10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, 6 since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 10:20 by the fresh and living way that he inaugurated for us 7 through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 8 10:21 and since we have a great priest 9 over the house of God, 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, 10 because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience 11 and our bodies washed in pure water.
1 tn Grk “And,” but “now” better represents the somewhat parenthetical nature of this statement in the flow of the narrative.
2 tn Grk “all the multitude.” While “assembly” is sometimes used here to translate πλῆθος (plhqo"), that term usually implies in English a specific or particular group of people. However, this was simply a large group gathered outside, which was not unusual, especially for the afternoon offering.
3 tn The “hour of the incense offering” is another way to refer to the time of sacrifice.
4 tn Since the Greek phrase εἰσέρχομαι καὶ ἐξέρχομαι (eisercomai kai exercomai, “come in and go out”) is in some places an idiom for living or conducting oneself in relationship to some community (“to live with, to live among” [cf. Acts 1:21; see also Num 27:17; 2 Chr 1:10]), it may well be that Jesus’ words here look forward to the new covenant community of believers. Another significant NT text is Luke 9:4, where both these verbs occur in the context of the safety and security provided by a given household for the disciples. See also BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β.
5 sn That is, pasture land in contrast to cultivated land.
6 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.
7 tn Grk “that he inaugurated for us as a fresh and living way,” referring to the entrance mentioned in v. 19.
8 sn Through his flesh. In a bold shift the writer changes from a spatial phrase (Christ opened the way through the curtain into the inner sanctuary) to an instrumental phrase (he did this through [by means of] his flesh in his sacrifice of himself), associating the two in an allusion to the splitting of the curtain in the temple from top to bottom (Matt 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). Just as the curtain was split, so Christ’s body was broken for us, to give us access into God’s presence.
9 tn Grk “and a great priest,” continuing the construction begun in v. 19.
10 tn Grk “in assurance of faith.”
11 sn The phrase our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience combines the OT imagery of the sprinkling with blood to give ritual purity with the emphasis on the interior cleansing provided by the new covenant: It is the heart that is cleansed and the conscience made perfect (cf. Heb 8:10; 9:9, 14; 10:2, 16).