Hebrews 13
1 Continue to love your fellow believers.
May fraternal charity remain in you.
2 Do not forget to be hospitable to needy travelers [LIT]. You need to know that by being hospitable, some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
And do not be willing to forget hospitality. For by it, certain persons, without realizing it, have received Angels as guests.
3 Remember [to help] those who are in prison [because they are Christians], as though you were in prison with them. Remember those who are being mistreated {whom people are mistreating} [because they are believers. As you do that], consider that you you could suffer as they do.
Remember those who are prisoners, just as if you were imprisoned with them, and those who endure hardships, just as if you were in their place.
4 You must (respect/keep sacred) the marriage relationship in every way, and you must keep sexual relations [EUP] pure, because God will surely condemn those who act immorally and those who act adulterously.
May marriage be honorable in every way, and may the marriage bed be immaculate. For God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
5 Live without constantly coveting money, and be content with the things you possess, remembering what [Moses] wrote [that God] has said [about supplying what you need], I will never leave you, I will never stop providing for you [DOU].
Let your behavior be without avarice; be content with what you are offered. For he himself has said, “I will not abandon you, and I will not neglect you.”
6 So we can say confidently [as the Psalmist said], Since the Lord is the one who helps me, I will not be afraid! People can do nothing to me [that will deprive me of God’s blessings] [RHQ].
So then, we may confidently say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man can do to me.”
7 Your spiritual leaders used to tell you the message from God [before they died]. Remember how they conducted their lives. By considering (how they died/what resulted from how they lived), imitate how they believed [in Christ/God].
Remember your leaders, who have spoken the Word of God to you, whose faith you imitate, by observing the goal of their way of life:
Jesus Christ, yesterday and today; Jesus Christ forever. (aiōn g165)
9 [So], do not let yourselves be diverted {let anything divert you} so that you believe various teachings [that are contrary to God’s truth]. It is good that God acts kindly toward us so that we may be strengthened spiritually. [Obeying rules about] various foods, rules that have not benefited those who obeyed them, will not benefit us.
Do not be led away by changing or strange doctrines. And it is best for the heart to be sustained by grace, not by foods. For the latter have not been as useful to those who walked by them.
10 We have [Jesus] [MTY]. All those who continue to observe the Jewish rituals [MTY] of sacrifice have no right to obtain the benefits of his sacrifice [MET].
We have an altar: those who serve in the tabernacle have no authority to eat from it.
11 After the high priest brings into the most holy place the blood of animals [that they have sacrificed to atone] for sins, the bodies of those animals are burned {they burn the bodies of those animals} outside the camp.
For the bodies of those animals whose blood is carried into the Holy of holies by the high priest, on behalf of sin, are burned outside the camp.
12 Similarly, Jesus suffered [and died] outside the gate [of Jerusalem] in order that he might make [us], his people, holy by [offering] his own blood [as a sacrifice to atone for our sins].
Because of this, Jesus, too, in order to sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered outside the gate.
13 So, we must abandon [performing Jewish] sacrifices and rituals [MET] [in order to be saved], and let us go to Jesus [to be saved]. As we do that, we must [be willing to] let others reproach us just like people reproached Jesus.
And so, let us go forth to him, outside the camp, bearing his reproach.
14 Here on earth, we believers do not have a city [such as Jerusalem where we must] continually [offer sacrifices] [MET]. Instead, we are waiting for a future [heavenly] city [that will last forever].
For in this place, we have no everlasting city; instead, we seek one in the future.
15 With [the help of] Jesus, we must continually praise God. That will be something we can sacrifice [to him] [MET] [instead of our sacrificing animals only at specific times]. Specifically, we must say openly [MTY] [that we have trusted] in Christ [MTY].
Therefore, through him, let us offer the sacrifice of continual praise to God, which is the fruit of lips confessing his name.
16 Be continually [LIT] doing good deeds [for others], and be continually sharing [with others the things you have], because doing things like that will [also] be [as though you are offering] sacrifices that will please God.
But do not be willing to forget good works and fellowship. For God is deserving of such sacrifices.
17 Obey your [spiritual] leaders; do what they tell you, since they are the ones who are looking out for your spiritual welfare [SYN]. [Some day] they will have to stand before God so that he can say if he approves of what they have done. Obey them in order that they can do the work of guarding you joyfully, and not have to do it sadly, because if you cause them to do it sadly, that will certainly not help you at all (OR, they will not be able to help you at all).
Obey your leaders and be subject to them. For they watch over you, as if to render an account of your souls. So then, may they do this with joy, and not with grief. Otherwise, it would not be as helpful to you.
18 Pray for me. I am certain that I have not done anything that displeases God. I have tried to act honorably [toward you] in every way.
Pray for us. For we trust that we have a good conscience, being willing to conduct ourselves well in all things.
19 I urge you earnestly to pray that [God] will quickly remove the things that hinder my coming to you.
And I beg you, all the more, to do this, so that I may be quickly returned to you.
20 Jesus [provides for us], [protects us, and guides us as] a great shepherd does for his sheep [MET]. And God, who gives us [inner] peace, brought our Lord Jesus back to life. By doing that, God ratified his eternal covenant with us by the blood [that flowed from Jesus when he died on the] cross. (aiōnios g166)
Then may the God of peace, who led back from the dead that great Pastor of sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, with the blood of the eternal testament, (aiōnios g166)
21 So I pray that God will equip you with everything good [that you need in order] that you may do the things that he desires. May he accomplish in our lives whatever he considers pleasing as a result of Jesus Christ [equipping us]. May Jesus Christ be praised forever. (Amen!/May it be so!) (aiōn g165)
equip you with all goodness, so that you may do his will. May he accomplish in you whatever is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom is glory forever and ever. Amen. (aiōn g165)
22 My fellow believers, I appeal to you that you patiently consider [what] I have written in this short letter, to exhort you.
And I beg you, brothers, that you may permit this word of consolation, especially since I have written to you with few words.
23 I want you to know that our fellow believer Timothy has been released {[the authorities] have released our fellow believer Timothy} [from prison]. If he comes here soon, he will accompany me when I go to see you.
Know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he arrives soon, then I will see you with him.
24 Tell all your [spiritual] leaders and all the [other] fellow believers [in your city] that (I am thinking fondly about them/I am sending them my greetings). The believers [in this area who have come] from Italy [want you to know they] are (thinking about you/sending you their greetings).
Greet all your leaders and all the saints. The brothers from Italy greet you.
25 [I pray that] you will continue to experience God’s acting kindly toward you all.
Grace be with you all. Amen.
