Hebrews 8

New American Standard Bible

A Better Ministry

8 Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a ^(A)high priest, who has taken His seat at ^(B)the right hand of the throne of the ^(C)Majesty in the heavens, ²a ^(D)minister ^[a]in the sanctuary and ^[b]in the ^(E)true ^[c]tabernacle, which the Lord ^(F)set up, not man. ³For every ^(G)high priest is appointed ^(H)to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. ⁴Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are ^[d]those who ^(I)offer the gifts according to the Law; ⁵who serve ^(J)a copy and ^(K)shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses ^[e]was ^(L)warned by God when he was about to erect the ^[f]tabernacle; for, “^(M)See,” He says, “that you make all things by the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.” ⁶But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, to the extent that He is also the ^(N)mediator of ^(O)a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

A New Covenant

⁷For ^(P)if that first covenant had been free of fault, no ^[g]circumstances would have been sought for a second. ⁸For in finding fault with ^[h]the people, He says,

“^(Q)Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,
^[i]When I will bring about ^(R)a new covenant
With the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
⁹^(S)Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers
On the day I took them by the hand
To bring them out of the land of Egypt;
For they did not continue in My covenant,
And I did not care about them, says the Lord.
¹⁰^(T)For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, declares the Lord:
^[j]I will put My laws into their minds,
And write them ^(U)on their hearts.
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
¹¹^(V)And they will not teach, each one his fellow citizen,
And each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
For ^(W)they will all know Me,
From ^[k]the least to the greatest of them.
¹²^(X)For I will be merciful toward their wrongdoings,
^(Y)And their sins I will no longer remember.”

¹³^[l]When He said, “^(Z)A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. ^(AA)But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ^[m]about to disappear.