Hebrews 6:3-20

6:3 And this is what we intend to do, ¹  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, ²  to renew them again to repentance, since ³  they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again ⁴  and holding him up to contempt. 6:7 For the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on ⁵  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; ⁶  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, ⁷  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.” ⁸  6:15 And so by persevering, Abraham ⁹  inherited the promise. 6:16 For people ¹⁰  swear by something greater than themselves, ¹¹  and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute. ¹²  6:17 In the same way ¹³  God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, ¹⁴  and so he intervened with an oath, 6:18 so that we who have found refuge in him ¹⁵  may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie. 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain, ¹⁶  6:20 where Jesus our forerunner entered on our behalf, since he became a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. ¹⁷ 

[6:3]  ¹ tn Grk “and we will do this.”

[6:6]  ² tn Or “have fallen away.”

[6:6]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “recrucifying the son of God for themselves.”

[6:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “comes upon.”

[6:8]  ⁶ tn Grk “near to a curse.”

[6:12]  ⁷ tn Or “dull.”

[6:14]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Abraham) has been specified for clarity.

[6:16]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Grk “by something greater”; the rest of the comparison (“than themselves”) is implied.

[6:16]  ¹² tn Grk “the oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute.”

[6:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “in which.”

[6:17]  ¹⁴ tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”

[6:18]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “have taken refuge”; the basis of that refuge is implied in the preceding verse.

[6:19]  ¹⁶ sn The curtain refers to the veil or drape in the temple that separated the holy place from the holy of holies.

[6:20]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 110:4, picked up again from Heb 5:6, 10.