Hebrews
Chapter 13
Overview
This final chapter brings lofty ideas down to street level. The writer addresses a community of Jesus’ followers and shows how trust in God shapes hospitality, marriage, money, leadership, suffering, worship, and generosity. Ancient Jewish sacrifices and the sacred tent provide important images, but the focus moves beyond ritual to lives marked by praise and practical care. The chapter then becomes personal: the writer asks for prayer, offers a blessing, mentions Timothy, and sends greetings. Faith here is not an escape from ordinary life; it gives ordinary life a new direction.
1Keep loving one another as brothers and sisters.
2Do not forget to welcome strangers. By doing this, some people have welcomed angels without knowing it.
3Remember those in prison as though you were imprisoned with them. Remember those who are mistreated, since you too live in a vulnerable human body.
4Everyone must honor marriage and keep the marriage bed pure, because God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers.
5Keep your way of life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have. God himself has said, “I will never leave you. I will never abandon you.”
6So we can say confidently, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can another person do to me?”
7Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you. Consider how their lives turned out, and imitate their faith.
8Jesus the Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
9Do not let all kinds of strange teachings carry you away. It is good for the heart to be strengthened by God’s gracious favor, not by rules about food. Such rules have not helped those who live by them.
10We have an altar from which those who serve at the sacred tent have no right to eat.
11The high priest carries the blood of animals into the sanctuary as an offering for sin, but their bodies are burned outside the camp.
12In the same way, Jesus suffered outside the city gate so that, through his own blood, he could cleanse the people and set them apart for God.
13So let us go to Jesus outside the camp and bear the disgrace he bore.
14We have no lasting city here. Instead, we are looking for the city that is still to come.
15Therefore, through Jesus, let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise—that is, words from our lips that openly acknowledge him.
16Do not forget to do good and share what you have. These are sacrifices that please God.
17Listen to your leaders and follow their guidance. They keep watch over your lives and know that they must give God an account. Let them do this with joy rather than with groaning, because their grief would do you no good.
18Pray for us. We are convinced that we have a clear conscience, because we want to live honorably in every way.
19I especially urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.
20God gives peace, and he brought our Lord Jesus back from the dead. Jesus is the great shepherd of the sheep, and his blood established a covenant that lasts forever.
21May God equip you with everything good so that you can do what he wants. Through Jesus the Messiah, may God produce in us what pleases him. Glory belongs to Jesus forever. Amen.
22My brothers and sisters, I urge you to listen patiently to this message of encouragement. After all, I have written to you only briefly.
23You should know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon enough, I will bring him with me when I come to see you.
24Greet all your leaders and all God’s people. Those who are from Italy send you their greetings.
25May God’s gracious favor be with all of you.