Hebrews 6
The full text of Hebrews 6 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and press on toward maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith in God,
2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
3 And we will do this, if God permits.
4 For it is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift and shared in the Holy Spirit,
5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age,
6 and who have fallen away—to restore them again to repentance, since to their own harm they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed, receives the blessing of God.
8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and near to being cursed, and in the end it will be burned.
9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that belong to salvation.
10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized.
12 Then you will not become lazy, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,
14 saying,
"I will surely bless you
and give you many descendants."
15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.
17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.
18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,
20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Translation notes (9)
- Hebrews 6:1a The phrase "dead works" (nekrōn ergōn in Greek) can mean either deeds that bring death or lifeless ritual observance; the Greek text leaves the exact sense open.
- Hebrews 6:2a The plural baptismōn (βαπτισμῶν), 'washings', is not the usual New Testament word for Christian baptism (baptisma) but the term the author uses elsewhere for Jewish ritual ablutions (Hebrews 9:10; compare Mark 7:4). The instruction envisioned may therefore have distinguished Christian baptism from other ceremonial washings familiar to the letter's audience.
- Hebrews 6:4a The participle phōtisthentas (φωτισθέντας), 'enlightened', was understood by early interpreters such as Justin Martyr as a reference to baptism, since phōtismos became a common term for the rite in the second century; the word itself, however, denotes illumination by the gospel. The clause governed by adynaton, 'impossible', is completed only at verse 6.
- Hebrews 6:6a This can also be translated as "while they are crucifying." The Greek participles in this verse can indicate either cause or time.
- Hebrews 6:6b The Greek phrase "anastaurountas heautois" literally means "crucifying again for themselves" or "in themselves."
- Hebrews 6:14a Quoting Genesis 22:17 from the Septuagint, the Greek doubles each verb for emphasis: eulogōn eulogēsō, literally 'blessing I will bless', and plēthynōn plēthynō, 'multiplying I will multiply'. This construction mirrors the Hebrew infinitive absolute, an idiom of certainty rendered here as 'surely bless' and 'give you many descendants'.
- Hebrews 6:16a Greek bebaiosis, 'confirmation', was a technical term in ancient legal usage for a formal guarantee of a transaction, and antilogia, 'dispute', names the litigation an oath was meant to settle. In Greco-Roman and Jewish practice alike, invoking a greater party, ultimately a deity, made an oath binding, a custom the argument of the following verse assumes.
- Hebrews 6:19a The Greek katapetasma (καταπέτασμα), 'curtain', is the term the Septuagint uses for the veil separating the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle (Exodus 26:31-33), the innermost chamber entered only by the high priest on the Day of Atonement. The anchor image, unique in the New Testament, thus reaches into the very presence of God, anticipating the priestly argument of the next verse.
- Hebrews 6:20a Greek prodromos, 'forerunner', appears only here in the New Testament; the word describes one who goes ahead to prepare the way for others to follow. The phrase 'a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek' echoes Psalm 110:4 and introduces the sustained argument of chapter 7.
About this translation
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