Nor was it with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, that he entered, once and for all, into the Sanctuary, and obtained our eternal deliverance.

For if the blood of oxen, and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer, when it was sprinkled, purified the unclean, as touching the purifying of the flesh:

And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that, death having taken place for redemption from the transgressions under the first covenant, they who have been called may receive the everlasting inheritance which was promised.

Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.

for when every command was spoken according to the law, by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the book and all the people,

And the blood was put on the Tent and all the holy vessels in the same way.

Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

For it was not into a Sanctuary made by human hands, which merely foreshadowed the true one, that Christ entered, but into Heaven itself, that he might now appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own.

since 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.

So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

For the law of Moses was [only] a foreshadow of the good things that [were] to come [i.e., in the Messianic age], not the exact image of those things. It can never, by the same sacrifices, continually offered year after year, make [morally] perfect those who draw near [to God in worship].

But in them there was a remembrance of sins, year by year;

Therefore, as He was coming into the world, He said:

You did not want sacrifice and offering,
but You prepared a body for Me.

whole burnt offerings and offerings for sins thou wast not pleased with:

Then said I, Behold, I am here (in the head of the book it was written of me,) O God, to do thy will.

Saying above, that Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin thou didst not will, neither wast well pleased with; whatsoever are offered according to law;

And the Holy Spirit also bears us witness of it; for after what was said:

Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

We know who it was that said-- 'It is for me to avenge, I will requite'; and again-- 'The Lord will judge his people.'

This was partly through allowing yourselves to be made a public spectacle amid reproaches and persecutions, and partly through coming forward to share the sufferings of those who were thus treated.

For you not only showed sympathy with those who were imprisoned, but you even submitted with joy when your property was taken from you, being well aware that you have in your own selves a more valuable possession and one which will remain.

For you have need of endurance, in order that [after you] have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

And it was for faith that the men of old were renowned.

By faith [that is, with an inherent trust and enduring confidence in the power, wisdom and goodness of God] we understand that the worlds (universe, ages) were framed and created [formed, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose] by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

By faith [with confidence in God and His word] Noah, being warned by God about events not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his family. By this [act of obedience] he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith.

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land, as in a strange land, living in tents [as nomads] with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise.

for he was looking for the city having the foundations, whose artificer and constructor is God.

Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

So from one man, though he was [physically] as good as dead, were born as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand on the seashore.

These all died in faith, without receiving what was promised, having only a distant view of what they eagerly expected, professing to live as strangers and pilgrims in the land.

But no, they were longing for a better, a heavenly, land! And therefore God was not ashamed to be called their God; indeed he had already prepared them a city.

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

It was faith that enabled Isaac to bless Jacob and Esau, even with regard to the future.

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

Feeling that it was better to undergo pain with the people of God, than for a short time to have a taste of the pleasures of sin;

He considered the reproach of the Christ [that is, the rebuke he would suffer for his faithful obedience to God] to be greater wealth than all the treasures of Egypt; for he looked ahead to the reward [promised by God].

Faith caused him to leave Egypt, though undaunted by the King's anger, for he was strengthened in his endurance by the vision of the invisible God.

By faith, he hath kept the passover and the besmearing of the blood, lest, he that was destroying the first-born, should be touching them.

It was by faith that they crossed the Red Sea like dry land ??and when the Egyptians attempted it they were drowned.

It was by faith that the walls of Jericho collapsed, after being surrounded for only seven days.

By faith Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed along with those who were disobedient, because she had welcomed the spies [sent by the sons of Israel] in peace.

who through faith conquered kingdoms, accomplished justice, obtained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions,

quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength, who became mighty in war, and put foreign armies to flight.

They were stoned to death, they were tortured to death, they were sawed in two, they were killed with the sword. Clothed in the skins of sheep or goats, they were driven from place to place, destitute, persecuted, misused??38 men of whom the world was not worthy wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and holes in the ground.

(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

And all of these, though they gained [divine] approval through their faith, did not receive [the fulfillment of] what was promised,

Because God had kept some better thing for us, so that it was not possible for them to become complete without us.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

And have you forgotten the exhortation that was addressed to you as sons? [Prov. 3:11f says], "My son, do not take the discipline of the Lord lightly, and do not get discouraged when He rebukes you.

For while their discipline was only for a time, and inflicted at their pleasure, he disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his own holiness.

lest any one may be a fornicator, or a profane person, as was Esau, who for one morsel sold his birthright.

For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

For ye have not come to the mount that might be touched and was all on fire, and to obscurity, and darkness, and tempest,

and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them.

(For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:

And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)

See, may ye not refuse him who is speaking, for if those did not escape who refused him who upon earth was divinely speaking -- much less we who do turn away from him who speaketh from heaven,

Whose voice was the cause of the shaking of the earth; but now he has made an oath, saying, There will be still one more shaking, not only of the earth, but of heaven.

Remember your leaders [for it was they] who brought you the word of God; and consider the result of their conduct [the outcome of their godly lives], and imitate their faith [their conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things, the Provider of eternal salvation through Christ, and imitate their reliance on God with absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness].

Jesus Christ is the same today that he was yesterday, and he will be so forever.

For this reason Jesus was put to death outside the walls, so that he might make the people holy by his blood.

Know ye, brother Timothy who was set free is with whom I will see you, if he comes sooner.

For the sun arose with fervour, and burnt up the grass, and the flower of it fell off, and the beauty of its appearance was lost: just so the rich man in his course of life shall wither away.

It was of His own will that He gave us birth [as His children] by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits of His creatures [a prime example of what He created to be set apart to Himself—sanctified, made holy for His divine purposes].

For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

do they not themselves speak evil of the good name that was called upon you?

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

Come close to God and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinful people [i.e., this is an exhortation to repent of moral and spiritual corruption], and purify your hearts, you double-minded people.

Your gold and silver are rusted; and the rust on them shall be evidence against you, and shall eat into your very flesh. It was fire, so to speak, that you stored up for yourselves in these last days.

Behold the wage of the workmen who reaped your fields. The man who was defrauded by you cries out. And the outcries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of Lord of hosts.

We say that those men who have gone through pain are happy: you have the story of Job and the troubles through which he went and have seen that the Lord was full of pity and mercy in the end.

And if their prayer is [offered] by faith, [God] will heal the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up [from his sickbed]. And if he had sinned, he will be forgiven for them [Note: This may imply that the man's sickness was the result of some sin. In any event, his forgiveness would follow his repentance].

Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

These people have been [specially] selected, and [their acceptance was] pre-planned by God the Father, and they were set apart through [the work of] the Holy Spirit. This resulted in their obedience and sprinkling [Note: This is a figurative reference to the Old Testament practice of cleansing, See Exodus 24:7-8] by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God's unearned favor and peace be continually upon you.

Regarding this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace [of God] that was intended for you, searched carefully and inquired [about this future way of salvation],

Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

knowing, as you do, that it was not with a ransom of perishable wealth, such as silver or gold, that you were set free from your frivolous habits of life which had been handed down to you from your forefathers,

Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

But the word of the Lord abideth for ever. And this is the word of good tidings which was preached unto you.

As you come to him, the living stone who was rejected by people but was chosen and precious in God's sight,

For you therefore that believe is the preciousness: but for such as disbelieve, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner;

And, A stone of falling, a rock of trouble; the word is the cause of their fall, because they go against it, and this was the purpose of God.

In the past you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; then there was no mercy for you, but now mercy has been given to you.

For it was to this that you were called! For Christ, too, suffered--on your behalf--and left you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: