1 ¶ Therefore seeing that we are a part of such a great company of martyrs, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 Looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy set before him endured the cross, indifferent to its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 Think of the way he endured personal hostility on the part of sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

4 ¶ In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of martyrdom.

5 And you have forgotten the words of encouragement that are addressed to you as children, My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly, or faint when he rebukes you:

6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and scourges every son that he receives.

7 If you endure chastisement, God is dealing with you as sons; for what son is not disciplined by his father?

8 But if you are never chastised, even though all sons receive it, then you are illegitimate children, and not true sons.

9 Furthermore we had earthly fathers who corrected us, and we showed them respect: shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?

10 For they disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but he does so for our profit, so that we might share in his holiness.

11 Now no discipline seems pleasant at the moment, but painful: yet later on it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore strengthen your tired hands, and weak knees;

13 And straighten out the paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be turned aside; but instead be healed.

14 Pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

15 Watching carefully lest anyone miss the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness spring up to cause trouble, thereby defiling many;

16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, such as Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright.

17 For you know that later, when he wanted to get the blessing, he was rejected: for he had no chance to change his mind, even though he pleaded for it with tears.

18 ¶ For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched, and that is burning with fire, or to thick clouds, darkness, and storm,

19 And the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words; whose sound was such that those who heard begged that no more would be said to them:

20 For they could not bear the command, If even an animal touches the mountain, it will be stoned, or thrust through with a spear:

21 And the sight was so terrifying, that Moses said, I am trembling in fear:

22 But you have come to mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkling of blood, that speaks better things than that of Abel.

25 See that you do not refuse him who speaks. For if those who refused him when he spoke on earth did not escape, much less shall we escape, if we turn away when he speaks from heaven:

26 At that time his voice shook the earth: but now he has promised, saying, Once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.

27 And the words, Once more, signify the removal of the things that are shaken, as things that have been made, so that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

29 For our God is a consuming fire.