Exodus 12:14

12:14 This day will become ¹  a memorial ²  for you, and you will celebrate it as a festival ³  to the Lord – you will celebrate it perpetually as a lasting ordinance. ⁴ 

Exodus 30:31

30:31 And you are to tell the Israelites: ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil throughout your generations.

Exodus 30:33

30:33 Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts any of it on someone not a priest ⁵  will be cut off ⁶  from his people.’”

Numbers 25:13

25:13 So it will be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of a permanent priesthood, because he has been zealous for his God, ⁷  and has made atonement ⁸  for the Israelites.’”

Psalms 110:4

110:4 The Lord makes this promise on oath ⁹  and will not revoke it: ¹⁰ 

“You are an eternal priest ¹¹  after the pattern of ¹²  Melchizedek.” ¹³ 

Hebrews 5:1-14

5:1 For every high priest is taken from among the people ¹⁴  and appointed ¹⁵  to represent them before God, ¹⁶  to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 5:2 He is able to deal compassionately with those who are ignorant and erring, since he also is subject to weakness, 5:3 and for this reason he is obligated to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. 5:4 And no one assumes this honor ¹⁷  on his own initiative, ¹⁸  but only when called to it by God, ¹⁹  as in fact Aaron was. 5:5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming high priest, but the one who glorified him was God, ²⁰  who said to him, “You are my Son! Today I have fathered you,” ²¹  5:6 as also in another place God ²²  says, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” ²³  5:7 During his earthly life ²⁴  Christ ²⁵  offered ²⁶  both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion. 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered. ²⁷  5:9 And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 5:10 and he was designated ²⁸  by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek. ²⁹ 

The Need to Move on to Maturity

5:11 On this topic we have much to say ³⁰  and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish ³¹  in hearing. 5:12 For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, ³²  you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances. ³³  You have gone back to needing ³⁴  milk, not ³⁵  solid food. 5:13 For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.

Hebrews 7:3

7:3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life but is like the son of God, and he remains a priest for all time.

Hebrews 7:7

7:7 Now without dispute the inferior is blessed by the superior,

Hebrews 7:17-24

7:17 For here is the testimony about him: ³⁶  “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” ³⁷  7:18 On the one hand a former command is set aside ³⁸  because it is weak and useless, ³⁹  7:19 for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. 7:20 And since ⁴⁰  this was not done without a sworn affirmation – for the others have become priests without a sworn affirmation, 7:21 but Jesus ⁴¹  did so ⁴²  with a sworn affirmation by the one who said to him, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever’” ⁴³  – 7:22 accordingly Jesus has become the guarantee ⁴⁴  of a better covenant. 7:23 And the others ⁴⁵  who became priests were numerous, because death prevented them ⁴⁶  from continuing in office, ⁴⁷  7:24 but he holds his priesthood permanently since he lives forever.

Hebrews 8:1--10:39

The High Priest of a Better Covenant

8:1 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: ⁴⁸  We have such a high priest, one who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ⁴⁹  8:2 a minister in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up. 8:3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. So this one too had to have something to offer. 8:4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are already priests who offer ⁵⁰  the gifts prescribed by the law. 8:5 The place where they serve is ⁵¹  a sketch ⁵²  and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, just as Moses was warned by God as he was about to complete the tabernacle. For he says, “See that you make everything according to the design ⁵³  shown to you on the mountain.” ⁵⁴  8:6 But ⁵⁵  now Jesus ⁵⁶  has obtained a superior ministry, since ⁵⁷  the covenant that he mediates is also better and is enacted ⁵⁸  on better promises. ⁵⁹ 

8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, no one would have looked for a second one. ⁶⁰  8:8 But ⁶¹  showing its fault, ⁶²  God ⁶³  says to them, ⁶⁴ 

“Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

8:9 “It will not be like the covenant ⁶⁵  that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord.

8:10 “For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put ⁶⁶  my laws in their minds ⁶⁷  and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people. ⁶⁸ 

8:11 “And there will be no need at all ⁶⁹  for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest. ⁷⁰ 

8:12 “For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer.” ⁷¹ 

8:13 When he speaks of a new covenant, ⁷²  he makes the first obsolete. Now what is growing obsolete and aging is about to disappear. ⁷³ 

The Arrangement and Ritual of the Earthly Sanctuary

9:1 Now the first covenant, ⁷⁴  in fact, had regulations for worship and its earthly sanctuary. 9:2 For a tent was prepared, the outer one, ⁷⁵  which contained ⁷⁶  the lampstand, the table, and the presentation of the loaves; this ⁷⁷  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 ⁷⁸  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 ⁷⁹  were the cherubim ⁸⁰  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 ⁸¹  as they perform their duties. 9:7 But only the high priest enters once a year into the inner tent, ⁸²  and not without blood that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. ⁸³  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 ⁸⁴  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 ⁸⁵  and various washings; they are external regulations ⁸⁶  imposed until the new order came. ⁸⁷ 

Christ’s Service in the Heavenly Sanctuary

9:11 But now Christ has come ⁸⁸  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 ⁸⁹  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, ⁹⁰  9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our ⁹¹  consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

9:15 And so he is the mediator ⁹²  of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, ⁹³  since he died ⁹⁴  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. ⁹⁵  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. ⁹⁶  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.” ⁹⁷  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 ⁹⁸  of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, ⁹⁹  but the heavenly things themselves required ¹⁰⁰  better sacrifices than these. 9:24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands – the representation ¹⁰¹  of the true sanctuary ¹⁰²  – but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us. 9:25 And he did not enter to offer ¹⁰³  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 ¹⁰⁴  are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment, ¹⁰⁵  9:28 so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, ¹⁰⁶  to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin ¹⁰⁷  but to bring salvation. ¹⁰⁸ 

Concluding Exposition: Old and New Sacrifices Contrasted

10:1 For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship. ¹⁰⁹  10:2 For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have ¹¹⁰  no further consciousness of sin? 10:3 But in those sacrifices ¹¹¹  there is a reminder of sins year after year. 10:4 For the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. ¹¹²  10:5 So when he came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.

10:6 “Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in.

10:7 “Then I said, ‘Here I am: ¹¹³  I have come – it is written of me in the scroll of the book – to do your will, O God.’” ¹¹⁴ 

10:8 When he says above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you did not desire nor did you take delight in them” ¹¹⁵  (which are offered according to the law), 10:9 then he says, “Here I am: I have come to do your will.” ¹¹⁶  He does away with ¹¹⁷  the first to establish the second. 10:10 By his will ¹¹⁸  we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 10:11 And every priest stands day after day ¹¹⁹  serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again – sacrifices that can never take away sins. 10:12 But when this priest ¹²⁰  had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand ¹²¹  of God, 10:13 where he is now waiting ¹²²  until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. ¹²³  10:14 For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy. 10:15 And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after saying, ¹²⁴  10:16 “This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put ¹²⁵  my laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds,” ¹²⁶  10:17 then he says, ¹²⁷  “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer.” ¹²⁸  10:18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Drawing Near to God in Enduring Faith

10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ¹²⁹  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 ¹³⁰  through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ¹³¹  10:21 and since we have a great priest ¹³²  over the house of God, 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, ¹³³  because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience ¹³⁴  and our bodies washed in pure water. 10:23 And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy. 10:24 And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, ¹³⁵  10:25 not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day ¹³⁶  drawing near. ¹³⁷ 

10:26 For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us, ¹³⁸  10:27 but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury ¹³⁹  of fire that will consume God’s enemies. ¹⁴⁰  10:28 Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death ¹⁴¹  without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ¹⁴²  10:29 How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for ¹⁴³  the Son of God, and profanes ¹⁴⁴  the blood of the covenant that made him holy, ¹⁴⁵  and insults the Spirit of grace? 10:30 For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” ¹⁴⁶  and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ¹⁴⁷  10:31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

10:32 But remember the former days when you endured a harsh conflict of suffering after you were enlightened. 10:33 At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and afflictions, and at other times you came to share with others who were treated in that way. 10:34 For in fact you shared the sufferings of those in prison, ¹⁴⁸  and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you certainly ¹⁴⁹  had a better and lasting possession. 10:35 So do not throw away your confidence, because it ¹⁵⁰  has great reward. 10:36 For you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised. ¹⁵¹  10:37 For just a little longer ¹⁵²  and he who is coming will arrive and not delay. ¹⁵³  10:38 But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I ¹⁵⁴  take no pleasure in him. ¹⁵⁵  10:39 But we are not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith and preserve their souls. ¹⁵⁶ 

[12:14]  ¹ tn Heb “and this day will be.”

[12:14]  ² tn The expression “will be for a memorial” means “will become a memorial.”

[12:14]  ³ tn The verb וְחַגֹּתֶם (vÿkhaggotem), a perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive to continue the instruction, is followed by the cognate accusative חַג (khag), for emphasis. As the wording implies and the later legislation required, this would involve a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Yahweh.

[12:14]  ⁴ tn Two expressions show that this celebration was to be kept perpetually: the line has “for your generations, [as] a statute forever.” “Generations” means successive generations (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 94). עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, perpetual” – no end in sight.

[30:33]  ⁵ tn Heb “a stranger,” meaning someone not ordained a priest.

[30:33]  ⁶ sn The rabbinic interpretation of this is that it is a penalty imposed by heaven, that the life will be cut short and the person could die childless.

[25:13]  ⁷ tn The motif is reiterated here. Phinehas was passionately determined to maintain the rights of his God by stopping the gross sinful perversions.

[25:13]  ⁸ sn The atonement that he made in this passage refers to the killing of the two obviously blatant sinners. By doing this he dispensed with any animal sacrifice, for the sinners themselves died. In Leviticus it was the life of the substitutionary animal that was taken in place of the sinners that made atonement. The point is that sin was punished by death, and so God was free to end the plague and pardon the people. God’s holiness and righteousness have always been every bit as important as God’s mercy and compassion, for without righteousness and holiness mercy and compassion mean nothing.

[110:4]  ⁹ tn Or “swears, vows.”

[110:4]  ¹⁰ tn Or “will not change his mind.” The negated Niphal imperfect of נָחַם (nakham) is a way of marking an announcement as an irrevocable decree. See 1 Sam 15:29; Ezek 24:14, as well as R. B. Chisholm, “Does God ‘Change His Mind’?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.

[110:4]  ¹¹ sn You are an eternal priest. The Davidic king exercised a non-Levitical priestly role. The king superintended Judah’s cultic ritual, had authority over the Levites, and sometimes led in formal worship. David himself instructed the Levites to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (1 Chr 15:11-15), joined the procession, offered sacrifices, wore a priestly ephod, and blessed the people (2 Sam 6:12-19). At the dedication of the temple Solomon led the ceremony, offering sacrifices and praying on behalf of the people (1 Kgs 8).

[110:4]  ¹² tn The phrase עַל־דִּבְרָתִי (’al-divratiy) is a variant of עַל־דִּבְרָת (’al-divrat; the final yod [י] being an archaic genitival ending), which in turn is a variant of עַל דָּבַר (’al davar). Both phrases can mean “concerning” or “because of,” but neither of these nuances fits the use of עַל־דִּבְרָתִי in Ps 110:4. Here the phrase probably carries the sense “according to the manner of.” See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 81.

[110:4]  ¹³ sn The Davidic king’s priestly role is analogous to that of Melchizedek, who was both “king of Salem” (i.e., Jerusalem) and a “priest of God Most High” in the time of Abraham (Gen 14:18-20). Like Melchizedek, the Davidic king was a royal priest, distinct from the Aaronic line (see Heb 7). The analogy focuses on the king’s priestly role; the language need not imply that Melchizedek himself was “an eternal priest.”

[5:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “from among men,” but since the point in context is shared humanity (rather than shared maleness), the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated “people.”

[5:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “who is taken from among people is appointed.”

[5:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “appointed on behalf of people in reference to things relating to God.”

[5:4]  ¹⁷ sn Honor refers here to the honor of the high priesthood.

[5:4]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “by himself, on his own.”

[5:4]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “being called by God.”

[5:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the one”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:5]  ²¹ tn Grk “I have begotten you”; see Heb 1:5.

[5:6]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:6]  ²³ sn A quotation from Ps 110:4.

[5:7]  ²⁴ tn Grk “in the days of his flesh.”

[5:7]  ²⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:7]  ²⁶ tn Grk “who…having offered,” continuing the description of Christ from Heb 5:5-6.

[5:8]  ²⁷ sn There is a wordplay in the Greek text between the verbs “learned” (ἔμαθεν, emaqen) and “suffered” (ἔπαθεν, epaqen).

[5:10]  ²⁸ tn Grk “having been designated,” continuing the thought of Heb 5:9.

[5:10]  ²⁹ sn The phrase in the order of Melchizedek picks up the quotation from Ps 110:4 in Heb 5:6.

[5:11]  ³⁰ tn Grk “concerning which the message for us is great.”

[5:11]  ³¹ tn Or “dull.”

[5:12]  ³² tn Grk “because of the time.”

[5:12]  ³³ tn Grk “the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God.”

[5:12]  ³⁴ tn Grk “you have come to have a need for.”

[5:12]  ³⁵ tc ‡ Most texts, including some early and important ones (א² A B* D Ψ 0122 0278 1881 Ï sy Cl), have καί (kai, “and”) immediately preceding οὐ (ou, “not”), but other equally significant witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* B² C 33 81 1739 lat Or Did) lack the conjunction. As it was a natural tendency for scribes to add a coordinating conjunction, the καί appears to be a motivated reading. On balance, it is probably best to regard the shorter reading as authentic. NA²⁷ has καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[7:17]  ³⁶ tn Grk “for he/it is witnessed that.”

[7:17]  ³⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 110:4 (see Heb 5:6 and 6:20).

[7:18]  ³⁸ tn Grk “the setting aside of a former command comes to pass.”

[7:18]  ³⁹ tn Grk “because of its weakness and uselessness.”

[7:20]  ⁴⁰ sn The Greek text contains an elaborate comparison between v. 20a and v. 22, with a parenthesis (vv. 20b-21) in between; the comparison is literally, “by as much as…by so much” or “to the degree that…to that same degree.”

[7:21]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:21]  ⁴² tn The words “did so” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[7:21]  ⁴³ sn A quotation from Ps 110:4 (see Heb 5:6, 6:20, and 7:17).

[7:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “surety.”

[7:23]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “they on the one hand” in contrast with “he on the other hand” in v. 24.

[7:23]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “they were prevented by death.”

[7:23]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “from continuing” (the words “in office” are supplied for clarity).

[8:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “the main point of the things being said.”

[8:1]  ⁴⁹ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1; see Heb 1:3, 13.

[8:4]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “there are those who offer.”

[8:5]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “who serve in,” referring to the Levitical priests, but focusing on the provisional and typological nature of the tabernacle in which they served.

[8:5]  ⁵² tn Or “prototype,” “outline.” The Greek word ὑπόδειγμα (Jupodeigma) does not mean “copy,” as it is often translated; it means “something to be copied,” a basis for imitation. BDAG 1037 s.v. 2 lists both Heb 8:5 and 9:23 under the second category of usage, “an indication of someth. that appears at a subsequent time,” emphasizing the temporal progression between the earthly and heavenly sanctuaries.

[8:5]  ⁵³ tn The word τύπος (tupos) here has the meaning “an archetype serving as a model, type, pattern, model” (BDAG 1020 s.v. 6.a). This is in keeping with the horizontal imagery accepted for this verse (see sn on “sketch” earlier in the verse). Here Moses was shown the future heavenly sanctuary which, though it did not yet exist, became the outline for the earthly sanctuary.

[8:5]  ⁵⁴ sn A quotation from Exod 25:40.

[8:6]  ⁵⁵ sn The Greek text indicates a contrast between vv. 4-5 and v. 6 that is difficult to render in English: Jesus’ status in the old order of priests (vv. 4-5) versus his superior ministry (v. 6).

[8:6]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Jesus) has been specified for clarity.

[8:6]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “to the degree that.”

[8:6]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “which is enacted.”

[8:6]  ⁵⁹ sn This linkage of the change in priesthood with a change in the law or the covenant goes back to Heb 7:12, 22 and is picked up again in Heb 9:6-15 and 10:1-18.

[8:7]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “no occasion for a second one would have been sought.”

[8:8]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “for,” but providing an explanation of the God-intended limitation of the first covenant from v. 7.

[8:8]  ⁶² sn The “fault” or limitation in the first covenant was not in its inherent righteousness, but in its design from God himself. It was never intended to be his final revelation or provision for mankind; it was provisional, always pointing toward the fulfillment to come in Christ.

[8:8]  ⁶³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:8]  ⁶⁴ tc ‡ Several witnesses (א* A D* I K P Ψ 33 81 326 365 1505 2464 al latt co Cyr) have αὐτούς (autous) here, “[in finding fault with] them, [he says],” alluding to Israel’s failings mentioned in v. 9b. (The verb μέμφομαι [memfomai, “to find fault with”] can take an accusative or dative direct object.) The reading behind the text above (αὐτοίς, autoi"), supported by Ì⁴⁶ א² B D² 0278 1739 1881 Ï, is perhaps a harder reading theologically, and is more ambiguous in meaning. If αὐτοίς goes with μεμφόμενος (memfomeno", here translated “showing its fault”), the clause could be translated “in finding fault with them” or “in showing [its] faults to them.” If αὐτοίς goes with the following λέγει (legei, “he says”), the clause is best translated, “in finding/showing [its] faults, he says to them.” The accusative pronoun suffers no such ambiguity, for it must be the object of μεμφόμενος rather than λέγει. Although a decision is difficult, the dative form of the pronoun best explains the rise of the other reading and is thus more likely to be original.

[8:9]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “not like the covenant,” continuing the description of v. 8b.

[8:10]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “putting…I will inscribe.”

[8:10]  ⁶⁷ tn Grk “mind.”

[8:10]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “I will be to them for a God and they will be to me for a people,” following the Hebrew constructions of Jer 31.

[8:11]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “they will not teach, each one his fellow citizen…” The Greek makes this negation emphatic: “they will certainly not teach.”

[8:11]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “from the small to the great.”

[8:12]  ⁷¹ sn A quotation from Jer 31:31-34.

[8:13]  ⁷² tn Grk “when he says, ‘new,’” (referring to the covenant).

[8:13]  ⁷³ tn Grk “near to disappearing.”

[9:1]  ⁷⁴ tn Grk “the first” (referring to the covenant described in Heb 8:7, 13). In the translation the referent (covenant) has been specified for clarity.

[9:2]  ⁷⁵ tn Grk “the first,” in order of approach in the ritual.

[9:2]  ⁷⁶ tn Grk “in which [were].”

[9:2]  ⁷⁷ tn Grk “which,” describing the outer tent.

[9:4]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “in which”; in the translation the referent (the ark) has been specified for clarity.

[9:5]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “above it”; in the translation the referent (the ark) has been specified for clarity.

[9:5]  ⁸⁰ sn 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, glory, and holiness. Their images that sat on top of the ark of the covenant are described in Exod 25:18-20.

[9:6]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “the first tent.”

[9:7]  ⁸² tn Grk “the second tent.”

[9:7]  ⁸³ tn Or perhaps “the unintentional sins of the people”; Grk “the ignorances of the people.” Cf. BDAG 13 s.v. ἀγνόημα, “sin committed in ignorance/unintentionally.” This term seems to be simply a synonym for “sins” (cf. Heb 5:2) and does not pick up the distinction made in Num 15:22-31 between unwitting sin and “high-handed” sin. The Day of Atonement ritual in Lev 16 covered all the sins of the people, not just the unwitting ones.

[9:8]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “the first tent.” The literal phrase “the first tent” refers to either (1) the outer chamber of the tabernacle in the wilderness (as in vv. 2, 6) or (2) the entire tabernacle as a symbol of the OT system of approaching God. The second is more likely given the contrast that follows in vv. 11-12.

[9:10]  ⁸⁵ tn Grk “only for foods and drinks.”

[9:10]  ⁸⁶ tc Most witnesses (D¹ Ï) have “various washings, and external regulations” (βαπτισμοῖς καὶ δικαιώμασιν, baptismoi" kai dikaiwmasin), with both nouns in the dative. The translation “washings; they are… regulations” renders βαπτισμοῖς, δικαιώματα (baptismoi", dikaiwmata; found in such important mss as Ì⁴⁶ א* A I P 0278 33 1739 1881 al sa) in which case δικαιώματα is taken as the nominative subject of the participle ἐπικείμενα (epikeimena). It seems far more likely that scribes would conform δικαιώματα to the immediately preceding datives and join it to them by καί than they would to the following nominative participle. Both on external and internal evidence the text is thus secure as reading βαπτισμοῖς, δικαιώματα.

[9:10]  ⁸⁷ tn Grk “until the time of setting things right.”

[9:11]  ⁸⁸ tn Grk “But Christ, when he came,” introducing a sentence that includes all of Heb 9:11-12. The main construction is “Christ, having come…, entered…, having secured…,” and everything else describes his entrance.

[9:12]  ⁸⁹ tn This verb occurs in the Greek middle voice, which here intensifies the role of the subject, Christ, in accomplishing the action: “he alone secured”; “he and no other secured.”

[9:13]  ⁹⁰ tn Grk “for the purifying of the flesh.” The “flesh” here is symbolic of outward or ritual purity in contrast to inner purity, that of the conscience (cf. Heb 9:9).

[9:14]  ⁹¹ tc 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 1739^c 1881 Ï lat sa) read “your” instead of “our.” The diversity of evidence makes this a difficult case to decide from external evidence alone. The first and second person pronouns differ by only one letter in Greek, as in English, also making this problem difficult to decide based on internal evidence and transcriptional probability. In the context, the author’s description of sacrificial activities seems to invite the reader to compare his own possible participation in OT liturgy as over against the completed work of Christ, so the second person pronoun “your” might make more sense. On the other hand, TCGNT 599 argues that “our” is preferable because the author of Hebrews uses direct address (i.e., the second person) only in the hortatory sections. What is more, the author seems to prefer the first person in explanatory remarks or when giving the logical grounds for an assertion (cf. Heb 4:15; 7:14). It is hard to reach a definitive conclusion in this case, but the data lean slightly in favor of the first person pronoun.

[9:15]  ⁹² 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.

[9:15]  ⁹³ tn Grk “the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

[9:15]  ⁹⁴ tn Grk “a death having occurred.”

[9:16]  ⁹⁵ tn Grk “there is a necessity for the death of the one who made it to be proven.”

[9:18]  ⁹⁶ 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.

[9:20]  ⁹⁷ tn Grk “which God commanded for you (or in your case).”

[9:23]  ⁹⁸ tn Or “prototypes,” “outlines,” referring to the earthly sanctuary. See Heb 8:5 above for the prior use of this term.

[9:23]  ⁹⁹ tn Grk “with these”; in the translation the referent (sacrifices) has been specified for clarity.

[9:23]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Grk “the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”

[9:24]  ¹⁰¹ tn Or “prefiguration.”

[9:24]  ¹⁰² tn The word “sanctuary” is not in the Greek text at this point, but has been supplied for clarity.

[9:25]  ¹⁰³ tn Grk “and not that he might offer,” continuing the previous construction.

[9:27]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[9:27]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Grk “and after this – judgment.”

[9:28]  ¹⁰⁶ sn An allusion to Isa 53:12.

[9:28]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Grk “without sin,” but in context this does not refer to Christ’s sinlessness (as in Heb 4:15) but to the fact that sin is already dealt with by his first coming.

[9:28]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Grk “for salvation.” This may be construed with the verb “await” (those who wait for him to bring them salvation), but the connection with “appear” (as in the translation) is more likely.

[10:1]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Grk “those who approach.”

[10:2]  ¹¹⁰ tn Grk “the worshipers, having been purified once for all, would have.”

[10:3]  ¹¹¹ tn Grk “in them”; the referent (those sacrifices) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:4]  ¹¹² tn Grk “for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

[10:7]  ¹¹³ tn Grk “behold,” but this construction often means “here is/there is” (cf. BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 2).

[10:7]  ¹¹⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 40:6-8 (LXX). The phrase a body you prepared for me (in v. 5) is apparently an interpretive expansion of the HT reading “ears you have dug out for me.”

[10:8]  ¹¹⁵ sn Various phrases from the quotation of Ps 40:6 in Heb 10:5-6 are repeated in Heb 10:8.

[10:9]  ¹¹⁶ tc The majority of mss, especially the later ones (א² 0278^vid 1739 Ï lat), have ὁ θεός (Jo qeo", “God”) at this point, while most of the earliest and best witnesses lack such an explicit addressee (so Ì⁴⁶ א* A C D K P Ψ 33 1175 1881 2464 al). The longer reading is a palpable corruption, apparently motivated in part by the wording of Ps 40:8 (39:9 LXX) and by the word order of this same verse as quoted in Heb 10:7.

[10:9]  ¹¹⁷ tn Or “abolishes.”

[10:10]  ¹¹⁸ tn Grk “by which will.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[10:11]  ¹¹⁹ tn Or “daily,” “every day.”

[10:12]  ¹²⁰ tn Grk “this one.” This pronoun refers to Jesus, but “this priest” was used in the translation to make the contrast between the Jewish priests in v. 11 and Jesus as a priest clearer in English.

[10:12]  ¹²¹ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.

[10:13]  ¹²² tn Grk “from then on waiting.”

[10:13]  ¹²³ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.

[10:15]  ¹²⁴ tn Grk “after having said,” emphasizing the present impact of this utterance.

[10:16]  ¹²⁵ tn Grk “putting…I will inscribe.”

[10:16]  ¹²⁶ sn A quotation from Jer 31:33.

[10:17]  ¹²⁷ tn Grk “and.”

[10:17]  ¹²⁸ sn A quotation from Jer 31:34.

[10:19]  ¹²⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[10:20]  ¹³⁰ tn Grk “that he inaugurated for us as a fresh and living way,” referring to the entrance mentioned in v. 19.

[10:20]  ¹³¹ 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.

[10:21]  ¹³² tn Grk “and a great priest,” continuing the construction begun in v. 19.

[10:22]  ¹³³ tn Grk “in assurance of faith.”

[10:22]  ¹³⁴ 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).

[10:24]  ¹³⁵ tn Grk “let us consider one another for provoking of love and good deeds.”

[10:25]  ¹³⁶ sn The day refers to that well-known time of Christ’s coming and judgment in the future; see a similar use of “day” in 1 Cor 3:13.

[10:25]  ¹³⁷ tn This paragraph (vv. 19-25) is actually a single, skillfully composed sentence in Greek, but it must be broken into shorter segments for English idiom. It begins with several subordinate phrases (since we have confidence and a great priest), has three parallel exhortations as its main verbs (let us draw near, hold, and take thought), and concludes with several subordinate phrases related to the final exhortation (not abandoning but encouraging).

[10:26]  ¹³⁸ tn Grk “is left,” with “for us” implied by the first half of the verse.

[10:27]  ¹³⁹ tn Grk “zeal,” recalling God’s jealous protection of his holiness and honor (cf. Exod 20:5).

[10:27]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Grk “the enemies.”

[10:28]  ¹⁴¹ tn Grk “dies.”

[10:28]  ¹⁴² sn An allusion to Deut 17:6.

[10:29]  ¹⁴³ tn Grk “tramples under foot.”

[10:29]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Grk “regarded as common.”

[10:29]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Grk “by which he was made holy.”

[10:30]  ¹⁴⁶ sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.

[10:30]  ¹⁴⁷ sn A quotation from Deut 32:36.

[10:34]  ¹⁴⁸ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א D² 1881 Ï), read δεσμοῖς μου (desmoi" mou, “my imprisonment”) here, a reading that is probably due to the widespread belief in the early Christian centuries that Paul was the author of Hebrews (cf. Phil 1:7; Col 4:18). It may have been generated by the reading δεσμοῖς without the μου (so Ì⁴⁶ Ψ 104 pc), the force of which is so ambiguous (lit., “you shared the sufferings with the bonds”) as to be virtually nonsensical. Most likely, δεσμοῖς resulted when a scribe made an error in copying δεσμίοις (desmioi"), a reading which makes excellent sense (“[of] those in prison”) and is strongly supported by early and significant witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texttypes (A D* H 6 33 81 1739 lat sy co). Thus, δεσμίοις best explains the rise of the other readings on both internal and external grounds and is strongly preferred.

[10:34]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Grk “you yourselves.”

[10:35]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Grk “which,” but showing the reason.

[10:36]  ¹⁵¹ tn Grk “the promise,” referring to the thing God promised, not to the pledge itself.

[10:37]  ¹⁵² sn A quotation from Isa 26:20.

[10:37]  ¹⁵³ sn A quotation from Hab 2:3.

[10:38]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Grk “my soul.”

[10:38]  ¹⁵⁵ sn A quotation from Hab 2:4.

[10:39]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Grk “not…of shrinking back to perdition but of faith to the preservation of the soul.”