9:15 And so he is the mediator 6 of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, 7 since he died 8 to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant.
12:25 Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven?
1 sn A quotation from Ps 95:11.
2 tn Grk “although the works,” continuing the previous reference to God. The referent (God) is specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Or “the priesthood.”
4 tn Grk “from their brothers.” See BDAG 18-19 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.b.
5 tn Grk “have come from the loins of Abraham.”
5 tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesith", “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.
6 tn Grk “the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
7 tn Grk “a death having occurred.”
7 tn Grk “that there not be any root of bitterness,” but referring figuratively to a person who causes trouble (as in Deut 29:17 [LXX] from which this is quoted).