6:1 Therefore we must progress beyond 1 the elementary 2 instructions about Christ 3 and move on 4 to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works and faith in God, 6:2 teaching about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 6:3 And this is what we intend to do, 5 if God permits. 6:4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 6:5 tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, 6:6 and then have committed apostasy, 6 to renew them again to repentance, since 7 they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again 8 and holding him up to contempt. 6:7 For the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on 9 it and yields useful vegetation for those who tend it receives a blessing from God. 6:8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is useless and about to be cursed; 10 its fate is to be burned. 6:9 But in your case, dear friends, even though we speak like this, we are convinced of better things relating to salvation. 6:10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints. 6:11 But we passionately want each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of your hope until the end, 6:12 so that you may not be sluggish, 11 but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises.
6:13 Now when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, 6:14 saying, “Surely I will bless you greatly and multiply your descendants abundantly.” 12 6:15 And so by persevering, Abraham 13 inherited the promise. 6:16 For people 14 swear by something greater than themselves, 15 and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute. 16
1 tn Grk “Therefore leaving behind.” The implication is not of abandoning this elementary information, but of building on it.
2 tn Or “basic.”
3 tn Grk “the message of the beginning of Christ.”
4 tn Grk “leaving behind…let us move on.”
5 tn Grk “and we will do this.”
6 tn Or “have fallen away.”
7 tn Or “while”; Grk “crucifying…and holding.” The Greek participles here (“crucifying…and holding”) can be understood as either causal (“since”) or temporal (“while”).
8 tn Grk “recrucifying the son of God for themselves.”
9 tn Grk “comes upon.”
10 tn Grk “near to a curse.”
11 tn Or “dull.”
12 tn Grk “in blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply you,” the Greek form of a Hebrew idiom showing intensity.
13 tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Abraham) has been specified for clarity.
14 tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, and is thus translated “people.”
15 tn Grk “by something greater”; the rest of the comparison (“than themselves”) is implied.
16 tn Grk “the oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute.”