Hebrews 10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All
10 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it[a] can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who approach.(A) 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased being offered, since the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year.(B) 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.(C) 5 Consequently, when Christ[b] came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body you have prepared for me;(D)
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘See, I have come to do your will, O God’
(in the scroll of the book[c] it is written of me).”(E)
8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. 10 And it is by God’s will[d] that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.(F)
11 And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins.(G) 12 But when Christ[e] had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God,” 13 and since then has been waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.”(H) 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds,”(I)
17 and he adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
A Call to Persevere
19 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus,(J) 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh),(K) 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,(L) 22 let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.(M) 23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.(N) 24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.(O)
26 For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins(P) 27 but a fearful prospect of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.(Q) 28 Anyone who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy “on the testimony of two or three witnesses.”(R) 29 How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who have spurned the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace?(S) 30 For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.”[f] And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”(T) 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings,(U) 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to insults and afflictions and sometimes becoming partners with those so treated.(V) 34 For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting.[g](W) 35 Do not, therefore, abandon that boldness of yours; it brings a great reward. 36 For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what was promised.(X) 37 For yet
“in a very little while,
the one who is coming will come and will not delay,(Y)
38 but my righteous one will live by faith.
My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.”(Z)
39 But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost but among those who have faith and so preserve our souls.(AA)
Hebrews 10
Good News Translation
10 The Jewish Law is not a full and faithful model of the real things; it is only a faint outline of the good things to come. The same sacrifices are offered forever, year after year. How can the Law, then, by means of these sacrifices make perfect the people who come to God? 2 If the people worshiping God had really been purified from their sins, they would not feel guilty of sin any more, and all sacrifices would stop. 3 As it is, however, the sacrifices serve year after year to remind people of their sins. 4 For the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins.
5 (A)For this reason, when Christ was about to come into the world, he said to God:
“You do not want sacrifices and offerings,
but you have prepared a body for me.
6 You are not pleased with animals burned whole on the altar
or with sacrifices to take away sins.
7 Then I said, ‘Here I am,
to do your will, O God,
just as it is written of me in the book of the Law.’”
8 First he said, “You neither want nor are you pleased with sacrifices and offerings or with animals burned on the altar and the sacrifices to take away sins.” He said this even though all these sacrifices are offered according to the Law. 9 Then he said, “Here I am, O God, to do your will.” So God does away with all the old sacrifices and puts the sacrifice of Christ in their place. 10 Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do, we are all purified from sin by the offering that he made of his own body once and for all.
11 (B)Every Jewish priest performs his services every day and offers the same sacrifices many times; but these sacrifices can never take away sins. 12 (C)Christ, however, offered one sacrifice for sins, an offering that is effective forever, and then he sat down at the right side of God. 13 There he now waits until God puts his enemies as a footstool under his feet. 14 With one sacrifice, then, he has made perfect forever those who are purified from sin.
15 And the Holy Spirit also gives us his witness. First he says,
16 (D)“This is the covenant that I will make with them
in the days to come, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts
and write them on their minds.”
17 (E)And then he says, “I will not remember their sins and evil deeds any longer.” 18 So when these have been forgiven, an offering to take away sins is no longer needed.
Let Us Come Near to God
19 We have, then, my friends, complete freedom to go into the Most Holy Place by means of the death of Jesus. 20 He opened for us a new way, a living way, through the curtain—that is, through his own body. 21 We have a great priest in charge of the house of God. 22 (F)So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water. 23 Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise. 24 Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good. 25 Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.
26 For there is no longer any sacrifice that will take away sins if we purposely go on sinning after the truth has been made known to us. 27 (G)Instead, all that is left is to wait in fear for the coming Judgment and the fierce fire which will destroy those who oppose God! 28 (H)Anyone who disobeys the Law of Moses is put to death without any mercy when judged guilty from the evidence of two or more witnesses. 29 (I)What, then, of those who despise the Son of God? who treat as a cheap thing the blood of God's covenant which purified them from sin? who insult the Spirit of grace? Just think how much worse is the punishment they will deserve! 30 (J)For we know who said, “I will take revenge, I will repay”; and who also said, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!
32 Remember how it was with you in the past. In those days, after God's light had shone on you, you suffered many things, yet were not defeated by the struggle. 33 You were at times publicly insulted and mistreated, and at other times you were ready to join those who were being treated in this way. 34 You shared the sufferings of prisoners, and when all your belongings were seized, you endured your loss gladly, because you knew that you still possessed something much better, which would last forever. 35 Do not lose your courage, then, because it brings with it a great reward. 36 You need to be patient, in order to do the will of God and receive what he promises. 37 (K)For, as the scripture says,
“Just a little while longer,
and he who is coming will come;
he will not delay.
38 My righteous people, however, will believe and live;
but if any of them turns back,
I will not be pleased with them.”
39 We are not people who turn back and are lost. Instead, we have faith and are saved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
