Hebrews 7:18-19

7:18 On the one hand a former command is set aside ¹  because it is weak and useless, ²  7:19 for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

Hebrews 8:7

8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, no one would have looked for a second one. ³ 

Hebrews 8:10-13

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 ⁴  my laws in their minds ⁵  and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people. ⁶ 

8:11 “And there will be no need at all ⁷  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. ⁸ 

8:12 “For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer.” ⁹ 

8:13 When he speaks of a new covenant, ¹⁰  he makes the first obsolete. Now what is growing obsolete and aging is about to disappear. ¹¹ 

Hebrews 10:1-4

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. ¹²  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 ¹³  no further consciousness of sin? 10:3 But in those sacrifices ¹⁴  there is a reminder of sins year after year. 10:4 For the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. ¹⁵ 

Galatians 2:21

2:21 I do not set aside ¹⁶  God’s grace, because if righteousness ¹⁷  could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing! ¹⁸ 

Galatians 4:3

4:3 So also we, when we were minors, ¹⁹  were enslaved under the basic forces ²⁰  of the world.

Galatians 4:9

4:9 But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless ²¹  basic forces? ²²  Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? ²³ 

Colossians 2:10-17

2:10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 2:11 In him you also were circumcised – not, however, ²⁴  with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal ²⁵  of the fleshly body, ²⁶  that is, ²⁷  through the circumcision done by Christ. 2:12 Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your ²⁸  faith in the power ²⁹  of God who raised him from the dead. 2:13 And even though you were dead in your ³⁰  transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless ³¹  made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions. 2:14 He has destroyed ³²  what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness ³³  expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. 2:15 Disarming ³⁴  the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ³⁵ 

2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days – 2:17 these are only ³⁶  the shadow of the things to come, but the reality ³⁷  is Christ! ³⁸ 

[7:18]  ¹ tn Grk “the setting aside of a former command comes to pass.”

[7:18]  ² tn Grk “because of its weakness and uselessness.”

[8:7]  ³ tn Grk “no occasion for a second one would have been sought.”

[8:10]  ⁴ tn Grk “putting…I will inscribe.”

[8:10]  ⁵ tn Grk “mind.”

[8:10]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “they will not teach, each one his fellow citizen…” The Greek makes this negation emphatic: “they will certainly not teach.”

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

[8:12]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Jer 31:31-34.

[8:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “when he says, ‘new,’” (referring to the covenant).

[8:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “near to disappearing.”

[10:1]  ¹² tn Grk “those who approach.”

[10:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “the worshipers, having been purified once for all, would have.”

[10:3]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “in them”; the referent (those sacrifices) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:4]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

[2:21]  ¹⁶ tn Or “I do not declare invalid,” “I do not nullify.”

[2:21]  ¹⁷ tn Or “justification.”

[2:21]  ¹⁸ tn Or “without cause,” “for no purpose.”

[4:3]  ¹⁹ tn See the note on the word “minor” in 4:1.

[4:3]  ²⁰ tn Or “basic principles,” “elemental things,” or “elemental spirits.” Some interpreters take this as a reference to supernatural powers who controlled nature and/or human fate.

[4:9]  ²¹ tn Or “useless.” See L&N 65.16.

[4:9]  ²² tn See the note on the phrase “basic forces” in 4:3.

[4:9]  ²³ tn Grk “basic forces, to which you want to be enslaved…” Verse 9 is a single sentence in the Greek text, but has been divided into two in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence.

[2:11]  ²⁴ tn The terms “however” and “but” in this sentence were supplied in order to emphasize the contrast.

[2:11]  ²⁵ tn The articular noun τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (th apekdusei) is a noun which ends in -σις (-sis) and therefore denotes action, i.e., “removal.” Since the head noun is a verbal noun, the following genitive τοῦ σώματος (tou swmatos) is understood as an objective genitive, receiving the action of the head noun.

[2:11]  ²⁶ tn Grk “in the removal of the body of flesh.” The genitive τῆς σαρκός (th" sarko") has been translated as an attributive genitive, “fleshly body.”

[2:11]  ²⁷ tn The second prepositional phrase beginning with ἐν τῇ περιτομῇ (en th peritomh) is parallel to the prepositional phrase ἐν τῇ ἀπεκδύσει (en th apekdusei) and gives a further explanation of it. The words “that is” were supplied to bring out this force in the translation.

[2:12]  ²⁸ tn The article with the genitive modifier τῆς πίστεως (th" pistew") is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:12]  ²⁹ tn The genitive τῆς ἐνεργείας (th" energeia") has been translated as an objective genitive, “faith in the power.”

[2:13]  ³⁰ tn The article τοῖς (tois) with παραπτώμασιν (paraptwmasin) is functioning as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[2:13]  ³¹ tn The word “nevertheless,” though not in the Greek text, was supplied in the translation to bring out the force of the concessive participle ὄντας (ontas).

[2:14]  ³² tn The participle ἐξαλείψας (exaleiyas) is a temporal adverbial participle of contemporaneous time related to the previous verb συνεζωοποίησεν (sunezwopoihsen), but has been translated as a finite verb because of the complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences. For the meaning “destroy” see BDAG 344-45 s.v. ἐξαλείφω 2.

[2:14]  ³³ tn On the translation of χειρόγραφον (ceirografon), see BDAG 1083 s.v. which refers to it as “a certificate of indebtedness.”

[2:15]  ³⁴ tn See BDAG 100 s.v. ἀπεκδύομαι 2.

[2:15]  ³⁵ tn The antecedent of the Greek pronoun αὐτῷ (autw) could either be “Christ” or the “cross.” There are several reasons for choosing “the cross” as the antecedent for αὐτῷ in verse 15: (1) The nearest antecedent is τῷ σταυρῷ (tw staurw) in v. 14; (2) the idea of ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παρρησία (edeigmatisen en parrhsia, “made a public disgrace”) seems to be more in keeping with the idea of the cross; (3) a reference to Christ seems to miss the irony involved in the idea of triumph – the whole point is that where one would expect defeat, there came the victory; (4) if Christ is the subject of the participles in v. 15 then almost certainly the cross is the referent for αὐτῷ. Thus the best solution is to see αὐτῷ as a reference to the cross and the preposition ἐν (en) indicating “means” (i.e., by means of the cross) or possibly (though less likely) location (on the cross).

[2:17]  ³⁶ tn The word “only,” though not in the Greek text, is supplied in the English translation to bring out the force of the Greek phrase.

[2:17]  ³⁷ tn Grk “but the body of Christ.” The term body here, when used in contrast to shadow (σκιά, skia) indicates the opposite meaning, i.e., the reality or substance itself.

[2:17]  ³⁸ tn The genitive τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou) is appositional and translated as such: “the reality is Christ.”