| International Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teachings about the Messiah, let us continue to be carried along to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead actions, faith toward God, | 1So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. |
| 2instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. | 2You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. |
| 3And this we will do, if God permits. | 3And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding. |
| 4For it is impossible to keep on restoring to repentance time and again people who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have become partners with the Holy Spirit, | 4For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, |
| 5who have tasted the goodness of God's word and the powers of the coming age, | 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— |
| 6and who have fallen away, as long as they continue to crucify the Son of God to their own detriment by exposing him to public ridicule. | 6and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame. |
| 7For when the ground soaks up rain that often falls on it and continues producing vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated, it receives a blessing from God. | 7When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing. |
| 8However, if it continues to produce thorns and thistles, it is worthless and in danger of being cursed, and in the end will be burned. | 8But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it. |
| 9Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case, things that point to salvation. | 9Dear friends, even though we are talking this way, we really don’t believe it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation. |
| 10For God is not so unjust as to forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have ministered to the saints and continue to minister to them. | 10For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. |
| 11But we want each of you to continue to be diligent to the very end, in order to give full assurance to your hope. | 11Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. |
| 12Then, instead of being lazy, you will imitate those who are inheriting the promises through faith and patience. | 12Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance. God’s Promises Bring Hope |
| 13For when God made his promise to Abraham, he swore an oath by himself, since he had no one greater to swear by. | 13For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying: |
| 14He said, "I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants." | 14“I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.” |
| 15And so he obtained what he had been promised, because he patiently waited for it. | 15Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised. |
| 16For people swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all argument. | 16Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. |
| 17In the same way, when God wanted to make the unchangeable character of his purpose perfectly clear to the heirs of his promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, | 17God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. |
| 18so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us. | 18So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. |
| 19That hope, firm and secure like an anchor for our souls, reaches behind the curtain | 19This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. |
| 20where Jesus, our forerunner, has gone on our behalf, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. | 20Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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