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Esther 8
New English Translation

The King Acts to Protect the Jews

8 On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate[a] of Haman, that adversary of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Now Mordecai had come before the king, for Esther had revealed how he was related to her. 2 The king then removed his signet ring (the very one he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther designated Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s estate.

3 Then Esther again spoke with the king, falling at his feet. She wept and begged him for mercy, that he might nullify the evil of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had intended against the Jews.[b] 4 When the king extended to Esther the gold scepter, she[c] arose and stood before the king.

5 She said, “If the king is so inclined, and if I have met with his approval, and if the matter is agreeable to the king, and if I am attractive to him, let an edict be written rescinding those recorded intentions of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite,[d] which he wrote in order to destroy the Jews who are throughout all the king’s provinces. 6 For how can I watch the calamity that will befall my people, and how can I watch the destruction of my relatives?”[e]

7 King Ahasuerus replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have already given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he has been hanged on the gallows because he took hostile action[f] against the Jews. 8 Now write in the king’s name whatever in your opinion is appropriate concerning the Jews and seal it with the king’s signet ring. Any decree that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be rescinded.”

9 The king’s scribes were quickly[g] summoned—in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day.[h] They wrote out[i] everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews, and to the satraps, and the governors, and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia[j]—127 provinces in all—to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language. 10 Mordecai[k] wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. He then sent letters by couriers, who rode royal horses that were very swift.

11 The king thereby allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and to stand up for themselves—to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any army of whatever people or province that should become their adversaries, including their women and children,[l] and to confiscate their property. 12 This was to take place on a certain day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus—namely, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar). 13 A copy of the edict was to be presented as law throughout each and every province and made known to all peoples, so that the Jews might be prepared on that[m] day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

14 The couriers who were riding the royal horses went forth with the king’s edict without delay.[n] And the law was presented in Susa the citadel as well.

15 Now Mordecai went out from the king’s presence in blue and white royal attire, with a large golden crown and a purple linen mantle. The city of Susa shouted with joy.[o] 16 For the Jews there was radiant happiness and joyous honor.[p] 17 Throughout every province and throughout every city where the king’s edict and his law arrived, the Jews experienced happiness and joy, banquets and holidays. Many of the resident peoples[q] pretended to be Jews,[r] because the fear of the Jews had overcome them.[s]

Footnotes

  1. Esther 8:1 tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV; also in vv. 2, 7). Cf. TEV “all the property.”
  2. Esther 8:3 sn As in 7:4 Esther avoids implicating the king in this plot. Instead Haman is given sole responsibility for the plan to destroy the Jews.
  3. Esther 8:4 tn Heb “Esther.” The pronoun (“she”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name is redundant here in terms of contemporary English style.
  4. Esther 8:5 tc The LXX does not include the expression “the Agagite.”
  5. Esther 8:6 tn Heb “my kindred” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NAB “my race”; NIV “my family”; NLT “my people and my family.”
  6. Esther 8:7 tn Heb “sent forth his hand”; NAB, NIV “attacked”; NLT “tried to destroy.” Cf. 9:2.
  7. Esther 8:9 tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”
  8. Esther 8:9 sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.
  9. Esther 8:9 tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  10. Esther 8:9 tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”
  11. Esther 8:10 tn Heb “He”; the referent (Mordecai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  12. Esther 8:11 tn Heb “children and women.” As in 3:13, the translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.
  13. Esther 8:13 tn Heb “this” (so NASB); most English versions read “that” here for stylistic reasons.
  14. Esther 8:14 tn Heb “making haste and hurrying”; KJV, ASV “being hastened and pressed.”
  15. Esther 8:15 tn Heb “shouted and rejoiced.” The expression is a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).
  16. Esther 8:16 tn Heb “light and gladness and joy and honor” (so NASB). The present translation understands the four terms to be a double hendiadys.
  17. Esther 8:17 tn Heb “peoples of the land” (so NASB); NIV “people of other nationalities”; NRSV “peoples of the country.”
  18. Esther 8:17 tn Heb “were becoming Jews”; NAB “embraced Judaism.” However, the Hitpael stem of the verb is sometimes used of a feigning action rather than a genuine one (see, e.g., 2 Sam 13:5, 6), which is the way the present translation understands the use of the word here (cf. NEB “professed themselves Jews”; NRSV “professed to be Jews”). This is the only occurrence of this verb in the Hebrew Bible, so there are no exact parallels. However, in the context of v. 17 the motivation of their conversion (Heb “the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them”) should not be overlooked. The LXX apparently understood the conversion described here to be genuine, since it adds the words “they were being circumcised and” before “they became Jews.”
  19. Esther 8:17 tn Heb “had fallen upon them” (so NRSV); NIV “had seized them.”
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Esther 7
Esther 9
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Esther 9
New English Translation

The Jews Prevail over Their Enemies

9 In the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), on its thirteenth day, the edict of the king and his law were to be executed. It was on this day that the enemies of the Jews had supposed that they would gain power over them. But contrary to expectations, the Jews gained power over their enemies. 2 The Jews assembled themselves in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike out against those who were seeking their harm. No one was able to stand before them, for dread of them fell on all the peoples. 3 All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and those who performed the king’s business were assisting the Jews, for the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them. 4 Mordecai was of high rank[a] in the king’s palace, and word about him was spreading throughout all the provinces. His influence[b] continued to become greater and greater.

5 The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, bringing death and destruction, and they did as they pleased with their enemies. 6 In Susa the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men. 7 In addition, they also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, 10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not confiscate their property.

11 On that same day the number of those killed in Susa the citadel was brought to the king’s attention. 12 Then the king said to Queen Esther, “In Susa the citadel the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men and the ten sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? What is your request? It shall be given to you. What other petition do you have? It shall be done.”

13 Esther replied, “If the king is so inclined, let the Jews who are in Susa be permitted to act tomorrow also according to today’s law, and let them hang the ten sons of Haman on the gallows.”

14 So the king issued orders for this to be done. A law was passed in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. 15 The Jews who were in Susa then assembled on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they killed 300 men in Susa. But they did not confiscate their property.

16 The rest of the Jews who were throughout the provinces of the king assembled in order to stand up for themselves and to have rest from their enemies. They killed 75,000[c] of their adversaries, but they did not confiscate their property. 17 All this happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. They then rested on the fourteenth day and made it a day for banqueting and happiness.

The Origins of the Feast of Purim

18 But the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth days, and rested on the fifteenth, making it a day for banqueting and happiness. 19 This is why the Jews who are in the rural country—those who live in rural villages—set aside the fourteenth day of the month of Adar for happiness, banqueting, a holiday, and sending gifts to one another.

20 Mordecai wrote these matters down and sent letters to all the Jews who were throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 to have them observe the fourteenth and the fifteenth days of the month of Adar each year 22 as the time when the Jews gave themselves rest from their enemies—the month when their trouble was turned to happiness and their mourning to a holiday. These were to be days of banqueting, happiness, sending gifts to one another, and providing for the poor.

23 So the Jews committed themselves to continuing what they had begun to do and to what Mordecai had written to them. 24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised plans against the Jews to destroy them. He had cast pur (that is, the lot) in order to afflict and destroy them. 25 But when the matter came to the king’s attention, the king[d] gave written orders that Haman’s[e] evil intentions that he had devised against the Jews should fall on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows. 26 For this reason these days are known as Purim, after the name of pur. Therefore, because of the account found in this letter and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews established as binding on themselves, their descendants, and all who joined their company that they should observe these two days without fail, just as written and at the appropriate time on an annual basis. 28 These days were to be remembered and to be celebrated in every generation and in every family, every province, and every city. The Jews were not to fail to observe these days of Purim; the remembrance of them was not to cease among their descendants.

29 So Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority to confirm this second[f] letter about Purim. 30 Letters were sent[g] to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the empire of Ahasuerus—words of true peace[h]— 31 to establish these days of Purim in their proper times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established, and just as they had established both for themselves and their descendants, matters pertaining to fasting and lamentation. 32 Esther’s command established these matters of Purim, and the matter was officially recorded.[i]

Footnotes

  1. Esther 9:4 tn Heb “great”; NRSV “powerful”; NIV “prominent”; NCV “very important.”
  2. Esther 9:4 tn Heb “the man Mordecai” (so NASB, NRSV).
  3. Esther 9:16 tc For this number much of the Greek ms tradition reads “fifteen thousand.” The Lucianic Greek recension reads “70,100.”
  4. Esther 9:25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  5. Esther 9:25 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  6. Esther 9:29 tc The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta omit the word “second.”
  7. Esther 9:30 tc The present translation is based on the Niphal form וַיִּשָׁלַח (vayyishalakh, “were sent”; so also NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT) rather than the reading of the MT וַיִּשְׁלַח (vayyishlakh, Qal, “and he sent”). The subject of the MT verb would have to be Mordecai (cf. NAB, NIV, NCV), but this is problematic in light of v. 29, where both Esther and Mordecai are responsible for the letters.
  8. Esther 9:30 tn Heb “peace and truth.” The expression is probably a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).
  9. Esther 9:32 tn Heb “written in the book” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “written down in the records”; NRSV “recorded in writing.”
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Esther 8
Esther 10
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Psalm 105
New English Translation

Psalm 105[a]

105 Give thanks to the Lord.
Call on his name.
Make known his accomplishments among the nations.
2 Sing to him.
Make music to him.
Tell about all his miraculous deeds.
3 Boast about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives.
Seek his presence continually.
5 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed,[b]
6 O children[c] of Abraham,[d] God’s[e] servant,
you descendants[f] of Jacob, God’s[g] chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God;
he carries out judgment throughout the earth.[h]
8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,
the promise he made[i] to a thousand generations—
9 the promise[j] he made to Abraham,
the promise he made by oath to Isaac.
10 He gave it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as a lasting promise,[k]
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number,
just a very few, and resident foreigners within it,
13 they wandered from nation to nation,
and from one kingdom to another.[l]
14 He let no one oppress them;
he disciplined kings for their sake,
15 saying,[m] “Don’t touch my chosen ones.[n]
Don’t harm my prophets.”
16 He called down a famine upon the earth;
he cut off all the food supply.[o]
17 He sent a man ahead of them[p]—
Joseph was sold as a servant.
18 The shackles hurt his feet;[q]
his neck was placed in an iron collar,[r]
19 until the time when his prediction[s] came true.
The Lord’s word[t] proved him right.[u]
20 The king authorized his release;[v]
the ruler of nations set him free.
21 He put him in charge of his palace,[w]
and made him manager of all his property,
22 giving him authority to imprison his officials[x]
and to teach his advisers.[y]
23 Israel moved to[z] Egypt;
Jacob lived for a time[aa] in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord[ab] made his people very fruitful,
and made them[ac] more numerous than their[ad] enemies.
25 He caused the Egyptians[ae] to hate his people,
and to mistreat[af] his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They executed his miraculous signs among them,[ag]
and his amazing deeds in the land of Ham.
28 He made it dark;[ah]
Moses and Aaron did not disobey his orders.[ai]
29 He turned the Egyptians’ water into blood,
and killed their fish.
30 Their land was overrun by frogs,
which even got into the rooms of their kings.
31 He ordered flies to come;[aj]
gnats invaded their whole territory.
32 He sent hail along with the rain;[ak]
there was lightning in their land.[al]
33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees,
and broke the trees throughout their territory.
34 He ordered locusts to come,[am]
innumerable grasshoppers.
35 They ate all the vegetation in their land,
and devoured the crops of their fields.[an]
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power.[ao]
37 He brought his people[ap] out enriched[aq] with silver and gold;
none of his tribes stumbled.
38 Egypt was happy when they left,
for they were afraid of them.[ar]
39 He spread out a cloud for a cover,[as]
and provided a fire to light up the night.
40 They asked for food,[at] and he sent quail;
he satisfied them with food from the sky.[au]
41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out;
a river ran through dry regions.
42 Yes,[av] he remembered the sacred promise[aw]
he made to Abraham his servant.
43 When he led his people out, they rejoiced;
his chosen ones shouted with joy.[ax]
44 He handed the territory of nations over to them,
and they took possession of what other peoples had produced,[ay]
45 so that they might keep his commands
and obey[az] his laws.
Praise the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 105:1 sn Psalm 105. The psalmist summons Israel to praise God because he delivered his people from Egypt in fulfillment of his covenantal promises to Abraham. A parallel version of vv. 1-15 appears in 1 Chr 16:8-22.
  2. Psalm 105:5 tn Heb “and the judgments of his mouth.”
  3. Psalm 105:6 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
  4. Psalm 105:6 tc Some mss have “Israel,” which appears in the parallel version of this psalm in 1 Chr 16:13.
  5. Psalm 105:6 tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  6. Psalm 105:6 tn Heb “sons.”
  7. Psalm 105:6 tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  8. Psalm 105:7 tn Heb “in all the earth [are] his judgments.”
  9. Psalm 105:8 tn Heb “[the] word he commanded.” The text refers here to God’s unconditional covenantal promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, as vv. 10-12 make clear.
  10. Psalm 105:9 tn Heb “which.”
  11. Psalm 105:10 tn Or “eternal covenant.”
  12. Psalm 105:13 tn Heb “and from a kingdom to another nation.”
  13. Psalm 105:15 tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
  14. Psalm 105:15 tn Heb “anointed.”
  15. Psalm 105:16 tn Heb “and every staff of food he broke.” The psalmist refers to the famine that occurred in Joseph’s time (see v. 17 and Gen 41:53-57).
  16. Psalm 105:17 tn After the reference to the famine in v. 16, v. 17 flashes back to events that preceded the famine (see Gen 37).
  17. Psalm 105:18 tn Heb “they afflicted his feet with shackles.”
  18. Psalm 105:18 tn Heb “his neck came [into] iron.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with the suffix could mean simply “he” or “his life.” But the nuance “neck” makes good sense here (note the reference to his “feet” in the preceding line). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 38.
  19. Psalm 105:19 tn Heb “word,” probably referring to Joseph’s prediction about the fate of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker (see Gen 41:9-14).
  20. Psalm 105:19 tn This line may refer to Joseph’s prediction of the famine in response to Pharaoh’s dream. Joseph emphasized to Pharaoh that the interpretation of the dream came from God (see Gen 41:16, 25, 28, 32, 39).
  21. Psalm 105:19 tn Heb “refined him.”
  22. Psalm 105:20 tn Heb “[the] king sent and set him free.”
  23. Psalm 105:21 tn Heb “he made him master of his house.”
  24. Psalm 105:22 tn Heb “to bind his officials by his will.”
  25. Psalm 105:22 tn Heb “and his elders he taught wisdom.”
  26. Psalm 105:23 tn Heb “entered.”
  27. Psalm 105:23 tn Heb “lived as a resident foreigner.”
  28. Psalm 105:24 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  29. Psalm 105:24 tn Heb “him,” referring to “his people.”
  30. Psalm 105:24 tn Heb “his,” referring to “his people.”
  31. Psalm 105:25 tn Heb “their heart.”
  32. Psalm 105:25 tn Or “to deal deceptively.” The Hitpael of נָכַל (nakhal) occurs only here and in Gen 37:18, where it is used of Joseph’s brothers “plotting” to kill him.
  33. Psalm 105:27 tn Apparently the pronoun refers to “his servants” (i.e., the Israelites, see v. 25).
  34. Psalm 105:28 tn Heb “he sent darkness and made it dark.”sn He made it dark. The psalmist begins with the ninth plague (see Exod 10:21-29).
  35. Psalm 105:28 tn Heb “they did not rebel against his words.” Apparently this refers to Moses and Aaron, who obediently carried out God’s orders.
  36. Psalm 105:31 tn Heb “he spoke and flies came.”
  37. Psalm 105:32 tn Heb “he gave their rains hail.”
  38. Psalm 105:32 tn Heb “fire of flames [was] in their land.”
  39. Psalm 105:34 tn Heb “he spoke and locusts came.”
  40. Psalm 105:35 tn Heb “the fruit of their ground.”
  41. Psalm 105:36 tn Heb “the beginning of all their strength,” that is, reproductive power (see Ps 78:51).sn Verses 28-36 recall the plagues in a different order than the one presented in Exodus: v. 28 (plague 9), v. 29 (plague 1), v. 30 (plague 2), v. 31a (plague 4), v. 31b (plague 3), vv. 32-33 (plague 7), vv. 34-35 (plague 8), v. 36 (plague 10). No reference is made in Ps 105 to plagues 5 and 6.
  42. Psalm 105:37 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Lord’s people) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  43. Psalm 105:37 tn The word “enriched” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
  44. Psalm 105:38 tn Heb “for fear of them had fallen upon them.”
  45. Psalm 105:39 tn Or “curtain.”
  46. Psalm 105:40 tn Heb “he [i.e., his people] asked.” The singular form should probably be emended to a plural שָׁאֲלוּ (shaʾalu, “they asked”), the ו (vav) having fallen off by haplography (note the vav at the beginning of the following form).
  47. Psalm 105:40 tn Or “bread of heaven.” The reference is to manna (see Exod 16:4, 13-15).
  48. Psalm 105:42 tn Or “for.”
  49. Psalm 105:42 tn Heb “his holy word.”
  50. Psalm 105:43 tn Heb “and he led his people out with joy, with a ringing cry, his chosen ones.”
  51. Psalm 105:44 tn Heb “and the [product of the] work of peoples they possessed.”
  52. Psalm 105:45 tn Heb “guard.”
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Psalm 104
Psalm 106
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Hebrews 8
New English Translation

The High Priest of a Better Covenant

8 Now the main point of what we are saying is this:[a] We have such a high priest, one who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,[b] 2 a minister in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. So this one too had to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are already priests who offer[c] the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 The place where they serve is[d] a sketch[e] and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, just as Moses was warned by God as he was about to complete the tabernacle. For he says, “See that you make everything according to the design[f] shown to you on the mountain.”[g] 6 But[h] now Jesus[i] has obtained a superior ministry, since[j] the covenant that he mediates is also better and is enacted[k] on better promises.[l]

7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, no one would have looked for a second one.[m] 8 But[n] showing its fault,[o] God[p] says to them,[q]

“Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
9 “It will not be like the covenant[r] that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord.
10 “For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put[s] my laws in their minds[t] and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people.[u]
11 “And there will be no need at all[v] for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest.[w]
12 “For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer.”[x]

13 When he speaks of a new covenant,[y] he makes the first obsolete. Now what is growing obsolete and aging is about to disappear.[z]

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 8:1 tn Grk “the main point of the things being said.”
  2. Hebrews 8:1 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1; see Heb 1:3, 13.
  3. Hebrews 8:4 tn Grk “there are those who offer.”
  4. Hebrews 8:5 tn Grk “who serve in,” referring to the Levitical priests, but focusing on the provisional and typological nature of the tabernacle in which they served.
  5. Hebrews 8:5 tn Or “prototype,” “outline.” The Greek word ὑπόδειγμα (hupodeigma) does not mean “copy,” as it is often translated; it means “something to be copied,” a basis for imitation. BDAG 1037 s.v. 2 lists both Heb 8:5 and 9:23 under the second category of usage, “an indication of someth. that appears at a subsequent time,” emphasizing the temporal progression between the earthly and heavenly sanctuaries.sn There are two main options for understanding the conceptual background of the heavenly sanctuary imagery. The first is to understand the imagery to be functioning on a vertical plane. This background is Hellenistic, philosophical, and spatial in orientation and sees the earthly sanctuary as a copy of the heavenly reality. The other option is to see the imagery functioning on a horizontal plane. This background is Jewish, eschatological, and temporal and sees the heavenly sanctuary as the fulfillment and true form of the earthly sanctuary which preceded it. The second option is preferred, both for lexical reasons (see tn above) and because it fits the Jewish context of the book (although many scholars prefer to emphasize the relationship the book has to Hellenistic thought).
  6. Hebrews 8:5 tn The word τύπος (tupos) here has the meaning “an archetype serving as a model, type, pattern, model” (BDAG 1020 s.v. 6.a). This is in keeping with the horizontal imagery accepted for this verse (see sn on “sketch” earlier in the verse). Here Moses was shown the future heavenly sanctuary which, though it did not yet exist, became the outline for the earthly sanctuary.
  7. Hebrews 8:5 sn A quotation from Exod 25:40.
  8. Hebrews 8:6 sn The Greek text indicates a contrast between vv. 4-5 and v. 6 that is difficult to render in English: Jesus’ status in the old order of priests (vv. 4-5) versus his superior ministry (v. 6).
  9. Hebrews 8:6 tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Jesus) has been specified for clarity.
  10. Hebrews 8:6 tn Grk “to the degree that.”
  11. Hebrews 8:6 tn Grk “which is enacted.”
  12. Hebrews 8:6 sn This linkage of the change in priesthood with a change in the law or the covenant goes back to Heb 7:12, 22 and is picked up again in Heb 9:6-15 and 10:1-18.
  13. Hebrews 8:7 tn Grk “no occasion for a second one would have been sought.”
  14. Hebrews 8:8 tn Grk “for,” but providing an explanation of the God-intended limitation of the first covenant from v. 7.
  15. Hebrews 8:8 sn The “fault” or limitation in the first covenant was not in its inherent righteousness, but in its design from God himself. It was never intended to be his final revelation or provision for mankind; it was provisional, always pointing toward the fulfillment to come in Christ.
  16. Hebrews 8:8 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  17. Hebrews 8:8 tc ‡ Several witnesses (א* A D* I K P Ψ 33 81 326 365 1505 2464 al latt co Cyr) have αὐτούς (autous) here, “[in finding fault with] them, [he says],” alluding to Israel’s failings mentioned in v. 9b. (The verb μέμφομαι [memphomai, “to find fault with”] can take an accusative or dative direct object.) The reading behind the text above (αὐτοίς, autois), supported by P46 א2 B D2 0278 1739 1881 M, is perhaps a harder reading theologically, and is more ambiguous in meaning. If αὐτοίς goes with μεμφόμενος (memphomenos, here translated “showing its fault”), the clause could be translated “in finding fault with them” or “in showing [its] faults to them.” If αὐτοίς goes with the following λέγει (legei, “he says”), the clause is best translated, “in finding/showing [its] faults, he says to them.” The accusative pronoun suffers no such ambiguity, for it must be the object of μεμφόμενος rather than λέγει. Although a decision is difficult, the dative form of the pronoun best explains the rise of the other reading and is thus more likely to be original.
  18. Hebrews 8:9 tn Grk “not like the covenant,” continuing the description of v. 8b.
  19. Hebrews 8:10 tn Grk “putting…I will inscribe.”
  20. Hebrews 8:10 tn Grk “mind.”
  21. Hebrews 8:10 tn Grk “I will be to them for a God and they will be to me for a people,” following the Hebrew constructions of Jer 31.
  22. Hebrews 8:11 tn Grk “they will not teach, each one his fellow citizen…” The Greek makes this negation emphatic: “they will certainly not teach.”
  23. Hebrews 8:11 tn Grk “from the small to the great.”
  24. Hebrews 8:12 sn A quotation from Jer 31:31-34.
  25. Hebrews 8:13 tn Grk “when he says, ‘new,’” (referring to the covenant).
  26. Hebrews 8:13 tn Grk “near to disappearing.”
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