Discovery BoxHebrews 6:16-20 
Context6:16 For people 1 swear by something greater than themselves, 2 and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute. 3 6:17 In the same way 4 God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, 5 and so he intervened with an oath, 6:18 so that we who have found refuge in him 6 may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie. 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain, 7 6:20 where Jesus our forerunner entered on our behalf, since he became a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. 8
1 tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, and is thus translated “people.”
2 tn Grk “by something greater”; the rest of the comparison (“than themselves”) is implied.
3 tn Grk “the oath for confirmation is an end of all dispute.”
4 tn Grk “in which.”
5 tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”
6 tn Grk “have taken refuge”; the basis of that refuge is implied in the preceding verse.
7 sn The curtain refers to the veil or drape in the temple that separated the holy place from the holy of holies.
8 sn A quotation from Ps 110:4, picked up again from Heb 5:6, 10.
