¹⁸ That is why blood was sprinkled as proof of Christ’s death^[a] before even the first agreement could go into effect. ¹⁹ For after Moses had given the people all of God’s laws, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled the blood over the book of God’s laws and over all the people, using branches of hyssop bushes and scarlet wool to sprinkle with. ²⁰ Then he said, “This is the blood that marks the beginning of the agreement between you and God, the agreement God commanded me to make with you.” ²¹ And in the same way he sprinkled blood on the sacred tent and on whatever instruments were used for worship. ²² In fact we can say that under the old agreement almost everything was cleansed by sprinkling it with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.