Hebrews 10:19-25

Drawing Near to God in Enduring Faith

10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ¹  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 ²  through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ³  10:21 and since we have a great priest ⁴  over the house of God, 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, ⁵  because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience ⁶  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, ⁷  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 ⁸  drawing near. ⁹ 

[10:19]  ¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[10:20]  ² tn Grk “that he inaugurated for us as a fresh and living way,” referring to the entrance mentioned in v. 19.

[10:20]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “and a great priest,” continuing the construction begun in v. 19.

[10:22]  ⁵ tn Grk “in assurance of faith.”

[10:22]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “let us consider one another for provoking of love and good deeds.”

[10:25]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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).