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
International Standard Version
The Messiah Has a Better Ministry
8 Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we do have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tent set up by the Lord and not by any human. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, this high priest[a] had to offer something, too. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, because other men offer the gifts prescribed by the Law. 5 They serve in a sanctuary that is a copy, a shadow of the heavenly one. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tent: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”[b] 6 However, Jesus[c] has now obtained a more superior ministry, since the covenant he mediates is founded on better promises.
The New Covenant is Better than the Old
7 If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one, 8 but God[d] found something wrong with his people[e] when he said,
“Look! The days are coming, declares the Lord,[f]
when I will establish a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors at the time
when I took them by the hand
and brought them out of the land of Egypt.
Because they did not remain loyal to my covenant,
I ignored them, declares the Lord.[g]
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord:[h]
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
11 Never again will everyone teach his neighbor
or his brother by saying, ‘Know the Lord,’[i]
because all of them will know me,
from the least important to the most important.
12 For I will be merciful regarding their wrong deeds,
and I will never again remember their sins.”[j]
13 In speaking of a “new” covenant, he has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 8:3 Lit. this one
- Hebrews 8:5 Cf. Exod 25:40
- Hebrews 8:6 Lit. he
- Hebrews 8:8 Lit. he
- Hebrews 8:8 Lit. with them
- Hebrews 8:8 MT source citation reads Lord
- Hebrews 8:9 MT source citation reads Lord
- Hebrews 8:10 MT source citation reads Lord
- Hebrews 8:11 MT source citation reads Lord
- Hebrews 8:12 Cf. Jer 31:31-34
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