A thoughtful guide for your walk of faith Read with context, practice with grace.
General Letters · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Hebrews 6

Jesus' superior priesthood and covenant ground endurance, worship, and confident approach to God.

New Testament

Hebrews 6

1Therefore leaving the teaching of the first principles of Christ, let’s press on to perfection—not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith toward God,

2of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

3This will we do, if God permits.

4For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,

5and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

6and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame.

7For the land which has drunk the rain that comes often on it and produces a crop suitable for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receives blessing from God;

8but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is rejected and near being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

9But, beloved, we are persuaded of better things for you, and things that accompany salvation, even though we speak like this.

10For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in that you served the saints, and still do serve them.

11We desire that each one of you may show the same diligence to the fullness of hope even to the end,

12that you won’t be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherited the promises.

13For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself,

14saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”

15Thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

16For men indeed swear by a greater one, and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation.

17In this way God, being determined to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath,

18that 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 take hold of the hope set before us.

19This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil,

20where as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Jesus' superior priesthood and covenant ground endurance, worship, and confident approach to God. Read Hebrews 6 within the complete Hebrews overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Hebrews 6

Hebrews 6 contains 20 verses and about 417 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “Therefore leaving the teaching of the first principles of Christ, let’s press on to perfection—not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith…” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 20 closes: “where as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include hope, will, things, promise, teaching, laying. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Hebrews 6

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Hebrews 6:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer