Hebrews 13

1Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.

2Do not forget to welcome strangers, for by doing this some people have welcomed angels without knowing it.

3Remember those in prison, as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are mistreated, since you also have bodies that can suffer.

4Marriage should be honored by everyone, and husbands and wives should be faithful to each other. God will judge those who are sexually immoral and those who are unfaithful in marriage.

5Keep your lives free from the love of money. Be happy with what you have. God has said: I will never leave you. I will never give up on you.

6So we can say with confidence: The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?

7Remember your leaders, who spoke God's word to you. Think about how their lives turned out, and copy their faith.

8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

9Do not be pulled away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for the heart to be made strong by grace, not by rules about food, which have never helped those who follow them.

10We have an altar, and the priests who serve at the tent have no right to eat from it.

11The high priest brings the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as an offering for sin. But the bodies of those animals are burned outside the camp.

12In the same way, Jesus also suffered outside the city gate, to make the people holy through His own blood.

13So let us go out to Him outside the camp and carry the shame He carried.

14For here we have no city that lasts, but we are looking for the city that is coming.

15So through Jesus let us always offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the words of our lips that thank His name.

16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for these are the kinds of sacrifices that please God.

17Obey your leaders and follow their lead, because they watch over you as people who must give an account to God. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a heavy burden, for that would be no help to you.

18Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and want to live honestly in every way.

19And I beg you especially to pray that I will be brought back to you soon.

20Now may the God of peace, who brought back from death our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal agreement,

21give you everything good you need to do His will. And may God do in us what pleases Him, through Jesus Christ. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

22Brothers and sisters, I beg you to put up with this message of encouragement, for I have written to you only a short letter.

23I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he comes soon, I will bring him with me when I see you.

24Greet all your leaders and all God's people. The believers from Italy send you their greetings.

25May grace be with you all. Amen.