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¹ Therefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on to perfection; not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,² of teaching of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.³ And this we will do, if God permits.⁴ For as concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,⁵ and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come,⁶ and [then] fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.⁷ For the land which has drank the rain that comes often on it, and brings forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receives blessing from God:⁸ but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is rejected and near to a curse; whose end is to be burned.

⁹ But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak:¹⁰ for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the love which you showed toward his name, in having served the saints and still serving.¹¹ And we desire that each one of you may show the same diligence to the fullness of hope even to the end:¹² that you are not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.¹³ For when God made promise to Abraham, since he could swear by none greater, he swore by himself,¹⁴ saying, Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.¹⁵ And thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise.¹⁶ For men swear by the greater: and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation.¹⁷ Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath;¹⁸ that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us:¹⁹ which we have as an anchor of the soul, [a hope] both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is inside the veil;²⁰ where as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.