Hebrews 9:17–28

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

²³It was necessary, then, for the copies^w of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one;^x he entered heaven itself,^y now to appear for us in God’s presence.^{z 25}Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place^a every year with blood that is not his own.^{b 26}Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world.^c But he has appeared^d once for all^e at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.^{f 27}Just as people are destined to die once,^g and after that to face judgment,^{h 28}so Christ was sacrificed onceⁱ to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time,^j not to bear sin,^k but to bring salvation^l to those who are waiting for him.^m