Hebrews 4

¹ Let us beware, then: since the promise never lapses, none of you must think that he has come too latefor the promise of entering his place of rest.

² We received the gospel exactly as they did; but hearing the message did them no good because theydid not share the faith of those who did listen.

³ We, however, who have faith, are entering a place of rest, as in the text: And then in my anger I sworethat they would never enter my place of rest. Now God's work was al finished at the beginning of the world;

⁴ as one text says, referring to the seventh day: And God rested on the seventh day after all the work hehad been doing.

⁵ And, again, the passage above says: They will never reach my place of rest.

⁶ It remains the case, then, that there would be some people who would reach it, and since those whofirst heard the good news were prevented from entering by their refusal to believe,

⁷ God fixed another day, a Today, when he said through David in the text already quoted: If only youwould listen to him today; do not harden your hearts.

⁸ If Joshua had led them into this place of rest, God would not later have spoken of another day.

⁹ There must stil be, therefore, a seventh-day rest reserved for God's people,

¹⁰ since to enter the place of rest is to rest after your work, as God did after his.

¹¹ Let us, then, press forward to enter this place of rest, or some of you might copy this example ofrefusal to believe and be lost.

¹² The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts more incisively than any two-edged sword: itcan seek out the place where soul is divided from spirit, or joints from marrow; it can pass judgement on secretemotions and thoughts.

¹³ No created thing is hidden from him; everything is uncovered and stretched fully open to the eyes ofthe one to whom we must give account of ourselves.

¹⁴ Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highestheaven, we must hold firm to our profession of faith.

¹⁵ For the high priest we have is not incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us, but has been put tothe test in exactly the same way as ourselves, apart from sin.

¹⁶ Let us, then, have no fear in approaching the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace whenwe are in need of help.