Hebrews 13

¹Let mutual love within the family of faith continue. ²Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing this, some have hosted angels without even knowing it. ³Remember those in prison as if you were bound right there with them, and those being mistreated as people who realize that you, too, are in a physical body.

⁴Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be kept pure, for God will judge those who are sexually immoral and those who commit adultery. ⁵Let your way of life be free from the love of money, being satisfied with what you have. For God himself has said, “No, I will never leave you; no, I will certainly never abandon you.” ⁶So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can any human do to me?”

⁷Remember those who lead you, who spoke the word of God to you. As you carefully observe the final outcome of their way of life, imitate their faithfulness. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and throughout the ages. ⁹Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. For it is good for the heart to be made firm by grace, not by ritual foods, which have never benefited those who make them a way of life. ¹⁰We have an altar from which those who serve the Tabernacle have no right to eat. ¹¹For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the Most Holy Place by the high priest as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp. ¹²Therefore, Jesus also suffered outside the city gate so that he might make the people holy through his own blood. ¹³So then, let us go out to him “outside the camp,” carrying the same social stigma and reproach that he bore. ¹⁴For here we do not have a permanent city, but we are looking for the one that is about to come. ¹⁵Through him, therefore, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God—that is, the fruit of lips that publicly acknowledge his name. ¹⁶And do not neglect doing good and the shared life of the community, for God is well-pleased with such sacrifices.

¹⁷Be persuaded by those who lead you and yield to them, for they keep a sleepless watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. ¹⁸Pray for us, for we are convinced that we have a clear conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in every way. ¹⁹I especially urge you to do this so that I may be restored to you all the sooner.

²⁰Now may the God of peace—who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the everlasting covenant— ²¹equip you with every good thing to do his will, producing in us what is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory throughout the ages. Amen.

²²I urge you, brothers and sisters, bear with this word of encouragement, for I have written to you briefly. ²³You should know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he comes soon, I will see you along with him. ²⁴Greet all those who lead you and all the holy ones. Those from Italy greet you. ²⁵Grace be with you all.