Hebrews 6

The Danger of Falling Away

¹Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,[#6:1 Lit word of the beginning; #6:1 I.e., Messiah; #6:1 Or perfection]

²of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and about the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.[#6:2 Or baptisms]

³And this we will do, if God permits.

⁴For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,

⁵and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

⁶and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.[#6:6 Or committed apostasy; i.e., renounced the faith; #6:6 Or while]

⁷For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and produces vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God;[#6:7 Lit comes]

⁸but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.[#6:8 Lit near to a curse; #6:8 Lit whose end is for burning]

Better Things for You

⁹But, beloved, we are convinced of better things regarding you, and things that accompany salvation, even though we are speaking in this way.[#6:9 Or belong to]

¹⁰For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, by having served and by still serving the saints.[#6:10 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people]

¹¹And we desire that each one of you demonstrate the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end,[#6:11 Lit to the full]

¹²so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and endurance inherit the promises.

¹³For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear an oath by no one greater, He swore by Himself,

¹⁴saying, “indeed I will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply you .”

¹⁵And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.

¹⁶For people swear an oath by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath serving as confirmation is an end of every dispute.[#6:16 Or Him who is greater]

¹⁷In the same way God, desiring even more to demonstrate to the heirs of the promise the fact that His purpose is unchangeable, confirmed it with an oath,[#6:17 Lit In which; #6:17 Lit the unchangeableness of His; #6:17 Or mediated]

¹⁸so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to hold firmly to the hope set before us.

¹⁹This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and reliable and one which enters within the veil,[#6:19 Lit Which hope we have; #6:19 Or inside]

²⁰where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.