, it is necessary for the examples of heavenly things to be cleansed, just as, indeed, these things were. Yet the heavenly things are themselves better sacrifices than these24For Jesus did not enter by means of holy things made with hands, mere examples of the true things, but he entered into Heaven itself, so that he may appear now before the face of God for us25And he did not enter so as to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters into the Holy of Holies each year, with the blood of another26Otherwise, he would need to have suffered repeatedly since the beginning of the world. But now, one time, at the consummation of the ages, he has appeared in order to destroy sin though his own sacrifice27And in the same manner as it has been appointed for men to die one time, and after this, to be judged28so also Christ was offered, one time, in order to empty the sins of so many. He shall appear a second time without sin, for those who await him, unto salvation