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15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

16 Now when someone leaves a will,[a] it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead.[b] 17 The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect.

18 That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal. 19 For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats,[c] along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. 20 Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.”[d] 21 And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship. 22 In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

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Footnotes

  1. 9:16a Or covenant; also in 9:17.
  2. 9:16b Or Now when someone makes a covenant, it is necessary to ratify it with the death of a sacrifice.
  3. 9:19 Some manuscripts do not include and goats.
  4. 9:20 Exod 24:8.

15 And so he is the mediator[a] of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised,[b] since he died[c] to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant. 16 For where there is a will, the death of the one who made it must be proven.[d] 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it carries no force while the one who made it is alive. 18 So even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood.[e] 19 For when Moses had spoken every command to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded you to keep.”[f] 21 And both the tabernacle and all the utensils of worship he likewise sprinkled with blood. 22 Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 9:15 tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesitēs, “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms.
  2. Hebrews 9:15 tn Grk “the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
  3. Hebrews 9:15 tn Grk “a death having occurred.”
  4. Hebrews 9:16 tn Grk “there is a necessity for the death of the one who made it to be proven.”
  5. Hebrews 9:18 sn The Greek text reinforces this by negating the opposite (“not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood”), but this double negation is not used in contemporary English.
  6. Hebrews 9:20 tn Grk “which God commanded for you (or in your case).”sn A quotation from Exod 24:8.