完美的祭

10 既然律法带有那将要来的美好事物的影子,它不是那些事物的本像,就绝不能藉着年年不断地献上同样的祭物,使近前来的人得以完全。 否则,事奉的人因为一次性地被洁净,不再觉得有罪孽,难道不早就停止献祭了吗? 然而这些祭物使人年年都想起罪孽来, 因为公牛和山羊的血,不可能把罪孽除去。

所以,基督进入世界的时候,他说:

“神哪[a],祭物和供物不是你所希望的;
你为我预备了一个身体。
燔祭和赎罪祭不是你所喜悦的;
于是我说:‘看哪,我来了!
关于我的事,
经卷上已经记载了。
神哪,我来是要遵行你的旨意!’”[b]

上文说:祭物、供物、燔祭和赎罪祭不是你所希望的,也不是你所喜悦的,尽管这些都是照着律法献上的; 接着又说:“看哪[c],我来了!是要遵行你的旨意!”神废除前者,是为了确立后者。 10 我们凭着这旨意,藉着耶稣基督身体做供物,就已经一次性地被分别为圣了。

11 所有的祭司天天都站着服事,再三地献上同样的祭物,但这些祭物绝不能把罪孽除掉, 12 而这一位为赎罪孽献上了一个永远的祭物,就在神的右边坐下了, 13 此后一直等候他的敌人被放在他的脚下做脚凳。 14 事实上,他藉着一个供物,使那些被分别为圣的人永远得以完全。 15 圣灵也向我们做见证,因为他说过[d]

16 “主说:‘在那些日子以后,
我要与他们订立这样的约:
我要把我的法则放在他们的心上,
刻在他们的意念中。’”[e]

17 然后又说:

“我绝不再想起他们的罪孽和他们的罪恶[f]。”[g]

18 所以在哪里这些罪得了赦免,在哪里就不再有赎罪的供物了。

敬神的劝勉

19 因此,弟兄们,我们藉着耶稣的血,可以坦然无惧地进入至圣所。 20 他为我们开辟了一条又新又活的道路,从幔子经过;这幔子就是他的身体。 21 既然我们有一位伟大的祭司管理神的家, 22 既然我们的心被血[h]洒过,脱离了罪恶感,身体也被清水洗净了,就让我们怀着真诚的心,以确信不移的信仰近前来; 23 让我们毫不动摇地持守所告白的盼望,因为向我们应许的那一位是信实的; 24 让我们彼此看顾,好激励爱心和美好的工作。 25 你们不要放弃自己的聚会,像某些人所习惯的那样,而要彼此鼓励;你们既然看见那日子[i]临近,就更应该这样。

警告明知故犯的罪

26 要知道,我们领受了真理的知识以后,如果还故意犯罪,就不再有赎罪的祭物被保留下来; 27 只保留了对审判的可怕等待,和那将要吞灭敌对者的嫉恨之火。 28 任何拒绝摩西律法的人,凭两个或三个见证人的见证,就得不到怜悯而死, 29 何况一个人践踏了神的儿子,把那使自己成圣的立约之血看做是俗物,又侮辱了恩典的圣灵,你们想想,这个人难道不该受更厉害的惩罚吗? 30 因为我们认识曾说过“报应在我,我将回报[j][k]的那一位,他又说过“主要审判自己的子民。”[l] 31 落在永生神的手中实在可怕。

32 你们要回想原先的日子:当你们蒙了光照以后,忍受了许多痛苦挣扎; 33 有时候当众受责骂、受患难;有时候陪伴那些受到同样遭遇的人。 34 的确,你们不但同情了那些被囚禁的人[m],而且当自己所拥有的被夺去时,你们也甘心接受了,因为知道你们在天上[n]有更好的、长存的产业。 35 所以,不要丢弃你们的确信,这确信带来极大的报偿。 36 其实,你们需要忍耐,好在你们行完神的旨意以后,可以领受所应许的。

37 要知道,还有一点点时候,
“要来的那一位就要来临,他不会迟延。
38 我的义人将因信而活;
如果他退缩,
我的心就不喜悦他。”[o]

39 然而,我们不是退缩以致灭亡[p]的人,而是有信仰以致保全灵魂[q]的人。

Footnotes

  1. 希伯来书 10:5 神哪——辅助词语。
  2. 希伯来书 10:7 《诗篇》40:6-8。
  3. 希伯来书 10:9 看哪——有古抄本作“看,神哪”。
  4. 希伯来书 10:15 说过——有古抄本作“预先说过”。
  5. 希伯来书 10:16 《耶利米书》31:33。
  6. 希伯来书 10:17 罪恶——原文直译“不法”。
  7. 希伯来书 10:17 《耶利米书》31:34。
  8. 希伯来书 10:22 血——辅助词语。
  9. 希伯来书 10:25 日子——指“基督再来的日子”。
  10. 希伯来书 10:30 有古抄本附“——这是主说的”。
  11. 希伯来书 10:30 《申命记》32:35。
  12. 希伯来书 10:30 《申命记》32:36。
  13. 希伯来书 10:34 那些被囚禁的人——有古抄本作“被囚禁的我”。
  14. 希伯来书 10:34 有古抄本没有“在天上”。
  15. 希伯来书 10:38 《哈巴谷书》2:3-4。
  16. 希伯来书 10:39 灭亡——或译作“沉沦”。
  17. 希伯来书 10:39 灵魂——或译作“生命”。

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

10 The law is only a shadow(A) of the good things(B) that are coming—not the realities themselves.(C) For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect(D) those who draw near to worship.(E) 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.(F) But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.(G) It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats(H) to take away sins.(I)

Therefore, when Christ came into the world,(J) he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
    but a body you prepared for me;(K)
with burnt offerings and sin offerings
    you were not pleased.
Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll(L)
    I have come to do your will, my God.’”[a](M)

First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”(N)—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.”(O) He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy(P) through the sacrifice of the body(Q) of Jesus Christ once for all.(R)

11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices,(S) which can never take away sins.(T) 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins,(U) he sat down at the right hand of God,(V) 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.(W) 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect(X) forever those who are being made holy.(Y)

15 The Holy Spirit also testifies(Z) 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.”[b](AA)

17 Then he adds:

“Their sins and lawless acts
    I will remember no more.”[c](AB)

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(AC) to enter the Most Holy Place(AD) by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way(AE) opened for us through the curtain,(AF) that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest(AG) over the house of God,(AH) 22 let us draw near to God(AI) with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings,(AJ) having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience(AK) and having our bodies washed with pure water.(AL) 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope(AM) we profess,(AN) for he who promised is faithful.(AO) 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,(AP) 25 not giving up meeting together,(AQ) as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another(AR)—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.(AS)

26 If we deliberately keep on sinning(AT) after we have received the knowledge of the truth,(AU) no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire(AV) 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.(AW) 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God(AX) underfoot,(AY) who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant(AZ) that sanctified them,(BA) and who has insulted the Spirit(BB) of grace?(BC) 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d](BD) and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”[e](BE) 31 It is a dreadful thing(BF) to fall into the hands(BG) of the living God.(BH)

32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light,(BI) when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering.(BJ) 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution;(BK) at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.(BL) 34 You suffered along with those in prison(BM) and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.(BN) 35 So do not throw away your confidence;(BO) it will be richly rewarded.

36 You need to persevere(BP) so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.(BQ) 37 For,

“In just a little while,
    he who is coming(BR) will come
    and will not delay.”[f](BS)

38 And,

“But my righteous[g] one will live by faith.(BT)
    And I take no pleasure
    in the one who shrinks back.”[h](BU)

39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 10:7 Psalm 40:6-8 (see Septuagint)
  2. Hebrews 10:16 Jer. 31:33
  3. Hebrews 10:17 Jer. 31:34
  4. Hebrews 10:30 Deut. 32:35
  5. Hebrews 10:30 Deut. 32:36; Psalm 135:14
  6. Hebrews 10:37 Isaiah 26:20; Hab. 2:3
  7. Hebrews 10:38 Some early manuscripts But the righteous
  8. Hebrews 10:38 Hab. 2:4 (see Septuagint)

He who embodied the sins of the world carries His own blood into the holy presence.

10 We have seen how the law is simply a shadow of the good things to come. Since it is not the perfect form of these ultimate realities, the offering year after year of these imperfect sacrifices cannot bring perfection to those who come forward to worship. If they had served this purpose, wouldn’t the repetition of these sacrifices have become unnecessary? If they had worked—and cleansed the worshipers—then one sacrifice would have taken away their consciousness of sin. But these sacrifices actually remind us that we sin again and again, year after year. In the end, the blood of bulls and of goats is powerless to take away sins. So when Jesus came into the world, He said,

Sacrifices and offerings were not what You wanted,
    but instead a body that You prepared for Me.
Burnt offerings and sin offerings
    were not what pleased You.
Then I said, “See, I have come to do Your will, God,
    as it is inscribed of Me in the scroll of the book.”[a]

Now when it says that God doesn’t want and takes no real pleasure in sacrifices, burnt offerings, and sin offerings (even though the law calls for them), and follows this with “See, I have come to do Your will,”[b] He effectively takes away the first—animal sacrifice—in order to establish the second, more perfect sacrifice. 10 By God’s will, we are made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus the Anointed once and for all time.

11 In the first covenant, every day every officiating priest stands at his post serving, offering over and over those same sacrifices that can never take away sin. 12 But after He stepped up to offer His single sacrifice for sins for all time, He sat down in the position of honor at the right hand of God. 13 Since then, He has been waiting for the day when He rests His feet on His enemies’ backs,[c] as the psalm says. 14 With one perfect offering, Jesus has perfected forever those who are being made holy, 15 as the Holy Spirit keeps testifying to us through the prophet Jeremiah. After he says,

16 “But when those days are over,” says the Eternal One, “I will make
    this kind of covenant with the people of Israel:
I will put My laws in their hearts
    and write them upon their minds,”[d]

then He adds,

17 I will erase their sins and wicked acts out of My memory
    as though they had never existed.[e]

18 When there is forgiveness such as this, there is no longer any need to make an offering for sin.

19 So, my friends, Jesus by His blood gives us courage to enter the most holy place. 20 He has created for us a new and living way through the curtain, that is, through His flesh. 21 Since we have a great High Priest who presides over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with true hearts full of faith, with hearts rinsed clean of any evil conscience, and with bodies cleansed with pure water. 23 Let us hold strong to the confession of our hope, never wavering, since the One who promised it to us is faithful. 24 Let us consider how to inspire each other to greater love and to righteous deeds, 25 not forgetting to gather as a community, as some have forgotten, but encouraging each other, especially as the day of His return approaches.

The word translated “church” in English Bibles means literally “assembly of the called”; it implies that members have said “yes” to God’s call in their lives. We assemble because we are called into being by God Himself. Some people, for reasons only they know, choose to live their Christian faiths in isolation. When they do, they cut themselves off from the gifts, encouragement, and vitality of others. And perhaps, just as tragically, they deprive the church of the grace and life God has invested in them.

26 Now if we willfully persist in sin after receiving such knowledge of the truth, then there is no sacrifice left for those sins— 27 only the fearful prospect of judgment and a fierce fire that will consume God’s adversaries. 28 Remember that those who depart from the law of Moses are put to death without mercy based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.[f] 29 Just think how much more severe the punishment will be for those who have turned their backs on the Son of God, trampled on the blood of the covenant by which He made them holy, and outraged the Spirit of grace with their contempt. 30 For we know the God who said, “Vengeance belongs to Me—I will repay,”[g] also said, “The Eternal One will judge His people.”[h] 31 It is truly a frightening thing to be on the wrong side of the living God.

32 Instead, think back to the days after you were first enlightened and understood who Jesus was: when you endured all sorts of suffering in the name of the Lord, 33 when people held you up for public scorn and ridicule, or when they abused your partners and companions in the faith. 34 Remember how you had compassion for those in prison and how you cheerfully accepted the seizure of your possessions, knowing that you have a far greater and more enduring possession. 35 Remember this, and do not abandon your confidence, which will lead to rich rewards. 36 Simply endure, for when you have done as God requires of you, you will receive the promise. 37 As the prophet Habakkuk said,

In a little while, only a little longer,
    the One who is coming will come without delay.
38 But My righteous one must live by faith,
    for if he gives up his commitment,
My soul will have no pleasure in him.[i]

39 My friends, we are not those who give up hope and so are lost; but we are of the company who live by faith and so are saved.