Hebrews 9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Earthly and the Heavenly Sanctuaries
9 Now[a] the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. 2 For a tent[b] was constructed, the first one, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of the Presence;[c] this is called the holy place.(A) 3 Behind the second curtain was a tent[d] called the holy of holies.(B) 4 In it stood the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which there were a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;(C) 5 above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat.[e] Of these things we cannot speak now in detail.(D)
6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go continually into the first tent[f] to carry out their ritual duties, 7 but only the high priest goes into the second, and he but once a year and not without taking the blood that he offers for himself and for the sins committed unintentionally by the people.(E) 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary has not yet been disclosed as long as the first tent[g] is still standing.(F) 9 This is a symbol[h] of the present time, indicating that gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper(G) 10 but deal only with food and drink and various baptisms, regulations for the body imposed until the time comes to set things right.(H)
11 But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come,[i] then through the greater and more perfect tent[j] (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation),(I) 12 he entered once for all into the holy place, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.(J) 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified,(K) 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit[k] offered himself without blemish to God, purify our[l] conscience from dead works to worship the living God!(L)
15 For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.[m](M) 16 Where a will[n] is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will[o] takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Hence not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.(N) 19 For when every commandment had been told to all the people by Moses in accordance with the law, he took the blood of calves and goats,[p] with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the scroll itself and all the people,(O) 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has ordained for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent[q] and all the vessels used in worship.(P) 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.(Q)
Christ’s Sacrifice Takes Away Sin
23 Thus it was necessary for the sketches of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves need better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.(R) 25 Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the holy place year after year with blood that is not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself.(S) 27 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once and after that the judgment,(T) 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.(U)
Footnotes
- 9.1 Other ancient authorities add even
- 9.2 Or tabernacle
- 9.2 Gk the presentation of the loaves
- 9.3 Or tabernacle
- 9.5 Or the place of atonement
- 9.6 Or tabernacle
- 9.8 Or tabernacle
- 9.9 Gk parable
- 9.11 Other ancient authorities read good things to come
- 9.11 Or tabernacle
- 9.14 Other ancient authorities read Holy Spirit
- 9.14 Other ancient authorities read your
- 9.15 The Greek word used here means both covenant and will
- 9.16 The Greek word used here means both covenant and will
- 9.17 The Greek word used here means both covenant and will
- 9.19 Other ancient authorities lack and goats
- 9.21 Or tabernacle
Hebrews 9
The Message
A Visible Parable
9 1-5 That first plan contained directions for worship, and a specially designed place of worship. A large outer tent was set up. The lampstand, the table, and “the bread of presence” were placed in it. This was called “the Holy Place.” Then a curtain was stretched, and behind it a smaller, inside tent set up. This was called “the Holy of Holies.” In it were placed the gold incense altar and the gold-covered ark of the covenant containing the gold urn of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, the covenant tablets, and the angel-wing-shadowed mercy seat. But we don’t have time to comment on these now.
6-10 After this was set up, the priests went about their duties in the large tent. Only the high priest entered the smaller, inside tent, and then only once a year, offering a blood sacrifice for his own sins and the people’s accumulated sins. This was the Holy Spirit’s way of showing with a visible parable that as long as the large tent stands, people can’t just walk in on God. Under this system, the gifts and sacrifices can’t really get to the heart of the matter, can’t assuage the conscience of the people, but are limited to matters of ritual and behavior. It’s essentially a temporary arrangement until a complete overhaul could be made.
Pointing to the Realities of Heaven
11-15 But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven’s “tent”—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.
16-17 Like a will that takes effect when someone dies, the new covenant was put into action at Jesus’ death. His death marked the transition from the old plan to the new one, canceling the old obligations and accompanying sins, and summoning the heirs to receive the eternal inheritance that was promised them. He brought together God and his people in this new way.
18-22 Even the first plan required a death to set it in motion. After Moses had read out all the terms of the plan of the law—God’s “will”—he took the blood of sacrificed animals and, in a solemn ritual, sprinkled the document and the people who were its beneficiaries. And then he attested its validity with the words, “This is the blood of the covenant commanded by God.” He did the same thing with the place of worship and its furniture. Moses said to the people, “This is the blood of the covenant God has established with you.” Practically everything in a will hinges on a death. That’s why blood, the evidence of death, is used so much in our tradition, especially regarding forgiveness of sins.
23-26 That accounts for the prominence of blood and death in all these secondary practices that point to the realities of heaven. It also accounts for why, when the real thing takes place, these animal sacrifices aren’t needed anymore, having served their purpose. For Christ didn’t enter the earthly version of the Holy Place; he entered the Place Itself, and offered himself to God as the sacrifice for our sins. He doesn’t do this every year as the high priests did under the old plan with blood that was not their own; if that had been the case, he would have to sacrifice himself repeatedly throughout the course of history. But instead he sacrificed himself once and for all, summing up all the other sacrifices in this sacrifice of himself, the final solution of sin.
27-28 Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Christ’s death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation.
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.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson