Hebrews 6:1-17

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  6:17 In the same way ¹⁷  God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, ¹⁸  and so he intervened with an oath,

[6:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Therefore leaving behind.” The implication is not of abandoning this elementary information, but of building on it.

[6:1]  ² tn Or “basic.”

[6:1]  ³ tn Grk “the message of the beginning of Christ.”

[6:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “leaving behind…let us move on.”

[6:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “and we will do this.”

[6:6]  ⁶ tn Or “have fallen away.”

[6:6]  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”).

[6:6]  ⁸ tn Grk “recrucifying the son of God for themselves.”

[6:7]  ⁹ tn Grk “comes upon.”

[6:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “near to a curse.”

[6:12]  ¹¹ tn Or “dull.”

[6:14]  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.

[6:15]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Abraham) has been specified for clarity.

[6:16]  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.”

[6:16]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “by something greater”; the rest of the comparison (“than themselves”) is implied.

[6:16]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute.”

[6:17]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “in which.”

[6:17]  ¹⁸ tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”