Philemon

Greeting

1 Paul, a ^aprisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and ^bArchippus our ^cfellow soldier, and ^dthe church in your house:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

4 ^eI thank my God always when I ^fremember you in my prayers, 5 because ^gI hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full ^hknowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.¹ 7 For ⁱI have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

Paul’s Plea for Onesimus

8 Accordingly, though I am ^jbold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, 9 yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10 ^kI appeal to you for my child, ^lOnesimus,² whose ^mfather I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, ⁿin order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might ^onot be by compulsion but of your own accord. 15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 ^pno longer as a bondservant³ but more than a bondservant, as a beloved ^qbrother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

17 So if you consider me your ^rpartner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 ^sI, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

21 ^tConfident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do ^ueven more than I say. 22 At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for ^vI am hoping that ^wthrough your prayers I will be graciously given to you.

Final Greetings

23 ^xEpaphras, my ^yfellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, ^zDemas, and ^aLuke, my fellow workers.

25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Hebrews

The Supremacy of God’s Son

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, ^awhom he appointed the heir of all things, ^bthrough whom also he created the world. 3 ^cHe is the radiance of the glory of God and ^dthe exact imprint of his nature, and ^ehe upholds the universe by the word of his power. After ^fmaking purification for sins, ^ghe sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the ^hname he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

Or again,

6 And again, when he brings the ^kfirstborn into the world, he says,

7 Of the angels he says,

8 But of the Son he says,

10 And,

13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,

14 Are they not all ^uministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to ^vinherit salvation?

Warning Against Neglecting Salvation

2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since ^wthe message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 ^xhow shall we ^yescape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and ^zit was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while ^aGod also bore witness by ^bsigns and wonders and various miracles and ^cby gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

The Founder of Salvation

5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world ^dto come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,

Now in putting ^feverything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with ^gglory and honor ^hbecause of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for ⁱeveryone.

10 For it was fitting that he, ^jfor whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the ^kfounder of their salvation ^lperfect through suffering. 11 For he who ^msanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.² That is why he is not ⁿashamed to call them ^obrothers,³ 12 saying,

13 And again,

And again,

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, ^she himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of ^tdeath, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made ^ulike his brothers ^vin every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful ^whigh priest in the service of God, to make ^xpropitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For ^ybecause he himself has suffered when ^ztempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus Greater Than Moses

3 Therefore, holy brothers,¹ you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and ^ahigh priest of our ^bconfession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as ^cMoses also was faithful in all God’s² house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now ^dMoses was faithful in all God’s house as a ^eservant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a ^fson. And ^gwe are his house, ^hif indeed we ⁱhold fast our ^jconfidence and our ^kboasting in our ^lhope.³

A Rest for the People of God

7 Therefore, ^mas the Holy Spirit says,

12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But ^rexhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,

16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, ^twhose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he ^uswear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were ^vdisobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of ^wunbelief.

4 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.¹ 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: ^y“And God ^zrested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said,

6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

8 For if Joshua had given them ^crest, God² would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of ^ddisobedience. 12 For the word of God is ^eliving and ^factive, ^gsharper than any two-edged ^hsword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And ⁱno creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must ^jgive account.

Jesus the Great High Priest

14 Since then we have a great ^khigh priest who has passed ^lthrough the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us ^mhold fast our ⁿconfession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our ^oweaknesses, but one who ^pin every respect has been ^qtempted as we are, yet ^rwithout sin. 16 Let us then with ^sconfidence ^tdraw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.