Hebrews 8
New King James Version
The New Priestly Service
8 Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, (A)who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a Minister of (B)the [a]sanctuary and of (C)the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
3 For (D)every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore (E)it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. 4 For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; 5 who serve (F)the copy and (G)shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, (H)“See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” 6 But now (I)He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a (J)better covenant, which was established on better promises.
A New Covenant(K)
7 For if that (L)first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says: (M)“Behold, 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 according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the (N)Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and (O)I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 (P)None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the (Q)Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, (R)and their sins [b]and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
13 (S)In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 8:2 Lit. holies
- Hebrews 8:12 NU omits and their lawless deeds
Hebrews 8
Living Bible
8 What we are saying is this: Christ, whose priesthood we have just described, is our High Priest and is in heaven at the place of greatest honor next to God himself. 2 He ministers in the temple in heaven, the true place of worship built by the Lord and not by human hands.
3 And since every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices, Christ must make an offering too. 4 The sacrifice he offers is far better than those offered by the earthly priests. (But even so, if he were here on earth he wouldn’t even be permitted to be a priest because down here the priests still follow the old Jewish system of sacrifices.) 5 Their work is connected with a mere earthly model of the real tabernacle in heaven; for when Moses was getting ready to build the tabernacle, God warned him to follow exactly the pattern of the heavenly tabernacle as shown to him on Mount Sinai. 6 But Christ, as a Minister in heaven, has been rewarded with a far more important work than those who serve under the old laws because the new agreement that he passes on to us from God contains far more wonderful promises.
7 The old agreement didn’t even work. If it had, there would have been no need for another to replace it. 8 But God himself found fault with the old one, for he said, “The day will come when I will make a new agreement with the people of Israel and the people of Judah. 9 This new agreement will not be like the old one I gave to their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; they did not keep their part in that agreement, so I had to cancel it. 10 But this is the new agreement I will make with the people of Israel, says the Lord: I will write my laws in their minds so that they will know what I want them to do without my even telling them, and these laws will be in their hearts so that they will want to obey them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people. 11 And no one then will need to speak to his friend or neighbor or brother, saying, ‘You, too, should know the Lord,’ because everyone, great and small, will know me already. 12 And I will be merciful to them in their wrongdoings, and I will remember their sins no more.”
13 God speaks of these new promises, of this new agreement, as taking the place of the old one; for the old one is out of date now and has been put aside forever.
Hebrews 8
King James Version
8 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
Hebrews 8
English Standard Version
Jesus, High Priest of a Better Covenant
8 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, (A)one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in (B)the true tent[a] that the Lord (C)set up, not man. 3 For (D)every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus (E)it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve (F)a copy and (G)shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, (H)“See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But as it is, Christ[b] has obtained a ministry that is (I)as much more excellent than the old as (J)the covenant (K)he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 (L)For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
8 For he finds fault with them when he says:[c]
(M)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah,
9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
10 (N)For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and (O)write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall (P)all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
(Q)and I will remember their sins no more.”
13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And (R)what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 8:2 Or tabernacle; also verse 5
- Hebrews 8:6 Greek he
- Hebrews 8:8 Some manuscripts For finding fault with it he says to them
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
