The High Priest of a New Covenant

8 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest,^(A) who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,^{(B) 2} and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle^(C) set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

³ Every high priest^(D) is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices,^(E) and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.^{(F) 4} If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law.^{(G) 5} They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy^(H) and shadow^(I) of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned^(J) when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”^{[a](K) 6} But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant^(L) of which he is mediator^(M) is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

⁷ For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.^{(N) 8} But God found fault with the people and said^[b]:

¹³ By calling this covenant “new,”^(W) he has made the first one obsolete;^(X) and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle

9 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.^{(Y) 2} A tabernacle^(Z) was set up. In its first room were the lampstand^(AA) and the table^(AB) with its consecrated bread;^(AC) this was called the Holy Place.^{(AD) 3} Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,^{(AE) 4} which had the golden altar of incense^(AF) and the gold-covered ark of the covenant.^(AG) This ark contained the gold jar of manna,^(AH) Aaron’s staff that had budded,^(AI) and the stone tablets of the covenant.^{(AJ) 5} Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory,^(AK) overshadowing the atonement cover.^(AL) But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

⁶ When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly^(AM) into the outer room to carry on their ministry. ⁷ But only the high priest entered^(AN) the inner room,^(AO) and that only once a year,^(AP) and never without blood,^(AQ) which he offered for himself^(AR) and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.^{(AS) 8} The Holy Spirit was showing^(AT) by this that the way^(AU) into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. ⁹ This is an illustration^(AV) for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered^(AW) were not able to clear the conscience^(AX) of the worshiper. ¹⁰ They are only a matter of food^(AY) and drink^(AZ) and various ceremonial washings^(BA)—external regulations^(BB) applying until the time of the new order.

The Blood of Christ

¹¹ But when Christ came as high priest^(BC) of the good things that are now already here,^[d](BD) he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle^(BE) that is not made with human hands,^(BF) that is to say, is not a part of this creation. ¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves;^(BG) but he entered the Most Holy Place^(BH) once for all^(BI) by his own blood,^(BJ) thus obtaining^[e] eternal redemption. ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls^(BK) and the ashes of a heifer^(BL) sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit^(BM) offered himself^(BN) unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences^(BO) from acts that lead to death,^[f](BP) so that we may serve the living God!^(BQ)

¹⁵ For this reason Christ is the mediator^(BR) of a new covenant,^(BS) that those who are called^(BT) may receive the promised^(BU) eternal inheritance^(BV)—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.^(BW)

¹⁶ In the case of a will,^[g] it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷ because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. ¹⁸ This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.^{(BX) 19} When Moses had proclaimed^(BY) every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves,^(BZ) together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people.^{(CA) 20} He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”^{[h](CB) 21} In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. ²² In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood,^(CC) and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.^(CD)

²³ It was necessary, then, for the copies^(CE) of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one;^(CF) he entered heaven itself,^(CG) now to appear for us in God’s presence.^{(CH) 25} Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place^(CI) every year with blood that is not his own.^{(CJ) 26} Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world.^(CK) But he has appeared^(CL) once for all^(CM) at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.^{(CN) 27} Just as people are destined to die once,^(CO) and after that to face judgment,^{(CP) 28} so Christ was sacrificed once^(CQ) to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time,^(CR) not to bear sin,^(CS) but to bring salvation^(CT) to those who are waiting for him.^(CU)

The Rooms for the Priests

42 Then the man led me northward into the outer court and brought me to the rooms^(A) opposite the temple courtyard^(B) and opposite the outer wall on the north side.^{(C) 2} The building whose door faced north was a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide.^{[a] 3} Both in the section twenty cubits^[b] from the inner court and in the section opposite the pavement of the outer court, gallery^(D) faced gallery at the three levels.^{(E) 4} In front of the rooms was an inner passageway ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits^[c] long.^[d] Their doors were on the north.^{(F) 5} Now the upper rooms were narrower, for the galleries took more space from them than from the rooms on the lower and middle floors of the building. ⁶ The rooms on the top floor had no pillars, as the courts had; so they were smaller in floor space than those on the lower and middle floors. ⁷ There was an outer wall parallel to the rooms and the outer court; it extended in front of the rooms for fifty cubits. ⁸ While the row of rooms on the side next to the outer court was fifty cubits long, the row on the side nearest the sanctuary was a hundred cubits long. ⁹ The lower rooms had an entrance^(G) on the east side as one enters them from the outer court.

¹⁰ On the south side^[e] along the length of the wall of the outer court, adjoining the temple courtyard^(H) and opposite the outer wall, were rooms^{(I) 11} with a passageway in front of them. These were like the rooms on the north; they had the same length and width, with similar exits and dimensions. Similar to the doorways on the north ¹² were the doorways of the rooms on the south. There was a doorway at the beginning of the passageway that was parallel to the corresponding wall extending eastward, by which one enters the rooms.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north^(J) and south rooms^(K) facing the temple courtyard^(L) are the priests’ rooms, where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings—the grain offerings,^(M) the sin offerings^[f](N) and the guilt offerings^(O)—for the place is holy.^{(P) 14} Once the priests enter the holy precincts, they are not to go into the outer court until they leave behind the garments^(Q) in which they minister, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they go near the places that are for the people.^(R)”

¹⁵ When he had finished measuring what was inside the temple area, he led me out by the east gate^(S) and measured the area all around: ¹⁶ He measured the east side with the measuring rod; it was five hundred cubits.^{[g][h] 17} He measured the north side; it was five hundred cubits^[i] by the measuring rod. ¹⁸ He measured the south side; it was five hundred cubits by the measuring rod. ¹⁹ Then he turned to the west side and measured; it was five hundred cubits by the measuring rod. ²⁰ So he measured^(T) the area^(U) on all four sides. It had a wall around it,^(V) five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide,^(W) to separate the holy from the common.^(X)

God’s Glory Returns to the Temple

43 Then the man brought me to the gate facing east,^{(Y) 2} and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters,^(Z) and the land was radiant with his glory.^{(AA) 3} The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he^[j] came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. ⁴ The glory^(AB) of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east.^{(AC) 5} Then the Spirit^(AD) lifted me up^(AE) and brought me into the inner court, and the glory^(AF) of the Lord filled the temple.^(AG)

⁶ While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. ⁷ He said: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne^(AH) and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. The people of Israel will never again defile^(AI) my holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and the funeral offerings^[k] for their kings at their death.^{[l](AJ) 8} When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they defiled my holy name by their detestable practices. So I destroyed them in my anger. ⁹ Now let them put away from me their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings, and I will live among them forever.^(AK)

¹⁰ “Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed^(AL) of their sins. Let them consider its perfection, ¹¹ and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations^[m] and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.^(AM)

¹² “This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area^(AN) on top of the mountain will be most holy.^(AO) Such is the law of the temple.

The Great Altar Restored

¹³ “These are the measurements of the altar^(AP) in long cubits,^[n] that cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth: Its gutter is a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span^[o] around the edge. And this is the height of the altar: ¹⁴ From the gutter on the ground up to the lower ledge that goes around the altar it is two cubits high, and the ledge is a cubit wide.^[p] From this lower ledge to the upper ledge that goes around the altar it is four cubits high, and that ledge is also a cubit wide.^{[q] 15} Above that, the altar hearth^(AQ) is four cubits high, and four horns^(AR) project upward from the hearth. ¹⁶ The altar hearth is square, twelve cubits^[r] long and twelve cubits wide.^{(AS) 17} The upper ledge^(AT) also is square, fourteen cubits^[s] long and fourteen cubits wide. All around the altar is a gutter of one cubit with a rim of half a cubit.^[t] The steps^(AU) of the altar face east.^(AV)”

¹⁸ Then he said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: These will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings^(AW) and splashing blood^(AX) against the altar when it is built: ¹⁹ You are to give a young bull^(AY) as a sin offering^[u] to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok,^(AZ) who come near^(BA) to minister before me, declares the Sovereign Lord. ²⁰ You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar^(BB) and on the four corners of the upper ledge^(BC) and all around the rim, and so purify the altar^(BD) and make atonement for it. ²¹ You are to take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.^(BE)

²² “On the second day you are to offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering, and the altar is to be purified as it was purified with the bull. ²³ When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect.^{(BF) 24} You are to offer them before the Lord, and the priests are to sprinkle salt^(BG) on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the Lord.

²⁵ “For seven days^(BH) you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect.^{(BI) 26} For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it. ²⁷ At the end of these days, from the eighth day^(BJ) on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings^(BK) and fellowship offerings^(BL) on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

The Priesthood Restored

44 Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east,^(BM) and it was shut. ² The Lord said to me, “This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it.^(BN) It is to remain shut because the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it. ³ The prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence^(BO) of the Lord. He is to enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.^(BP)”

⁴ Then the man brought me by way of the north gate^(BQ) to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the Lord filling the temple^(BR) of the Lord, and I fell facedown.^(BS)

⁵ The Lord said to me, “Son of man, look carefully, listen closely and give attention to everything I tell you concerning all the regulations and instructions regarding the temple of the Lord. Give attention to the entrance^(BT) to the temple and all the exits of the sanctuary.^{(BU) 6} Say to rebellious Israel,^(BV) ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Enough of your detestable practices, people of Israel! ⁷ In addition to all your other detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart^(BW) and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple while you offered me food, fat and blood, and you broke my covenant.^{(BX) 8} Instead of carrying out your duty in regard to my holy things, you put others in charge of my sanctuary.^{(BY) 9} This is what the Sovereign Lord says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary, not even the foreigners who live among the Israelites.^(BZ)

¹⁰ “‘The Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray^(CA) and who wandered from me after their idols must bear the consequences of their sin.^{(CB) 11} They may serve in my sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and serving in it; they may slaughter the burnt offerings^(CC) and sacrifices for the people and stand before the people and serve them.^{(CD) 12} But because they served them in the presence of their idols and made the people of Israel fall^(CE) into sin, therefore I have sworn with uplifted hand^(CF) that they must bear the consequences of their sin, declares the Sovereign Lord.^{(CG) 13} They are not to come near to serve me as priests or come near any of my holy things or my most holy offerings; they must bear the shame^(CH) of their detestable practices.^{(CI) 14} And I will appoint them to guard the temple for all the work that is to be done in it.^(CJ)

¹⁵ “‘But the Levitical priests, who are descendants of Zadok^(CK) and who guarded my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat^(CL) and blood, declares the Sovereign Lord.^{(CM) 16} They alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to come near my table^(CN) to minister before me and serve me as guards.^(CO)

¹⁷ “‘When they enter the gates of the inner court, they are to wear linen clothes;^(CP) they must not wear any woolen garment while ministering at the gates of the inner court or inside the temple. ¹⁸ They are to wear linen turbans^(CQ) on their heads and linen undergarments^(CR) around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire.^{(CS) 19} When they go out into the outer court where the people are, they are to take off the clothes they have been ministering in and are to leave them in the sacred rooms, and put on other clothes, so that the people are not consecrated^(CT) through contact with their garments.^(CU)

²⁰ “‘They must not shave^(CV) their heads or let their hair grow long, but they are to keep the hair of their heads trimmed.^{(CW) 21} No priest is to drink wine when he enters the inner court.^{(CX) 22} They must not marry widows or divorced women; they may marry only virgins of Israelite descent or widows of priests.^{(CY) 23} They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common^(CZ) and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.^(DA)

²⁴ “‘In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges^(DB) and decide it according to my ordinances. They are to keep my laws and my decrees for all my appointed festivals,^(DC) and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.^(DD)

²⁵ “‘A priest must not defile himself by going near a dead person; however, if the dead person was his father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister, then he may defile himself.^{(DE) 26} After he is cleansed, he must wait seven days.^{(DF) 27} On the day he goes into the inner court of the sanctuary^(DG) to minister in the sanctuary, he is to offer a sin offering^[v](DH) for himself, declares the Sovereign Lord.

²⁸ “‘I am to be the only inheritance^(DI) the priests have. You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession. ²⁹ They will eat^(DJ) the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings; and everything in Israel devoted^[w] to the Lord^(DK) will belong to them.^{(DL) 30} The best of all the firstfruits^(DM) and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal^(DN) so that a blessing^(DO) may rest on your household.^{(DP) 31} The priests must not eat anything, whether bird or animal, found dead^(DQ) or torn by wild animals.^(DR)