Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁵ That is why he is the middle man of a new agreement. He died and paid for the wrong things that were done under the first agreement. Because he is a middle man, those people who are called by God can have what he promised. This will belong to them for ever.

¹⁶ A person can say who will get his things when he dies. He writes this agreement down. Before anyone can have them, it must be proved that the person has died.

¹⁷ The agreement has no power until the one who made it has died. It has no power as long as the one who made it is living.

¹⁸ So even the old agreement made by God was not begun without blood.

¹⁹ Moses told all the people every part of the law. Then he took the blood of young cows and goats. He put some of the blood on the book of the law itself and on all the people. He took water and red wool and a plant called hyssop.

²⁰ As he did this, he said, `This is the blood for the agreement which God has made for you.'

²¹ In the same way, he put some of the blood on the house he had made for God, and on all the things that were used in worship.

²² Yes, by the old law almost everything is made clean with blood. If no animal is killed to give blood, then there is no way for people to be forgiven for the wrong things they have done.

²³ These things on earth show in a little way what things in heaven are like. The things on earth had to be cleaned by the blood of animals. But the things in heaven had to be cleaned with better sacrifices than these.

²⁴ Christ did not go into a holy place made by men's hands. The holy places on earth only show in a little way what the true holy place in heaven is like. He went into heaven itself. Now he stands before God for our sake.