Hebrews 9–10

CHAPTER 9

The Old Covenant

¹Now even the first covenant had ^arequirements of divine worship and ^bthe earthly sanctuary.

²For there was ^aa tabernacle prepared: the first part, in which were ^bthe lampstand and ^cthe table and ^dthe ¹sacred bread, which is called the holy place.

³And behind ^athe second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the ^bHoly of Holies,

⁴having a golden ^1aaltar of incense and ^bthe ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was ^ca golden jar holding the manna, and ^dAaron’s rod which budded, and ^ethe tablets of the covenant.

⁵And above it were the ^acherubim of glory ^bovershadowing the ¹mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

⁶Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests ^aare continually entering the first part of the tabernacle performing the divine worship,

⁷but into ^athe second, only ^bthe high priest enters ^conce a year, ^dnot without taking blood, which he ^eoffers for himself and for the ^1fsins of the people committed in ignorance.

^8aThe Holy Spirit is indicating this, ^bthat the way into the holy places has not yet been manifested while that first part of the tabernacle is still standing,

⁹which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly ^aboth gifts and sacrifices are offered which ^bcannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,

¹⁰since they relate only to ^afood and ^bdrink and various ^cwashings, ^drequirements for the ¹body imposed until ^ea time of reformation.

The New Covenant

¹¹But when Christ appeared as a ^ahigh priest of the ^bgood things ¹to come, He entered through ^cthe greater and more perfect tabernacle, ^dnot made with hands, that is to say, ^enot of this creation,

¹²and not through ^athe blood of goats and calves, but ^bthrough His own blood, He ^centered the holy places ^donce for all, ¹having obtained ^eeternal redemption.

¹³For if ^athe blood of goats and bulls and ^bthe ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the ¹cleansing of the flesh,

¹⁴how much more will ^athe blood of Christ, who through ^1bthe eternal Spirit ^coffered Himself without blemish to God, ^dcleanse ²your conscience from ^edead works to serve ^fthe living God?

¹⁵And for this reason ^aHe is the ^bmediator of a ^cnew covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the trespasses that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been ^dcalled may ^ereceive the promise of ^fthe eternal inheritance.

¹⁶For where a ¹covenant is, there must of necessity ²be the death of the one who made it.

¹⁷For a ¹covenant is valid only when ²men are dead, ³for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.

¹⁸Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.

¹⁹For when every commandment had been ^aspoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, ^bhe took the ^cblood of the calves and the goats, with ^dwater and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both ^ethe book itself and all the people,

²⁰saying, “^aThis is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.”

²¹And in the same way, both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry he ^asprinkled with the blood.

²²And according to the ¹Law, one may ^aalmost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and ^bwithout shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

²³Therefore it was necessary for the ^acopies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but ^bthe heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

²⁴For Christ ^adid not enter holy places made with hands, mere copies of ^bthe true ones, but into ^cheaven itself, now ^dto appear in the presence of God for us;

²⁵nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as ^athe high priest enters ^bthe holy places ^cyear by year with blood that is not his own.

²⁶Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since ^athe foundation of the world; but now ^bonce at ^cthe consummation of the ages He has been ^dmanifested to put away sin ^1eby the sacrifice of Himself.

²⁷And inasmuch as ^ait is ¹appointed for men to die once and after this ^bcomes judgment,

²⁸so Christ also, having been ^aoffered once to ^bbear the sins of many, will appear ^ca second time for ^dsalvation ^ewithout reference to sin, to those who ^feagerly await Him.

CHAPTER 10

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

¹For the Law, since it has only ^aa shadow of ^bthe good things to come and not the very ¹form of things, ²can ^cnever, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, ^dmake perfect those who draw near.

²Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have ^aconsciousness of sins?

³But ^ain ¹those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.

⁴For it is ^aimpossible for the ^bblood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵Therefore, ^awhen He comes into the world, He says,

“^bSacrifice and offering You have not desired,

But ^ca body You have prepared for Me;

^6aIn burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure.

⁷“^aThen I Said, ‘Behold, I have come,

In ^bthe scroll of the book it is written of Me,

To do Your will, O God.’”

⁸After saying above, “^aSacrifices and offerings and ^bburnt offerings and sacrifices ^cfor sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law),

⁹then He ¹said, “^aBehold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

¹⁰By ¹this will we have been ^asanctified through ^bthe offering of ^cthe body of Jesus Christ ^donce for all.

¹¹And every priest stands daily ministering and ^aoffering time after time the same sacrifices, which ^bcan never take away sins;

¹²but He, having offered one sacrifice ^afor ¹sins ^bfor all time, ^csat down at the right hand of God,

¹³waiting from that time ^auntil His enemies are put as a footstool for His feet.

¹⁴For by one offering He has ^aperfected ^bfor all time those who are being sanctified.

¹⁵And ^athe Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,

¹⁶“^aThis is the covenant that I will make with them

After those days, says the ¹Lord:

I will put My laws upon their heart,

And on their mind I will write them,”

He then says,

¹⁷“^aAnd their sins and their lawless deeds

I will remember no more.”

¹⁸Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.

A New and Living Way

¹⁹Therefore, brothers, since we ^ahave confidence to ^benter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,

²⁰by ^aa new and living way which He inaugurated for us through ^bthe veil, that is, His flesh,

²¹and since we have ^aa great priest ^bover the house of God,

²²let us ^adraw near with a ¹sincere heart in ^bfull assurance of faith, having our hearts ^csprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies ^dwashed with pure water.

²³Let us hold fast the ^aconfession of our ^bhope without wavering, for ^cHe who promised is faithful.

²⁴And let us consider how ^ato stimulate one another to love and ^bgood deeds,

²⁵not forsaking our own ^aassembling together, as is the habit of some, but ^bencouraging one another, and all the more as you see ^cthe day drawing near.

Warning Against Willful Sin

²⁶For if we go on ^asinning willfully after receiving ^bthe knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

²⁷but a terrifying expectation of ^ajudgment and ^bthe fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.

^28aAnyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy by the mouth of two or three witnesses.

^29aHow much worse punishment do you think he will deserve ^bwho has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as defiled ^cthe blood of the covenant ^dby which he was sanctified, and has ^einsulted the Spirit of grace?

³⁰For we know Him who said, “^aVengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “^bThe ¹Lord will judge His people.”

³¹It is a ^aterrifying thing to fall into the hands of the ^bliving God.

³²But remember ^athe former days, ¹when, after being ^benlightened, you endured a great ^cconflict of sufferings,

³³partly by being ^amade a public spectacle through reproaches and afflictions, and partly by becoming ^bsharers with those who were so treated.

³⁴For you also ^ashowed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted with ^bjoy the seizure of your possessions, knowing that you have for yourselves ^ca better and lasting possession.

³⁵Therefore, do not throw away that ^aconfidence of yours, which has a great ^breward.

³⁶For you have need of ^aendurance, so that when you have ^bdone the will of God, you may ^creceive the promise.

^37aFor yet in a very little while,

^bHe who is coming will come, and will not delay.

^38aBut My righteous one shall live by faith,

And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.

³⁹But ¹we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the ²preserving of the soul.