Commentary
Old Testament : Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
The Song of Songs
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
![](images/minus.gif)
Text -- Hebrews 9:1-28 (NET)
![](images/arrow_open.gif)
Strongs On/Off
Context
The Arrangement and Ritual of the Earthly Sanctuary
9:1 Now the first covenant, in fact , had regulations for worship and its earthly sanctuary .
9:2 For a tent was prepared , the outer one, which contained the lampstand , the table , and the presentation of the loaves ; this is called the holy place .
9:3 And after the second curtain there was a tent called the holy of holies .
9:4 It contained the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered entirely with gold . In this ark were the golden urn containing the manna , Aaron’s rod that budded , and the stone tablets of the covenant .
9:5 And above the ark were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat . Now is not the time to speak of these things in detail .
9:6 So with these things prepared like this, the priests enter continually into the outer tent as they perform their duties .
9:7 But only the high priest enters once a year into the inner tent, and not without blood that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance .
9:8 The Holy Spirit is making clear that the way into the holy place had not yet appeared as long as the old tabernacle was standing .
9:9 This was a symbol for the time then present , when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper .
9:10 They served only for matters of food and drink and various washings ; they are external regulations imposed until the new order came.
Christ’s Service in the Heavenly Sanctuary
9:11 But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come . He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands , that is , not of this creation ,
9:12 and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood , and so he himself secured eternal redemption .
9:13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity ,
9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ , who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God , purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God .
9:15 And so he is the mediator of a new covenant , so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised , since he died to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant .
9:16 For where there is a will , the death of the one who made it must be proven .
9:17 For a will takes effect only at death , since it carries no force while the one who made it is alive .
9:18 So even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood .
9:19 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 ,
9:20 and said , “This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded you to keep .”
9:21 And both the tabernacle and all the utensils of worship he likewise sprinkled with blood .
9:22 Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood , and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness .
9:23 So it was necessary for the sketches of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices , but the heavenly things themselves required better sacrifices than these .
9:24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands – the representation of the true sanctuary – but into heaven itself , and he appears now in God’s presence for us .
9:25 And he did not enter to offer himself again and again , the way the high priest enters the sanctuary year after year with blood that is not his own ,
9:26 for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world . But now he has appeared once for all at the consummation of the ages to put away sin by his sacrifice .
9:27 And just as people are appointed to die once , and then to face judgment ,
9:28 so also , after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many , to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time , not to bear sin but to bring salvation .
![](images/advanced.gif)
![](images/advanced.gif)
![](images/advanced.gif)
Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
![](images/arrow_open.gif)
Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Tabernacle |
ALTAR |
Offerings |
High priest |
Types |
Blood |
INTERCESSION OF CHRIST |
Symbols and Similitudes |
ATONEMENT, THE DAY OF |
LORD'S SUPPER; (EUCHARIST) |
Jesus, The Christ |
Law |
HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE |
SACRIFICE, IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, 1 |
Works |
Atonement |
COVENANT, THE NEW |
CHRIST, OFFICES OF |
Purification |
CLEAN |
more
![](images/cmt_minus_head.gif)
expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Heb 9:1; Heb 9:2; Heb 9:2; Heb 9:2; Heb 9:4; Heb 9:5; Heb 9:5; Heb 9:6; Heb 9:7; Heb 9:7; Heb 9:8; Heb 9:10; Heb 9:10; Heb 9:10; Heb 9:11; Heb 9:12; Heb 9:13; Heb 9:14; Heb 9:15; Heb 9:15; Heb 9:15; Heb 9:16; Heb 9:18; Heb 9:20; Heb 9:20; Heb 9:23; Heb 9:23; Heb 9:23; Heb 9:24; Heb 9:24; Heb 9:25; Heb 9:27; Heb 9:27; Heb 9:28; Heb 9:28; Heb 9:28
NET Notes: Heb 9:1 Grk “the first” (referring to the covenant described in Heb 8:7, 13). In the translation the referent (covenant) has been specified for cl...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Heb 9:4 Grk “in which”; in the translation the referent (the ark) has been specified for clarity.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Heb 9:5 The cherubim (pl.) were an order of angels mentioned repeatedly in the OT but only here in the NT. They were associated with God’s presence, glo...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Heb 9:7 Or perhaps “the unintentional sins of the people”; Grk “the ignorances of the people.” Cf. BDAG 13 s.v. ἀγν ...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Heb 9:8 Grk “the first tent.” The literal phrase “the first tent” refers to either (1) the outer chamber of the tabernacle in the wild...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Heb 9:11 Grk “But Christ, when he came,” introducing a sentence that includes all of Heb 9:11-12. The main construction is “Christ, having co...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Heb 9:12 This verb occurs in the Greek middle voice, which here intensifies the role of the subject, Christ, in accomplishing the action: “he alone secur...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Heb 9:13 Grk “for the purifying of the flesh.” The “flesh” here is symbolic of outward or ritual purity in contrast to inner purity, th...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Heb 9:14 The reading adopted by the translation is attested by many authorities (A D* K P 365 1739* al). But many others (א D2 0278 33 1739c 1881 Ï ...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Heb 9:18 The Greek text reinforces this by negating the opposite (“not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood”), but this double neg...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Heb 9:24 The word “sanctuary” is not in the Greek text at this point, but has been supplied for clarity.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)