Hebrews 5:7-14

7When Jesus Christ lived on earth as a man, he often prayed to God. He asked God to help him. He prayed strongly and he cried loudly with many tears. He knew that God could save him from death. And God listened to Jesus when he prayed, because Jesus served God.

8Jesus is God's Son. But he still had trouble and pain. In that way, he learned to obey God completely.

9As a result, Jesus became the person who can save everyone who obeys him. Because of Jesus, God forgives their sins for ever.

10God has chosen Jesus to be his special priest in the same way that Melchizedek was.

11We have a lot more to say to you about these things. But you are slow to understand things. As a result, it is difficult to explain any more to you now.

12After all this time as believers in Jesus, you ought to be teachers. Instead of that, you still need someone to teach you the first lessons about God's message. You have become like babies, who need milk instead of proper food.

13Anyone who still thinks like a baby does not yet understand God's message about what is right. It is as if they are still drinking only milk.

14People who have grown up eat proper food. In the same way, people who have been believers for a long time should understand more about God's message. They should have learned about what is good and about what is bad. They should know the difference between those.