Hebrews 9

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.