Hebrews 13
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · AD 60 – AD 69 · The early church · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
25 verses · 518 words · ~3 min read · ~3 min listen
Brotherly Love
1Continue in brotherly love. 2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.
4Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
Christʼs Unchanging Nature
5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said:
6So we say with confidence:
7Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to them. 10We have an altar from which those who serve at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
11Although the high priest brings the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate, to sanctify the people by His own blood. 13Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore. 14For here we do not have a permanent city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
Sacrifice, Obedience, and Prayer
15Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name. 16And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
17Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.
18Pray for us; we are convinced that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19And I especially urge you to pray that I may be restored to you soon.
Benediction and Farewell
20Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
22I urge you, brothers, to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have only written to you briefly.
23Be aware that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.
24Greet all your leaders and all the saints.
Those from Italy send you greetings.
25Grace be with all of you.
Footnotes (5)
- a v5 Deuteronomy 31:6, 8; Joshua 1:5
- b v6 Psalms 118:6(see also LXX)
- c v21 BYZ and TR every good work
- d v21 BYZ and TR you
- e v25 BYZ and TR include Amen.
Study notes on this chapter · 4
Suffering outside the camp
On the Day of Atonement the bodies of the sin-offering animals were burned outside the camp. Hebrews says Jesus likewise suffered outside the city gate, and invites readers to go out to him bearing his reproach.
When: Leviticus (Sinai era); Hebrews, before AD 70 (most likely).
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
I will never leave you nor forsake you
Moses and then the LORD himself promise Joshua that God will not leave or abandon him. Hebrews applies the promise to every believer, and adds Psalm 118's confidence that the LORD is my helper, I will not fear.
When: Moses' final charge to Joshua (traditionally c. 1406 BC); Hebrews, before AD 70 (most likely).
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
The good shepherd who seeks the lost
Ezekiel condemns Israel's shepherds for feeding themselves, and promises that God himself will search for his sheep, and set over them one shepherd, his servant David. Jesus says 'I am the good shepherd' in John 10, contrasting himself with hirelings, and Hebrews and 1 Peter call him the great and chief Shepherd.
When: Ezekiel, c. 590–570 BC; Jesus' teaching, c. AD 29–30.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
A pure offering in every place
Malachi says that from the rising of the sun to its setting the LORD's name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense and a pure offering will be presented to him. Readers disagree on whether this describes the worship of Gentiles in Malachi's day, the Eucharist, or a future time.
When: Malachi, c. 450–430 BC.
Ways people read this (4)
- Early Christian writers (the Didache, Justin, Irenaeus) read the 'pure offering' as the Eucharist, a reading that remains important in Catholic and Orthodox tradition.
- A reference to the worship offered in every place by the faithful, including Gentiles, whether in Malachi's time or in the Messianic age.
- A reference to the spread of the gospel and to spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise (Protestant readings citing Romans 12:1 and Hebrews 13:15).
- A hyperbole contrasting God's greatness with the priests' contemptible offerings.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.