Hebrews 1-4

New Life Version

God Speaks Through His Son

1 Long ago God spoke to our early fathers in many different ways. He spoke through the early preachers. ² But in these last days He has spoken to us through His Son. God gave His Son everything. It was by His Son that God made the world. ³ The Son shines with the shining-greatness of the Father. The Son is as God is in every way. It is the Son Who holds up the whole world by the power of His Word. The Son gave His own life so we could be clean from all sin. After He had done that, He sat down on the right side of God in heaven.

The Son Was Greater Than the Angels

⁴ The Son of God was made greater and better than the angels. God gave Him a greater name than theirs. ⁵ God did not say to any of His angels, “You are My Son. Today I have become Your Father.” ^(A) And He did not say to any angel, “I will be a Father to Him. He will be a Son to Me.” ^{(B) 6} But when God brought His first-born Son, Jesus, into the world, He said, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” ⁷ He said this about the angels, “He makes His angels to be winds. He makes His servants a burning fire.” ^{(C) 8} But about His Son, He says, “O God, Your throne will last forever. Whatever You say in Your nation is right and good. ⁹ You have loved what is right. You have hated what is wrong. That is why God, Your God, has chosen You. He has poured over You the oil of joy more than over anyone else.” ^{(D) 10} He said also, “Lord, You made the earth in the beginning. You made the heavens with Your hands. ¹¹ They will be destroyed but You will always be here. They will all become old just as clothes become old. ¹² You will roll up the heavens like a coat. They will be changed. But You are always the same. You will never grow old.” ^{(E) 13} God never said to any angel, “Sit at My right side, until I make those who hate You a place to rest Your feet.” ^{(F) 14} Are not all the angels spirits who work for God? They are sent out to help those who are to be saved from the punishment of sin.

Do Not Wait to Be Saved from the Punishment of Sin

2 That is why we must listen all the more to the truths we have been told. If we do not, we may slip away from them. ² These truths given by the angels proved to be true. People were punished when they did not obey them. ³ God was so good to make a way for us to be saved from the punishment of sin. What makes us think we will not go to hell if we do not take the way to heaven that He has made for us? The Lord was the first to tell us of this. Then those who heard Him told it later. ⁴ God proved what they said was true by showing us special things to see and by doing powerful works. He gave the gifts of the Holy Spirit as He wanted to.

Jesus, the Way to Heaven

⁵ God did not make angels to be the leaders of that world to come which we have been speaking about. ⁶ Instead, the Holy Writings say, “What is man that You think of him and the son of man that You should remember him?” ^{(G) 7} “You made him so he took a place that was not as important as the angels for a little while. You gave him the crown of honor and shining-greatness. *You made him the head over everything You have made. ⁸ You have put everything under his feet.” ^(H) There is nothing that does not obey him, but we do not see all things obey him yet. ⁹ But we do see Jesus. For a little while He took a place that was not as important as the angels. But God had loving-favor for everyone. He had Jesus suffer death on a cross for all of us. Then, because of Christ’s death on a cross, God gave Him the crown of honor and shining-greatness.

¹⁰ God made all things. He made all things for Himself. It was right for God to make Jesus a perfect Leader by having Him suffer for men’s sins. In this way, He is bringing many men to share His shining-greatness. ¹¹ Jesus makes men holy. He takes away their sins. Both Jesus and the ones being made holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them His brothers. ¹² Jesus is saying to His Father, “I will tell My brothers Your name. I will sing songs of thanks for You among the people.” ^{(I) 13} And again He says, “I will put My trust in God.” At another time He said, “Here I am with the children God gave Me.” ^(J)

¹⁴ It is true that we share the same Father with Jesus. And it is true that we share the same kind of flesh and blood because Jesus became a man like us. He died as we must die. Through His death He destroyed the power of the devil who has the power of death. ¹⁵ Jesus did this to make us free from the fear of death. We no longer need to be chained to this fear. ¹⁶ Jesus did not come to help angels. Instead, He came to help men who are of Abraham’s family. ¹⁷ So Jesus had to become like His brothers in every way. He had to be one of us to be our Religious Leader to go between God and us. He had loving-pity on us and He was faithful. He gave Himself as a gift to die on a cross for our sins so that God would not hold these sins against us any longer. ¹⁸ Because Jesus was tempted as we are and suffered as we do, He understands us and He is able to help us when we are tempted.

Jesus Was Greater Than Moses

3 Christian brothers, you have been chosen and set apart by God. So let us think about Jesus. He is the One God sent and He is the Religious Leader of our Christian faith. ² Jesus was faithful in God’s house just as Moses was faithful in all of God’s house. ³ The man who builds a house gets more honor than the house. That is why Jesus gets more honor than Moses. ⁴ Every house is built by someone. And God is the One Who has built everything. ⁵ Moses was a faithful servant owned by God in God’s house. He spoke of the things that would be told about later on. ⁶ But Christ was faithful as a Son Who is Head of God’s house. We are of God’s house if we keep our trust in the Lord until the end. This is our hope. ⁷ The Holy Spirit says, “If you hear His voice today, ⁸ do not let your hearts become hard as your early fathers did when they turned against Me. It was at that time in the desert when they put Me to the test. ⁹ Your early fathers tempted Me and tried Me. They saw the work I did for forty years. ¹⁰ For this reason, I was angry with the people of this day. And I said to them, ‘They always think wrong thoughts. They have never understood what I have tried to do for them.’ ¹¹ I was angry with them and said to Myself, ‘They will never go into My rest.’” ^(K)

¹² Christian brothers, be careful that not one of you has a heart so bad that it will not believe and will turn away from the living God. ¹³ Help each other. Speak day after day to each other while it is still today so your heart will not become hard by being fooled by sin. ¹⁴ For we belong to Christ if we keep on trusting Him to the end just as we trusted Him at first. ¹⁵ The Holy Writings say, “If you hear His voice today, do not let your hearts become hard as your early fathers did when they turned against Me.” ^(L)

¹⁶ Who heard God’s voice and turned against Him? Did not all those who were led out of the country of Egypt by Moses? ¹⁷ Who made God angry for forty years? Was it not those people who had sinned in the desert? Was it not those who died and were buried there? ¹⁸ Who did He say could never go into His rest? Was it not those who did not obey Him? ¹⁹ So we can see that they were not able to go into His rest because they did not put their trust in Him.

The Christian’s Rest

4 The same promise of going into God’s rest is still for us. But we should be afraid that some of us may not be able to go in. ² We have heard the Good News even as they did, but it did them no good because it was not mixed with faith. ³ We who have put our trust in God go into His rest. God said this of our early fathers, “I was angry and said, ‘They will not go into My rest.’”^(M) And yet God’s work was finished after He made the world.

God’s Rest

⁴ In the Holy Writings He said this about the seventh day when He made the whole world, “God rested on the seventh day from all He had made.” ^{(N) 5} But God said this about those who turned against Him, “They will not go into My rest.” ^{(O) 6} Those who heard the Good News first did not go into His rest. It was because they had not obeyed Him. But the promise is still good and some are going into His rest. ⁷ God has again set a certain day for people to go into His rest. He says through David many years later as He had said before, “If you hear His voice today, do not let your hearts become hard.” ^(P)

⁸ If Joshua had led those people into God’s rest, He would not have told of another day after that. ⁹ And so God’s people have a complete rest waiting for them. ¹⁰ The man who goes into God’s rest, rests from his own work the same as God rested from His work. ¹¹ Let us do our best to go into that rest or we will be like the people who did not go in.

¹² God’s Word is living and powerful. It is sharper than a sword that cuts both ways. It cuts straight into where the soul and spirit meet and it divides them. It cuts into the joints and bones. It tells what the heart is thinking about and what it wants to do. ¹³ No one can hide from God. His eyes see everything we do. We must give an answer to God for what we have done.

Jesus—Our Great Religious Leader

¹⁴ We have a great Religious Leader Who has made the way for man to go to God. He is Jesus, the Son of God, Who has gone to heaven to be with God. Let us keep our trust in Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ Our Religious Leader understands how weak we are. Christ was tempted in every way we are tempted, but He did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us go with complete trust to the throne of God. We will receive His loving-kindness and have His loving-favor to help us whenever we need it.