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Hebrews 8-10
Christian Standard Bible
Hebrews 8-10
Christian Standard Bible
A Heavenly Priesthood
8 Now 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,(A) 2 a minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that was set up by the Lord and not man.(B) 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts(C) and sacrifices; therefore, it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he wouldn’t be a priest, since there are those[a] offering the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 These serve as a copy and shadow(D) of 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.[b](E) 6 But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator(F) of a better covenant,(G) which has been established on better promises.(H)
A Superior Covenant
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one. 8 But finding fault with his people,[c] he says:[d]
See, 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—
9 not like the covenant
that I made with their ancestors
on the day I took them by the hand
to lead them out of the land of Egypt.
I showed no concern for them, says the Lord,
because they did not continue in my covenant.
10 For 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.(I)
11 And each person will not teach his fellow citizen,[e]
and each his brother or sister, saying, “Know the Lord,”
because they will all know me,
from the least to the greatest of them.(J)
12 For I will forgive their wrongdoing,
and I will never again remember their sins.[f][g] (K)
13 By saying a new covenant, he has declared that the first is obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old is about to pass away.(L)
Old Covenant Ministry
9 Now the first covenant also had regulations for ministry and an earthly sanctuary. 2 For 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.(M) 3 Behind the second curtain was a tent called the most holy place.(N) 4 It had the gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant, covered with gold on all sides, in which was a gold jar containing the manna, Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.(O) 5 The cherubim of glory were above the ark overshadowing the mercy seat. It is not possible to speak about these things in detail right now.(P)
6 With these things prepared like this, the priests enter the first room repeatedly, performing their ministry.(Q) 7 But 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 the people had committed in ignorance.(R) 8 The 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.(S) 9 This is a symbol for the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper’s conscience.(T) 10 They are physical regulations and only deal with food, drink, and various washings imposed until the time of the new order.(U)
New Covenant Ministry
11 But Christ has appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come.[h] In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation(V)), 12 he entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.(W) 13 For 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,(X) 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit(Y) offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our[i] consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God?(Z)
15 Therefore, he is the mediator(AA) of a new covenant,[j](AB) so that those who are called might receive the promise(AC) of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.(AD) 16 Where a will exists, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will is valid only when people die, since it is never in effect while the one who made it is living. 18 That is why even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood. 19 For when every command had been proclaimed by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats,[k] along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll itself and all the people,(AE) 20 saying, This is the blood of the covenant that God has ordained for you.[l](AF) 21 In the same way, he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the articles of worship with blood.(AG) 22 According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.(AH)
23 Therefore, 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.(AI) 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model[m] of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that he might now appear in the presence of God for us.(AJ) 25 He did not do this to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another.(AK) 26 Otherwise, 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,(AL) for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself.(AM) 27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment(AN)— 28 so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many,(AO) will appear a second time,(AP) not to bear sin, but[n] to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.(AQ)
The Perfect Sacrifice
10 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things(AR) to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. 2 Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Therefore, as he was coming into the world, he said:
You did not desire sacrifice and offering,
but you prepared a body for me.
6 You did not delight
in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings.
7 Then I said, “See—
it is written about me
in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, God.”[o](AS)
8 After he says above, You did not desire or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law(AT)), 9 he then says, See, I have come to do your will.[p] He takes away the first to establish the second. 10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.(AU)
11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins.(AV) 12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.[q](AW) 13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool.(AX) 14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified. 15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. For after he says:
16 This is the covenant I will make with them
after those days,
the Lord says,
I will put my laws on their hearts
and write them on their minds,
17 and I will never again remember
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
Exhortations to Godliness
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus(AZ)— 20 he has inaugurated[s] for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh(BA))— 21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God,(BB) 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.(BC) 23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.(BD) 24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other,(BE) and all the more as you see the day approaching.
Warning against Deliberate Sin
26 For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,(BF) 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries.(BG) 28 Anyone who disregarded the law of Moses died without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.(BH) 29 How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane[t] the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?(BI) 30 For we know the one who has said,
and again,
31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.(BK)
32 Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings.(BL) 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to taunts and afflictions, and at other times you were companions of those who were treated that way.(BM) 34 For you sympathized with the prisoners[x] and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, because you know that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession.[y](BN) 35 So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.(BO) 36 For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.(BP)
37 For yet in a very little while,
the Coming One will come and not delay.
38 But my righteous one[z] will live by faith;
and if he draws back,
I have no pleasure[aa] in him.[ab](BQ)
39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.
Footnotes
- 8:4 Other mss read priests
- 8:5 Ex 25:40
- 8:8 Lit with them
- 8:8 Other mss read finding fault, he says to them
- 8:11 Other mss read neighbor
- 8:12 Other mss add and their lawless deeds
- 8:8–12 Jr 31:31–34
- 9:11 Other mss read that are to come
- 9:14 Other mss read your
- 9:15 The Gk word used here can be translated covenant, will, or testament, also in vv. 16,17,18.
- 9:19 Some mss omit and goats
- 9:20 Ex 24:8
- 9:24 Or antitype, or figure
- 9:28 Lit time, apart from sin,
- 10:5–7 Ps 40:6–8
- 10:9 Other mss add God
- 10:12 Or offering one sacrifice for sins, sat down forever at the right hand of God
- 10:16–17 Jr 31:33–34
- 10:20 Or opened
- 10:29 Or ordinary
- 10:30 Other mss add says the Lord
- 10:30 Dt 32:35
- 10:30 Dt 32:36
- 10:34 Other mss read sympathized with my imprisonment
- 10:34 Other mss add in heaven
- 10:38 Other mss read the righteous one
- 10:38 Lit my soul has no pleasure
- 10:37–38 Is 26:20 LXX; Hab 2:3–4
Hebrews 8-10
New International Version
Hebrews 8-10
New International Version
The High Priest of a New Covenant
8 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest,(A) who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,(B) 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle(C) set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.
3 Every high priest(D) is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices,(E) and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.(F) 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law.(G) 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy(H) and shadow(I) of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned(J) when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”[a](K) 6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant(L) of which he is mediator(M) is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.(N) 8 But God found fault with the people and said[b]:
“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant(O)
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors(P)
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
10 This is the covenant(Q) I will establish with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.(R)
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.(S)
11 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,(T)
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.(U)”[c](V)
13 By calling this covenant “new,”(W) he has made the first one obsolete;(X) and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle
9 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.(Y) 2 A tabernacle(Z) was set up. In its first room were the lampstand(AA) and the table(AB) with its consecrated bread;(AC) this was called the Holy Place.(AD) 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,(AE) 4 which had the golden altar of incense(AF) and the gold-covered ark of the covenant.(AG) This ark contained the gold jar of manna,(AH) Aaron’s staff that had budded,(AI) and the stone tablets of the covenant.(AJ) 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory,(AK) overshadowing the atonement cover.(AL) But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly(AM) into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered(AN) the inner room,(AO) and that only once a year,(AP) and never without blood,(AQ) which he offered for himself(AR) and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.(AS) 8 The Holy Spirit was showing(AT) by this that the way(AU) into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. 9 This is an illustration(AV) for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered(AW) were not able to clear the conscience(AX) of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of food(AY) and drink(AZ) and various ceremonial washings(BA)—external regulations(BB) applying until the time of the new order.
The Blood of Christ
11 But when Christ came as high priest(BC) of the good things that are now already here,[d](BD) he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle(BE) that is not made with human hands,(BF) that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves;(BG) but he entered the Most Holy Place(BH) once for all(BI) by his own blood,(BJ) thus obtaining[e] eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls(BK) and the ashes of a heifer(BL) sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit(BM) offered himself(BN) unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences(BO) from acts that lead to death,[f](BP) so that we may serve the living God!(BQ)
15 For this reason Christ is the mediator(BR) of a new covenant,(BS) that those who are called(BT) may receive the promised(BU) eternal inheritance(BV)—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.(BW)
16 In the case of a will,[g] it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.(BX) 19 When Moses had proclaimed(BY) every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves,(BZ) together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people.(CA) 20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”[h](CB) 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood,(CC) and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.(CD)
23 It was necessary, then, for the copies(CE) of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one;(CF) he entered heaven itself,(CG) now to appear for us in God’s presence.(CH) 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place(CI) every year with blood that is not his own.(CJ) 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world.(CK) But he has appeared(CL) once for all(CM) at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.(CN) 27 Just as people are destined to die once,(CO) and after that to face judgment,(CP) 28 so Christ was sacrificed once(CQ) to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time,(CR) not to bear sin,(CS) but to bring salvation(CT) to those who are waiting for him.(CU)
Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All
10 The law is only a shadow(CV) of the good things(CW) that are coming—not the realities themselves.(CX) For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect(CY) those who draw near to worship.(CZ) 2 Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.(DA) 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.(DB) 4 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats(DC) to take away sins.(DD)
5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world,(DE) he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;(DF)
6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
7 Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll(DG)—
I have come to do your will, my God.’”[i](DH)
8 First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”(DI)—though they were offered in accordance with the law. 9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.”(DJ) He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy(DK) through the sacrifice of the body(DL) of Jesus Christ once for all.(DM)
11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices,(DN) which can never take away sins.(DO) 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins,(DP) he sat down at the right hand of God,(DQ) 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.(DR) 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect(DS) forever those who are being made holy.(DT)
15 The Holy Spirit also testifies(DU) to us about this. First he says:
16 “This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”[j](DV)
17 Then he adds:
18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
A Call to Persevere in Faith
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence(DX) to enter the Most Holy Place(DY) by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way(DZ) opened for us through the curtain,(EA) that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest(EB) over the house of God,(EC) 22 let us draw near to God(ED) with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings,(EE) having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience(EF) and having our bodies washed with pure water.(EG) 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope(EH) we profess,(EI) for he who promised is faithful.(EJ) 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,(EK) 25 not giving up meeting together,(EL) as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another(EM)—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.(EN)
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning(EO) after we have received the knowledge of the truth,(EP) no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire(EQ) that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.(ER) 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God(ES) underfoot,(ET) who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant(EU) that sanctified them,(EV) and who has insulted the Spirit(EW) of grace?(EX) 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[l](EY) and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”[m](EZ) 31 It is a dreadful thing(FA) to fall into the hands(FB) of the living God.(FC)
32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light,(FD) when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering.(FE) 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution;(FF) at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.(FG) 34 You suffered along with those in prison(FH) and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.(FI) 35 So do not throw away your confidence;(FJ) it will be richly rewarded.
36 You need to persevere(FK) so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.(FL) 37 For,
38 And,
“But my righteous[o] one will live by faith.(FO)
And I take no pleasure
in the one who shrinks back.”[p](FP)
39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 8:5 Exodus 25:40
- Hebrews 8:8 Some manuscripts may be translated fault and said to the people.
- Hebrews 8:12 Jer. 31:31-34
- Hebrews 9:11 Some early manuscripts are to come
- Hebrews 9:12 Or blood, having obtained
- Hebrews 9:14 Or from useless rituals
- Hebrews 9:16 Same Greek word as covenant; also in verse 17
- Hebrews 9:20 Exodus 24:8
- Hebrews 10:7 Psalm 40:6-8 (see Septuagint)
- Hebrews 10:16 Jer. 31:33
- Hebrews 10:17 Jer. 31:34
- Hebrews 10:30 Deut. 32:35
- Hebrews 10:30 Deut. 32:36; Psalm 135:14
- Hebrews 10:37 Isaiah 26:20; Hab. 2:3
- Hebrews 10:38 Some early manuscripts But the righteous
- Hebrews 10:38 Hab. 2:4 (see Septuagint)
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