Hebrews 9:11–22

The Blood of Christ

¹¹But when Christ came as high priest^u of the good things that are now already here,^av he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle^w that is not made with human hands,^x that is to say, is not a part of this creation. ¹²He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves;^y but he entered the Most Holy Place^z once for all^a by his own blood,^b thus obtaining^b eternal redemption. ¹³The blood of goats and bulls^c and the ashes of a heifer^d sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit^e offered himself^f unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences^g from acts that lead to death,^ch so that we may serve the living God!ⁱ

¹⁵For this reason Christ is the mediator^j of a new covenant,^k that those who are called^l may receive the promised^m eternal inheritanceⁿ—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.^o

¹⁶In the case of a will,^d it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. ¹⁸This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.^{p 19}When Moses had proclaimed^q every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves,^r together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people.^{s 20}He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”^{et 21}In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. ²²In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood,^u and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.^v