Hebrews 8–9

Jesus, High Priest of a Better Covenant

8Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, ^uone who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ²a minister in the holy places, in ^vthe true tent¹ that the Lord ^wset up, not man. ³For ^xevery high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus ^yit is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. ⁴Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. ⁵They serve ^za copy and ^ashadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, ^b“See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” ⁶But as it is, Christ² has obtained a ministry that is ^cas much more excellent than the old as ^dthe covenant ^ehe mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. ^7fFor if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

⁸For he finds fault with them when he says:³

^g“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,

when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel

and with the house of Judah,

⁹not like the covenant that I made with their fathers

on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

For they did not continue in my covenant,

and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.

^10hFor this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel

after those days, declares the Lord:

I will put my laws into their minds,

and ⁱwrite them on their hearts,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

¹¹And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor

and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

for they shall ^jall know me,

from the least of them to the greatest.

¹²For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,

^kand I will remember their sins no more.”

¹³In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And ^lwhat is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

The Earthly Holy Place

9Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and ^man earthly place of holiness. ²For ⁿa tent¹ was prepared, the first section, in which were ^othe lampstand and ^pthe table and ^qthe bread of the Presence.² It is called the Holy Place. ³Behind ^rthe second curtain was a second section³ called the Most Holy Place, ⁴having the golden ^saltar of incense and ^tthe ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was ^ua golden urn holding the manna, and ^vAaron’s staff that budded, and ^wthe tablets of the covenant. ⁵Above it were ^xthe cherubim of glory overshadowing ^ythe mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

⁶These preparations having thus been made, ^zthe priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, ⁷but into the second only ^athe high priest goes, and he but ^aonce a year, and not without taking blood, ^bwhich he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. ⁸By this the Holy Spirit indicates that ^cthe way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing ⁹(which is symbolic for the present age).⁴ According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered ^dthat cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, ¹⁰but deal only with ^efood and drink and ^fvarious washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

Redemption Through the Blood of Christ

¹¹But when Christ appeared as a high priest ^gof the good things that have come,⁵ then through ^hthe greater and more perfect tent (ⁱnot made with hands, that is, not of this creation) ¹²he ^jentered ^konce for all into the holy places, not by means of ^lthe blood of goats and calves but ^mby means of his own blood, ⁿthus securing an eternal redemption. ¹³For if ^othe blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with ^pthe ashes of a heifer, sanctify⁶ for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴how much more will ^qthe blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit ^roffered himself without blemish to God, ^spurify our⁷ conscience ^tfrom dead works ^uto serve the living God.

¹⁵Therefore he is ^vthe mediator of a new covenant, so that ^wthose who are called may ^xreceive the promised eternal inheritance, ^ysince a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.^{8 16}For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. ¹⁷For ^za will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. ¹⁸Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated ^awithout blood. ¹⁹For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took ^bthe blood of calves and goats, ^cwith water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ²⁰saying, ^d“This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” ²¹And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both ^ethe tent and all the vessels used in worship. ²²Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and ^fwithout the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

²³Thus it was necessary for ^gthe copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴For Christ has entered, not into holy places ^hmade with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God ⁱon our behalf. ²⁵Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as ^jthe high priest enters ^kthe holy places every year with blood not his own, ²⁶for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, ^lhe has appeared ^monce for all ⁿat the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷And just as ^oit is appointed for man to die once, and ^pafter that comes judgment, ²⁸so Christ, having been offered once ^qto bear the sins of ^rmany, will appear ^sa second time, ^tnot to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly ^uwaiting for him.