Jesus, High Priest of a Better Covenant

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, a minister in the holy places, in (B)the true tent[a] that the Lord (C)set up, not man. 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. 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. 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.” 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. (L)For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

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,
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

  1. Hebrews 8:2 Or tabernacle; also verse 5
  2. Hebrews 8:6 Greek he
  3. Hebrews 8:8 Some manuscripts For finding fault with it he says to them

16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For (A)a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated (B)without blood.

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The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy

31 (A)“At that time, declares the Lord, (B)I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”

Thus says the Lord:
“The people who survived the sword
    found grace in the wilderness;
(C)when Israel sought for rest,
    the Lord appeared to him[a] from far away.
(D)I have loved you with an everlasting love;
    therefore (E)I have continued (F)my faithfulness to you.
(G)Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
    O virgin Israel!
(H)Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
    and shall go forth in (I)the dance of the merrymakers.
(J)Again you shall plant vineyards
    on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant
    and shall enjoy the fruit.
For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
    in (K)the hill country of Ephraim:
(L)‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
    to the Lord our God.’”

For thus says the Lord:
(M)“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
    and raise shouts for (N)the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
    (O)‘O Lord, save your people,
    the remnant of Israel.’
Behold, I will bring them (P)from the north country
    and (Q)gather them from (R)the farthest parts of the earth,
among them (S)the blind and the lame,
    the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
    a great company, they shall return here.
(T)With weeping they shall come,
    (U)and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them (V)walk by brooks of water,
    (W)in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for (X)I am a father to Israel,
    and Ephraim is (Y)my firstborn.

10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
    and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will (Z)gather him,
    and will keep him (AA)as a shepherd keeps his flock.’
11 (AB)For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
    and has redeemed him from (AC)hands too strong for him.
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
    (AD)and they shall be radiant (AE)over the goodness of the Lord,
(AF)over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
    and over the young of the flock and the herd;
(AG)their life shall be like a watered garden,
    (AH)and they shall languish no more.
13 (AI)Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
    and the young men and the old shall be merry.
(AJ)I will turn their mourning into joy;
    I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14 (AK)I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
    and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the Lord.”

15 Thus says the Lord:
(AL)“A voice is heard in (AM)Ramah,
    lamentation and bitter weeping.
(AN)Rachel is weeping for her children;
    she refuses to be comforted for her children,
    (AO)because they are no more.”

16 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep your voice from weeping,
    and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,
declares the Lord,
    and (AP)they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 (AQ)There is hope for your future,
declares the Lord,
    and your children shall come back to their own country.
18 I have heard (AR)Ephraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
    like an untrained calf;
(AS)bring me back that I may be restored,
    for you are the Lord my God.
19 For after (AT)I had turned away, I relented,
    and after I was instructed, (AU)I struck my thigh;
(AV)I was ashamed, and I was confounded,
    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20 (AW)Is Ephraim my dear son?
    (AX)Is he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
    I do remember him still.
(AY)Therefore my heart[b] yearns for him;
    I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the Lord.

21 (AZ)“Set up road markers for yourself;
    make yourself guideposts;
(BA)consider well the highway,
    (BB)the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
    return to these your cities.
22 (BC)How long will you waver,
    (BD)O faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
    a woman encircles a man.”

23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, (BE)when I restore their fortunes:

(BF)“‘The Lord bless you, (BG)O habitation of righteousness,
    (BH)O holy hill!’

24 (BI)And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and (BJ)the farmers and those who wander with their flocks. 25 For I will (BK)satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

27 (BL)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when (BM)I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with (BN)the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass that (BO)as I have watched over them (BP)to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, (BQ)so I will watch over them (BR)to build and to plant, declares the Lord. 29 In those days they shall no longer say:

(BS)“‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
    and the children's teeth are set on edge.’

30 (BT)But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

The New Covenant

31 (BU)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make (BV)a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when (BW)I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, (BX)though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 (BY)For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: (BZ)I will put my law within them, and I will write it (CA)on their hearts. (CB)And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ (CC)for they shall all know me, (CD)from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For (CE)I will forgive their iniquity, and (CF)I will remember their sin no more.”

35 Thus says the Lord,
who (CG)gives the sun for light by day
    and (CH)the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
    (CI)the Lord of hosts is his name:
36 (CJ)“If this fixed order departs
    from before me, declares the Lord,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
    from being a nation before me forever.”

37 Thus says the Lord:
“If the heavens above can be measured,
    and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
(CK)then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
    for all that they have done,
declares the Lord.”

38 (CL)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord (CM)from the Tower of Hananel to (CN)the Corner Gate. 39 (CO)And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. 40 (CP)The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the (CQ)brook Kidron, to the corner of (CR)the Horse Gate toward the east, (CS)shall be sacred to the Lord. (CT)It shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 31:3 Septuagint; Hebrew me
  2. Jeremiah 31:20 Hebrew bowels

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