Hebrews 8–9

A Heavenly Priesthood

8Now the main point of what is being said is this: We have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ^k2a minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that was set up by the Lord and not man. ^l3For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts ^mand sacrifices; therefore it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. ⁴Now if He were on earth, He wouldn’t be a priest, since there are those ⁿoffering the gifts prescribed by the law. ⁵These serve as a copy and shadow ^oof the heavenly things, as Moses was warned when he was about to complete the tabernacle. For God said, Be careful that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain. ^pq6But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree He is the mediator ^rof a better covenant, ^swhich has been legally enacted on better promises. ^t

A Superior Covenant

⁷For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one. ⁸But finding fault with His people, ^uHe says: ^v

Look, the days are coming, says the Lord,

when I will make a new covenant

with the house of Israel

and with the house of Judah—

⁹not like the covenant

that I made with their ancestors

on the day I took them by their hands

to lead them out of the land of Egypt.

I disregarded them, says the Lord,

because they did not continue in My covenant.

¹⁰But this is the covenant

that I will make with the house of Israel

after those days, says the Lord:

I will put My laws into their minds

and write them on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be My people. ^w

¹¹And each person will not teach his fellow citizen, ^x

and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,”

because they will all know Me,

from the least to the greatest of them. ^y

¹²For I will be merciful to their wrongdoing,

and I will never again remember their sins. ^zab

¹³By saying, a new covenant, He has declared that the first is old. And what is old and aging is about to disappear. ^c

Old Covenant Ministry

9Now the first covenant also had regulations for ministry and an earthly sanctuary. ²For a tabernacle was set up, and in the first room, which is called the holy place, were the lampstand, the table, and the presentation loaves. ^d3Behind the second curtain, the tabernacle was called the most holy place. ^e4It contained the gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant, covered with gold on all sides, in which there was a gold jar containing the manna, Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. ^f5The cherubim of glory were above it overshadowing the mercy seat. It is not possible to speak about these things in detail right now. ^g

⁶With these things set up this way, the priests enter the first room repeatedly, performing their ministry. ^h7But the high priest alone enters the second room, and he does that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. ⁱ⁸The Holy Spirit was making it clear that the way into the most holy place had not yet been disclosed while the first tabernacle was still standing. ^j9This is a symbol for the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper’s conscience. ^k10They are physical regulations and only deal with food, drink, and various washings imposed until the time of restoration. ^l

New Covenant Ministry

¹¹But the Messiah has appeared, high priest of the good things that have come. ^mIn the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation ⁿ), ¹²He entered the most holy place once for all, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. ^o13For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, ^p14how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit ^qoffered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse our ^rconsciences from dead works to serve the living God? ^s

¹⁵Therefore, He is the mediator ^tof a new covenant, ^uvso that those who are called might receive the promise ^wof the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. ^x16Where a will exists, the death of the one who made it must be established. ¹⁷For a will is valid only when people die, since it is never in force while the one who made it is living. ¹⁸That is why even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood. ¹⁹For when every command had been proclaimed by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll itself and all the people, ^y20saying, This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded for you. ^za21In the same way, he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the articles of worship with blood. ^b22According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. ^c

²³Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves to be purified with better sacrifices than these. ^d24For the Messiah did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model ^eof the true one) but into heaven itself, so that He might now appear in the presence of God for us. ^f25He did not do this to offer Himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another. ^g26Otherwise, He would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, ^hfor the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself. ⁱ²⁷And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment ^j— ²⁸so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, ^kwill appear a second time, ^lnot to bear sin, but ^mto bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him. ⁿ