11:1THE elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.1:2Beloved, I desire above all things that you may prosper and be in health, as your soul prospers.1:3For I rejoiced exceedingly when the brothers came and testified of your truth, as you walk in truth.1:4I have no greater joy than this, that I hear of my children walking in the truth.
21:5Beloved, you did faithfully whatever you do to the brothers, and that to strangers,1:6who testified of your love before the church, whom you will do well to send forward worthily of God.1:7For they went out for his name, taking nothing of the gentiles.1:8We therefore ought to receive such, that we may be co-laborers for the truth.
31:9I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes desiring the pre-eminence does not receive us.1:10Therefore if I come I will remember his works which he performs, prating against us with evil words, and not being satisfied, in addition to these [things] he does not receive the brothers, and forbids and casts out of the church those wishing to do it.
41:11Beloved, do not imitate evil but good. He that does good is of God; he that does evil has not seen God.1:12Testimony is borne to Demetrius by all, and by the truth itself; and we also testify, and you know that our testimony is true.
51:13I had many things to write, but wish not to write to you with ink and pen;1:14but hope soon to see you, and we will speak face to face. Peace be to you. The friends salute you; salute the friends by name.
11:1GOD, who at many times and in many ways spoke anciently to the fathers by the prophets,1:2in these last days spoke to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds,1:3who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his substance, and sustaining all things by the word of his power, having made a purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high,1:4being made as much greater than the angels as he has inherited a more excellent name than they.1:5For to which of the angels said he at any time, You are my Son, to-day have I begotten you? And again, I will be to him a Father and he shall be to me a Son?1:6And again, when be brings the first-born into the world he says, And let all the angels of God worship him.1:7And of the angels he says, Who makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire;1:8but of the Son, Thy throne, God, is forever and ever; the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of rectitude.1:9Thou hast loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, thy God, anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy companions.1:10And thou, Lord, in the beginning didst build from its foundations the earth, and the heavens are works of thy hands;1:11they shall perish, but thou shalt continue; and they shall all become old like a garment,1:12and like a mantle thou shalt fold them up, and they shall be changed, but thou art the same and thy years shall not fail.1:13And to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand till I make thy enemies thy footstool?1:14Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to serve on account of those who are about to inherit salvation?
22:1We ought therefore to attend the more to the things which we heard, lest at any time we should glide away [from them].2:2For if the word spoken by angels was firm, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense,2:3how shall we escape who have neglected so great a salvation? which began to be spoken by the Lord, and was affirmed to us by those who heard,2:4God bearing them witness with signs and prodigies, and various mighty works and gifts of the holy Spirit, according to his will.
32:5For he did not subject to angels the world to come, of which we speak.2:6But one somewhere testified, saying, What is man that thou art mindful of him, or a son of man that thou visitest him?2:7Thou didst make him a little lower than angels, thou didst crown him with glory and honor,2:8thou didst subject all things under his feet. For in subjecting all things to him, he left nothing not subjected to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.2:9But we see Jesus, made a little less than angels, on account of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste death for every [man].2:10For it became him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, to perfect by sufferings the prince of their salvation, bringing many sons to glory.2:11For both he that sanctifies and the sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers,2:12saying, I will declare thy name to my brothers, in the midst of the assembly will I sing to thee.2:13And again, I will trust in him. And again, Behold me and the children which God gave me.2:14Since then the children have partaken of blood and flesh, he in like manner also partook of them, that through death he might destroy him that has the power of death, that is the devil,2:15and liberate those who all their life were subjects of servitude to the fear of death.2:16For indeed he helped not angels, but he helped the descendants of Abraham.2:17Whence he ought in all things to be assimilated to the brothers, that he may be a merciful and faithful chief priest as to things relating to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.2:18For because he has himself suffered, having been tried, he is able to help the tried.
43:1Whence, holy brothers, partakers of the heavenly call, consider the apostle and chief priest of our profession, Jesus,3:2who is faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was in his house.3:3For this man is judged worthy of more glory than Moses, as much as he has more honor than the house [tabernacle] which he built.3:4For every house is built by some one; but he that built all things is God.3:5And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of things to be spoken;3:6but Christ as a son over his house, whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope.
53:7Wherefore, as the Holy Spirit says, To-day if you will hear his voice,3:8harden not your hearts as in the provocation, in the day of the trial in the wilderness,3:9where your fathers fully proved and saw my works forty years.3:10Wherefore I was displeased with that generation and said, They always err in mind, and they did not know my ways,3:11so I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.3:12See, brothers, that there be not at any time in any one of you an evil mind of unbelief in departing from the living God;3:13but exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day, that no one of you may be hardened by the deception of sin;3:14for we have been made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of the confidence firm to the end.3:15It was said, To-day if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation;3:16for who having heard committed provocation? Did not all indeed who came out of Egypt with Moses?3:17And with whom was he displeased forty years? Was it not with those that sinned? whose bodies fell in the wilderness?3:18And to whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest? was it not to them that disobeyed?3:19And we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
64:1Let us fear, therefore, lest at any time a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to come short.4:2For we have also received the good news as they did; but the word of the report did not profit them, not being accompanied with faith in those who heard.4:3For we enter into the rest who believed, as he said, I swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest, although of works made from the foundation of the world.4:4For he spoke in a certain place of the seventh day, thus; And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.4:5And in this place again, They shall not enter into my rest.4:6Since then it remains that some entered into it, and those to whom it was first preached entered not in on account of unbelief,4:7again he defines a certain day, To-day, saying in David, after so long a time, as it was said before, To-day if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.4:8For if Joshua caused them to rest he would not have spoken of another day afterwards.
74:9Therefore a sabbatism remains for the people of God.4:10For he [Christ] who entered into his rest, also himself rested from his works, as God from his.
84:11Let us use diligence, therefore to enter into that rest [the heavenly rest], that no one may fall, after the same example of disobedience.4:12For the word of God is living, and effective, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and reaching even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrows, and distinguishes thoughts and intentions of mind;4:13and there is nothing which is not manifest in his sight; for all things are naked and exposed to his eyes, to whom our discourse relates.
14:14HAVING therefore a great chief priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast the profession.4:15For we have not a chief priest who cannot sympathise with our infirmities, but one tried in all respects as we are, without sin.4:16Let us therefore approach with boldness the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace for timely aid.
25:1For every chief priest taken from men is appointed in behalf of men over things relating to God, that he may offer gifts and sacrifices for sins,5:2being able to deal gently with the ignorant and erring, since he is himself encompassed with infirmity,5:3and as for the people, so also for himself, he is obliged to present offerings for sins.5:4And no one takes the honor on himself but he that is called by God, even as Aaron also was.5:5So also Christ did not put on himself the honor of being made a chief priest, but he that said to him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee;5:6as also in another place he says, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.5:7Who in the days of his flesh having offered both prayers and supplications to him that was able to save him from death, with loud cries and tears, [and being heard and delivered] from fear,—5:8although he was a Son, learned obedience from what he suffered,5:9and being made perfect became to all who obey him an author of eternal salvation,5:10being called by God a chief priest after the order of Melchisedec.
35:11Concerning whom we have much to say, and that which is difficult to explain, because you have become dull of hearing.5:12For you who ought on account of the time to be teachers, have need that one should teach you again what are the first rudiments of the oracles of God, and have need of milk and not solid food.5:13For every one that partakes of milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe;5:14but solid food is for the perfect, having their perceptive faculties exercised by practice to distinguish both good and evil.
46:1Wherefore leaving the account of the beginning of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of a change of mind from dead works, and of faith in God,6:2of baptisms taught, and the imposition of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of the eternal judgment.6:3And this we will do if God permits.6:4For those once enlightened and having tasted of the heavenly gift and been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,6:5and having tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the life to come,6:6and having fallen away, it is impossible again to renew to a change of mind, they having crucified again and exposed to shame the Son of God.6:7But the land which drinks in the rain that often falls on it, and produces plants beneficial to those by whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God;6:8but that which produces thorns and thistles is disapproved, and is nigh to a curse, the end of which is to be burned.
56:9But we are persuaded better things of you, beloved, and things pertaining to salvation, though we thus speak.6:10For God is not unjust, to forget your work, and the love which you showed for his name, having served the saints and [still] serving them.6:11But we desire each of you to show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end,6:12that you be not stupid, but followers of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.6:13For God haying promised Abraham, when he could not swear by a greater, swore by himself,6:14saying, Surely, blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you;6:15and so having waited long he obtained the promise.6:16For men indeed swear by a greater, and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all dispute;6:17for which cause, God wishing more abundantly to show to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his purpose, interposed with an oath,6:18that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who fled to lay hold on the hope set before us,6:19which we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm, and entering within the vail,6:20where our forerunner Jesus entered, made after the order of Melchisedec a chief priest forever.
67:1For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham as he returned from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,7:2to whom also Abraham gave a tenth of all, first being interpreted king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace,7:3without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither a beginning of days nor end of life, but being made like the Son of God, continues a priest forever.
77:4And behold, how great this man was, to whom even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils.7:5And the sons of Levi who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to tithe the people according to the law, that is their brothers, although descended from Abraham;7:6but he whose descent is not reckoned from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him who has the promises.7:7But beyond all contradiction, the less is blessed by the greater.7:8And here, men who die receive tithes, but there, one of whom it is testified that he lives.7:9And so to speak, Levi also who receives tithes paid tithes through Abraham;7:10for he was yet in his father when Melchisedec met him.
87:11If therefore there was perfection through the Levitical priesthood,—for the people received the law under it,—what need was there that another priest should arise after the order of Melchisedec and not to be called after the order of Aaron?7:12For the priesthood being changed, of necessity also there is made a change of the law.7:13For he of whom these things are said belonged to another tribe, of which no one attended to the altar;7:14for it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, in respect to which tribe Moses said nothing concerning priests.7:15And moreover, [this] is still further evident, if another priest is raised up according to the likeness of Melchisedec,7:16who was not a priest after the law of an external commandment, but after the power of imperishable life.7:17For it is testified, Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchisedec.7:18For there is an abrogation of the commandment which goes before, on account of its weakness and unprofitableness;7:19for the law made nothing perfect, but was the introduction of a better hope through which we draw nigh to God.7:20And as he was not [constituted] without swearing,—7:21for they were made priests without swearing, but he with swearing by him who says to him, The Lord swore, and he will not change, You are a priest forever;—7:22by so much is Jesus the pledge of a better covenant.7:23And they indeed were made many priests, on account of being forbidden by death to continue;7:24but he, on account of his continuing for ever, has a priesthood which passes not away,7:25whence also he is able to save forever those who come to God through him, always living to intercede for them.
97:26For such a chief priest also was suitable for us, holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens,7:27who has no need daily as the chief priests first to present sacrifices for their sins, then for those of the people; for this he did once for all, having offered himself.7:28For the law constitutes men chief priests having infirmity, but the word of the oath which is after the law the Son made perfect forever.
18:1BUT the chief thing in addition to what has been said is, that we have such a chief priest who sat on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens,8:2a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord set up, not man.8:3For every chief priest is constituted to offer gifts and sacrifices, whence it was necessary that this man also should have something to offer.8:4For if he had been on earth he would not have been a priest, there being priests to offer, the gifts according to the law,8:5who serve for a symbol and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when about to make the tabernacle; for see, he says, that you make all things after the pattern shown you in the Mount;8:6but now he has obtained a more excellent service, by as much also as he is the mediator of a better covenant, which is established on better promises.
28:7For if that first covenant had been faultless, no place would have been sought for the second. [But it was not].8:8For finding fault with them he says, Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will make with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, a new covenant,8:9not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, for they continued not in my covenant, and I neglected them, says the Lord.8:10This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put my laws in their minds, and will write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.8:11And they shall not teach every one his [fellow] citizen, and every one his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest of them.8:12For I will be merciful to their wickedness, and their sins and transgressions will I remember no more.8:13By saying new, he made the first old; but that which is ancient and weak is about to perish.
39:1The first covenant then had ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary.9:2For the first tabernacle was provided, in which were the candlestick and the table and the show bread, which is called the sanctuary.9:3But behind the second vail is the tabernacle, called the inner sanctuary,9:4having the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on every side with gold, in which were the golden vase that had the manna and Aaron's rod that budded and the tables of the covenant,9:5and over it were the cherubs of glory, overshadowing the propitiation; of which it is not necessary now to speak particularly.
49:6And these being thus provided, the priests enter into the first tabernacle continually, performing the services,9:7but into the second once a year only the chief priest [enters], not without blood, which he offers for his errors and those of the people,9:8the Holy Spirit showing this, that the way into the sanctuary is not made manifest while the first tabernacle yet has a standing,9:9which is a type of the time at hand, in which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshipper as to the conscience,9:10only in meats and drinks and different baptisms, and external ordinances, imposed till the time of reformation.
59:11But Christ having come, a chief priest of the good times that were to come, with a greater and a more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation,9:12not with blood of goats and bullocks, but with his own blood, entered once into the sanctuary having found eternal redemption.9:13For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the defiled, sanctifies to the purification of the flesh,9:14how much more shall the blood of Christ, who with an eternal spirit offered himself without fault to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
69:15And for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that death having been for a redemption of transgressions [transgressors] under the first covenant, the called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.9:16For where there is a covenant, there must follow the death of the covenant-maker.9:17For a covenant is strong for the dead, since it is never strong [unalterable] when the covenant-maker lives;9:18whence also the first [covenant] was not initiated without blood.9:19For every commandment of the law having been spoken by Moses to all the people, taking the blood of bullocks and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, he sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,9:20saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined upon you.9:21And he sprinkled also the tabernacle, and all the implements of the service, in like manner, with blood.9:22And almost all things, according to the law, are purified with blood, and without the pouring out of blood there is no forgiveness.
79:23It was necessary, therefore, that the symbols of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.9:24For Christ did not enter into the sanctuary made with hands, a type of the true, but into heaven itself, and already has appeared before God for us,9:25not that he may often present himself, as the chief priest enters into the sanctuary once a year with the blood of another [being];9:26since it was necessary that it should suffer often from the foundation of the world, but now once at the consummation of the world he has been manifested to destroy sins by the sacrifice of himself.9:27And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this is the judgment,9:28so also Christ having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time without sin, to those who look for him for salvation.
810:1For the law having a shadow of the good things that were to come, not the very likeness of the things, could not by the sacrifices which they offered continually every year perfect the offerers;10:2if they could, would they not have ceased to be offered, because those serving would have had no longer a knowledge of sins, having been once purified?10:3But in them there was a remembrance of sins, year by year;10:4for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.10:5Wherefore, coming into the world, he says, A sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire, but a body didst thou prepare me.10:6Whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wast not pleased with;10:7then I said, Behold, I come,—in the volume of the book it is written of me,—to do thy will, O God.10:8Saying before, Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sin thou didst not desire and wast not pleased with, which are offered according to the law,10:9then he said, Behold, I come to do thy will. He takes away the first, that he may establish the second,10:10by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all.
910:11And every priest stood daily performing service and presenting often the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;10:12but this [priest] having offered one sacrifice forever for sins, sat down on the right hand of God,10:13henceforth waiting till his enemies are made his footstool.10:14For by one offering he has perfected forever the sanctified.10:15The Holy Spirit also testifies [this] to us; for after it had said before,10:16This is the covenant which I will make with them after those days, the Lord says, I will put my laws in their hearts, and in their minds will I write them,10:17and their sins and transgressions will I remember no more.10:18But where there is a forgiveness of these, an offering for sin is no longer required.
110:19HAVING therefore, brothers, confidence in respect to the entrance into the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus,10:20which [entrance] he consecrated for us a new and living way through the vail, that is his flesh,10:21and [having] a great priest over the house of God,10:22let us approach with a true heart in a full assurance of faith, sprinkled in heart from an evil conscience, and washed in body with pure water,10:23let us hold firmly the profession of the faith, without declining; for he is faithful that promised;10:24and let us observe one another for a provocation of love and of good works,10:25not forsaking our own congregation as some are in the habit of [doing], but exhorting [others], and so much the more as you see the day approaching.
210:26For if we sin willingly after having received the knowledge of the truth, there is no longer a sacrifice left for sins,10:27but a fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation, which is about to consume the adversaries.10:28Any one who despised the law of Moses died without mercy by two or three witnesses;10:29of how much greater punishment do you suppose he will be thought worthy, who has trodden down the Son of God, and accounted defiled the blood of the covenant with which he was purified, and treated injuriously the Spirit of grace.10:30For we know him that said, Judgment belongs to me, I will repay. And again, The Lord will judge his people.10:31It is fearful to fall into the hands of the living God.
310:32But remember the former days, in which having been enlightened you endured a great conflict with sufferings,10:33partly in being made a spectacle by reproaches and afflictions, and partly being companions of those so treated.10:34For you sympathized with those in bonds, and received with joy the plunder of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession, and one that endures.10:35Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has a great reward.10:36For you have need of patience, that having done the will of God you may receive the promise.10:37For yet a very little while, and he that is to come will come and will not delay;10:38but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he draws back my soul takes no pleasure in him.10:39But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of faith to the saving of the soul.
411:1But faith is a confidence in respect to things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.11:2For by it the ancients obtained a good repute.11:3We know by faith that the worlds were made by the word of God, that the seen was not made from the apparent.11:4By faith Abel offered to God a greater sacrifice than Cain, through which he was declared to be righteous, God testifying to his gifts, and through the same, having died, he speaks still.11:5By faith Enoch was translated without seeing death, and was not found because God translated him. For before the translation he was said to have pleased God;11:6but without faith it is impossible to please; for he that comes to God, must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those that seek him.
511:7By faith Noah having been divinely instructed concerning things not yet seen, fearing built the ark for the salvation of his house, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness by faith.
611:8By faith Abraham being called obeyed and went out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance, and went out not knowing where he was going.11:9By faith he resided temporarily in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, co-heirs of the same promise;11:10for he looked for the city which has foundations [fixed abodes] whose designer and builder is God.11:11By faith also Sarah herself received power to become a mother, even beyond the usual age, because she regarded him faithful that promised.11:12Wherefore also there were born of one, and those of one dead, [a posterity] like the stars of heaven for multitude, and like the sands on the sea-shore innumerable.
711:13All these died in faith not having received the promises, but having seen and saluted them from a distance, and having professed that they were foreigners and strangers on the earth.11:14For those who say such things show that they seek a native country.11:15And if they had remembered that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return;11:16but now they seek a better, that is a heavenly [country]. Wherefore God is not ashamed of them to be called their God; for he has prepared for them a city.
811:17By faith Abraham when tried offered Isaac, and he that received the promises offered his only son,11:18of whom it was said, In Isaac shall your posterity be called,11:19judging that God was able to raise even from the dead; whence also in a figure he received him.11:20By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in respect to things to come.11:21By faith Jacob dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshipped leaning on the top of his staff.11:22By faith Joseph at the close of life made mention of the exodus of the children of Israel and gave charge concerning his bones.
911:23By faith Moses when he was born was hid three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they feared not the command of the king.11:24By faith Moses when he became a man refused to be called a son of Pharaoh's daughter,11:25choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to have an enjoyment of sin for a time,11:26judging the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he had respect to the reward.11:27By faith he left Egypt, not having feared the displeasure of the king; for he endured as seeing him that is invisible.11:28By faith he observed the passover and the pouring out of blood, that the destroyer of the first-born might not touch them.11:29By faith they passed through the Red Sea as through dry land, which the Egyptians attempting were swallowed up.11:30By faith the walls of Jericho fell down when they had been surrounded seven days.11:31By faith Rahab the harlot escaped destruction with the disobedient, having received the spies in peace.
1011:32And why should I say more? For time would fail me to relate of Gideon and Barak, and Sampson and Jepthah, and David and Samuel and the prophets,11:33who by faith subdued kingdoms, performed righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,11:34extinguished the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put to flight encampments of foreigners;11:35women received their dead from a resurrection, others were tortured having not accepted redemption, that they might obtain a better resurrection;11:36and others had trial of mockings and scourges, and besides of bonds and imprisonment;11:37they were stoned, they were cut to pieces with saws, they were tried, they died with the death of the sword, they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, destitute, afflicted, injuriously treated,11:38of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains, and in caves and openings of the earth.11:39And none of these who became martyrs through faith received the promise,11:40God having provided something better for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
1112:1Therefore also we, having so great a cloud of witnesses lying around us, laying aside every impediment and sin which entirely surrounds us, let us run with patience the race set before us,12:2looking to the chief guide and perfecter of the faith, Jesus, who for the joy set before him despised the shame and endured the cross, and sat down on the right hand of God.12:3For consider him that has endured such a contradiction from sinners, that you may not become faint and weary in your minds.
112:4You have not yet resisted to blood contending against sin.12:5And you have forgotten the exhortation which says to you as to sons, My son, despise not the correction of the Lord and faint not when rebuked by him,12:6for the Lord corrects those whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.12:7If you endure correction, God deals with you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not correct?12:8But if you are without correction of which all are partakers, then you are of foreign birth, and not sons.12:9Moreover, we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?12:10For they for a few days corrected us as seemed good to them, but he for the best, that we may partake of his holiness.12:11And no correction seems to be joyful for the present but painful, but afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those exercised by it.
212:12Wherefore hold up the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees,12:13and make straight courses for your feet, that the lame may not be turned out of the way, but may rather be healed.12:14Follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord,12:15taking care that no one may come short of the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springing up may make trouble and by it many be defiled,12:16that no one may be a fornicator or unholy person like Esau, who for one meal sold his birthright.12:17For you know that afterwards, wishing also to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place for a change of mind, though he sought it with tears.12:18For you have not come to a mountain that may be touched, and to a burning fire, and blackness and darkness and a tempest12:19and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, which those who heard desired that the word might not be spoken to them any more,—12:20for they could not bear what was commanded, And if a beast touches the mountain it shall be stoned;12:21and so fearful was the sight, that Moses said, I fear and tremble,—12:22but you have come to Zion, the mountain and city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels in general assembly,12:23and to the church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge the God of all, and to spirits of the righteous made perfect,12:24and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to a sprinkled blood which speaks better than Abel.
312:25See that you refuse not him that speaks; for if they did not escape who refused him that gave answers on earth, much more shall we [not escape] who turn ourselves away from him in heaven;12:26whose voice then shook the earth, but now it has been promised, saying, Hereafter once for all I will shake not only the earth, but also heaven.12:27And this, Hereafter once for all, signifies the removal of the things shaken as of things made, that those not shaken may continue.12:28Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace through which we may serve God acceptably, with piety and fear;12:29for our God is also a consuming fire.
413:1Let brotherly love continue.13:2Forget not hospitality; for by this some without knowing it have entertained angels.13:3Remember those bound as bound with them, and those injured as being yourselves also in the body.13:4Marriage is honorable in all, and married life without blame; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.13:5Let your life be without avarice, and be contented with what you have; for he said, I will never leave you, I will never forsake you;13:6so that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear; what can man do to me?
513:7Remember your guides who spoke to you the word of God, and considering the end of their life follow the faith.13:8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.13:9Be not carried about with various and strange doctrines; for it is good that the mind should be established with grace, not with aliments, in which those walking are not profited.
613:10We have an altar of which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.13:11For the bodies of those animals whose blood is carried into the sanctuary by the chief priest are burnt without the encampment.13:12Wherefore also Jesus, that he might purify the people through his blood, suffered without the gate.13:13Let us therefore go out to him without the encampment, bearing his reproach;13:14for we have not here a city that continues, but we seek that which is to come.13:15Through him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing his name.13:16And forget not beneficence and liberality; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
713:17Obey your guides and be in subjection; for they watch for your souls as having to give an account, that they may do this with joy and not with grief; for this is unprofitable for you.
813:18Pray for us; for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things wishing to live well.13:19And I exhort you do this the more, that I may sooner be restored to you.
913:20And may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus,13:21perfect you in every good work to do his will, doing in you that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever; amen.
1013:22And I beseech you, brothers, suffer the word of exhortation; for I have sent to you a letter in a few words.13:23Know that brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you.13:24Salute all your guides and all the saints. Those from Italy salute you.13:25The grace be with you all; amen.
11:1A REVELATION of Jesus Christ, which God gave him, to show his servants [things] which must shortly occur, and he sent and made them known by his angel to his servant John,1:2who declared the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ which he saw.1:3Blessed is he that reads, and those that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things written in it; for the time is at hand.
21:4John, to the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace be to you, from the Is and the Was and the Is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne,1:5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him that loved us and washed us from our sins with his blood,1:6and made us a kingdom, priests to God even his Father, to him be the glory and the power forever; amen.
31:7Behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him and those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn because of him. Yes, amen.1:8I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God; the Is, and the Was, and the Is to come, the Almighty.
41:9I, John, your brother and companion in the affliction and kingdom and patience in Christ Jesus, was in the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.1:10I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet,1:11saying, What you see write in a book, and send to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamus and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.
51:12And I turned to see the voice which spoke with me; and having turned around I saw seven golden candlesticks,1:13and in the midst of the candlesticks one like the Son of man, clothed with a robe extending down to his feet, girded about the breasts with a golden girdle;1:14and his head and hairs were white as white wool, as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire,1:15and his feet like fine brass as if they were burned in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of many waters,1:16and he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword, and his face shone like the sun in his strength.
61:17And when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead; and he put his right hand on me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last1:18and the living, and I was dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever; and I have the keys of death and of hades.1:19Write therefore the things which you saw, and which are, and which are about to appear hereafter,1:20the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks the seven churches.
12:1To the angel of the church in Ephesus write, These things says he that holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks,2:2I know your works and your labor and your patience, and that you cannot bear the wicked, and you tried those who say they are apostles and are not, and found them false;2:3and you have patience, and suffered for my name, and did not faint.2:4But I have against you that you have left your first love.2:5Remember therefore whence you have fallen, and change your minds, and do the first works, otherwise I will come to you and remove your candlestick from its place, unless you change your minds.2:6But you have this, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.2:7Let him that has an ear hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him that conquers will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my God.
22:8And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, These things says the first and the last, who was dead and lived,2:9I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich, and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.2:10Fear not what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried, and you shall have affliction ten days. Be faithful till death, and I will give you the crown of life.2:11Let him that has an ear hear what the Spirit says to the churches; He that conquers shall not be injured by the second death.
32:12And to the angel of the church in Pergamus write, These things says he that has the two-edged sharp sword,2:13I know your works and where you live; where Satan's throne is; and you hold my name, and did not deny my faith in the days in which Antipas my faithful martyr was killed among you, where Satan dwells.2:14But I have a few things against you; you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put an occasion of sin before the children of Israel, both to eat things offered to idols and to commit fornication.2:15So in like manner you have also those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans.2:16Change your minds therefore; otherwise I will come to you quickly, and fight with them with the sword of my mouth.2:17Let him that has an ear hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him that conquers will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white token, and on the token a new name engraved, which no one knows but he that receives it.
42:18And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, These things says the Son of God, he that has his eyes like a flame of fire and his feet like fine brass,2:19I know your works and love and faith and service and your patience, and your last works more than the first.2:20But I have against you that you allow your wife Jezebel, who says she is a prophetess and teaches and deceives my servants to commit fornication and eat things offered to idols.2:21And I gave her time to change her mind, and she will not change her mind from her fornication.2:22Behold, I will cast her on a [sick] bed, and those committing adultery with her into great affliction, unless they change their minds from her works.2:23And her children will I kill with pestilence, and all the churches shall know that I am he that searches the minds and hearts, and I will give you each one according to your works.2:24But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira who have not this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden;2:25but what you have, hold fast till I come.2:26And to him that conquers and keeps my works till the end, I will give power over the nations,2:27and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and crush them like earthen vessels, as I also have received of my Father,2:28and I will give him the star of the morning.2:29Let him that has an ear hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
53:1And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, These things says he that has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, I know your works, that you have a name to live, and are dead.3:2Be watchful, confirm the rest who are about to die. For I have not found your works perfect before my God.3:3Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and watch, and change your minds. If therefore you do not watch, I will come as a thief, and you shall not know at what hour I will come upon you.3:4But you have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy.3:5He that conquers shall be clothed in white robes, and I will not obliterate his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.3:6Let him that has an ear hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
63:7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, These things says the Holy One, the True, he that has the key of David, he that opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open,3:8I know your works; behold, I have placed before you an opened door, which no man can shut; because you have a little power, and kept my word, and did not deny my name.3:9Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews, and are not, but lie, behold, I will make them come and worship at your feet, and they shall know that I have loved you.3:10Because you have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which is to come on all the world, to try those who dwell on the earth.3:11I come quickly; keep what you have, that no man may take your crown.3:12Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out of it no more, and I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my new name.3:13Let him that has an ear hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
73:14And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write, These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God,3:15I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot.3:16Because therefore you are warm, and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spew you out of my mouth.3:17For you say, I am rich and have become rich and have need of nothing, and know not that you are miserable, and pitiable, and poor, and blind, and naked.3:18I advise you to buy of me gold purified in the fire that you may be rich, and white robes that you may put on, and the shame of your nakedness not appear, and an eye-salve to anoint your eyes that you may see.3:19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore and change your minds.3:20Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one shall hear my voice and open the door, I will enter in to him, and feast with him, and he with me.3:21To him that conquers will I give to sit down with me on my throne, as I conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.3:22Let him that has an ear hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
14:1AFTER this I saw, and behold, a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard was of a trumpet speaking to me, saying, Come up hither, and I will show you things that must occur hereafter.4:2And immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.4:3And he that sat was like a jasper and sardine stone, and there was an iris about the throne, similar in appearance to an emerald.4:4And about the throne were twenty-four thrones; and on the thrones twenty-four elders sitting clothed in white robes, and having crowns of gold on their heads.
24:5And there proceeded from the throne lightnings and voices and thunders; and seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God,4:6and before the throne was as it were a sea of glass like crystal; and in the midst of the throne and about the throne were four living ones [cherubs] full of eyes before and behind.4:7And the first cherub was like a lion, and the second cherub like a bullock, and the third cherub had the face of a man, and the fourth cherub was like a flying eagle.
34:8And the four cherubs had each six wings apiece. And they were full of eyes around and within, and they had no rest day nor night, saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty the Was and the Is and the Is to come.4:9And when the cherubs gave glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne who lives forever and ever,4:10the twenty-four elders fell down on their faces before him that sat on the throne, and worshipped him that lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before his throne, saying,4:11Thou art worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and on account of thy will they are and were created.
45:1And I saw at the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.5:2And I saw a mighty angel proclaim with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seven seals?5:3And no one in heaven above, nor on the earth, nor under the earth, could open the book, or look in it.5:4And I wept much because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look in it.5:5And one of the elders said to me, Weep not; behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered, he is opening the book and its seven seals.
55:6And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four cherubs and in the midst of the elders, a lamb standing as if killed, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth.5:7And he came and took [the book] from the right hand of him that sat on the throne.
65:8And when he took the book, the four cherubs and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which is the prayers of the saints:5:9And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open its seals, for thou wast killed and hast redeemed to God with thy blood [men] from every tribe and tongue and people and nation,5:10and hast made them a kingdom and priests, and they shall reign on the earth.5:11And I saw, and heard a voice of many angels about the throne, and of the cherubs, and of the elders,—and the number of them was ten thousands of ten thousands and thousands of thousands,—5:12saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was killed to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.5:13And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and those which are on the sea, and all things in them, all heard I saying, To him that sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and power forever and ever.5:14And the four cherubs said, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshipped:
16:1AND I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and heard one of the four cherubs say like the sound of thunder, Come.6:2And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer.
26:3And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second cherub say, Come.6:4And there went out another fiery horse, and it was given to him that sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, and there was given him a great sword.
36:5And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third cherub say, Come. And I saw, and behold, a black horse, and he that sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.6:6And I heard a voice in the midst of the four cherubs, saying, A choenix [a quart] of wheat for a denarius [14 cents], and three choenices of barley for a denarius; and injure not the oil and wine.
46:7And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth cherub say, Come.6:8And I saw, and behold, a pale horse, and one sat on it, whose name was Death, and Hades followed him, and there was given him power over a fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the beasts of the earth.
56:9And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those killed for the word of God and for the testimony which they had.6:10And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, Master, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth?6:11And a white robe was given them, and it was told them to rest yet a little while, till their fellow servants and their brothers and those about to be killed as they also had been should finish [their testimony].
66:12And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and all the moon became as blood,6:13and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts down its unseasonable figs when shaken with a mighty wind,6:14and heaven departed like a book rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved from their places.6:15And the kings of the earth and the great men and the chiliarchs and the rich and the mighty and every servant and freeman hid themselves in caves and in the rocks of the mountains,6:16and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb,6:17for the great day of his wrath has come, and who can stand?
77:1And after this I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.7:2And I saw another angel ascend from the east, having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to injure the earth and the sea,7:3saying, Injure not the earth nor the sea nor the trees, till we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.7:4And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand were sealed from every tribe of the children of Israel.
87:5From the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,7:6from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,7:7from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,7:8from the tribe of Zebulon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand.
97:9After this I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and having palm branches in their hands;7:10and they cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation be to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.7:11And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four cherubs, and fell down before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,7:12saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever.
107:13And one of the elders answered and said to me, Who are those clothed with white robes, and whence did they come?7:14And I said to him, My Lord, you know. And he said to me, These are those who come out from great affliction, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.7:15Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, and he that sits on the throne will dwell among them.7:16And they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun strike them nor any heat,7:17for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and lead them to fountains of the waters of life, and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.