²⁵ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”

²⁰ After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.^[a]

¹⁵ That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

¹⁶ Now when someone leaves a will,^[a] it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead.^{[b] 17} The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect.

¹⁸ That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal. ¹⁹ For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats,^[c] along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. ²⁰ Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.”^[d]

⁶ He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

¹⁶ When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ?

¹⁴ But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.

²⁷ So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against^[a] the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.