Discovery BoxHebrews 7:1--11:40
Context7:1 Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him. 1 7:2 To him 2 also Abraham apportioned a tithe 3 of everything. 4 His name first means 5 king of righteousness, then king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 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. 7:4 But see how great he must be, if 6 Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe 7 of his plunder. 7:5 And those of the sons of Levi who receive the priestly office 8 have authorization according to the law to collect a tithe from the people, that is, from their fellow countrymen, 9 although they too are descendants of Abraham. 10 7:6 But Melchizedek 11 who does not share their ancestry 12 collected a tithe 13 from Abraham and blessed 14 the one who possessed the promise. 7:7 Now without dispute the inferior is blessed by the superior, 7:8 and in one case tithes are received by mortal men, while in the other by him who is affirmed to be alive. 7:9 And it could be said that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid a tithe through Abraham. 7:10 For he was still in his ancestor Abraham’s loins 15 when Melchizedek met him.
7:11 So if perfection had in fact been possible through the Levitical priesthood – for on that basis 16 the people received the law – what further need would there have been for another priest to arise, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in Aaron’s order? 7:12 For when the priesthood changes, a change in the law must come 17 as well. 7:13 Yet the one these things are spoken about belongs to 18 a different tribe, and no one from that tribe 19 has ever officiated at the altar. 7:14 For it is clear that our Lord is descended from Judah, yet Moses said nothing about priests in connection with that tribe. 7:15 And this is even clearer if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 7:16 who has become a priest not by a legal regulation about physical descent 20 but by the power of an indestructible life. 7:17 For here is the testimony about him: 21 “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” 22 7:18 On the one hand a former command is set aside 23 because it is weak and useless, 24 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 25 this was not done without a sworn affirmation – for the others have become priests without a sworn affirmation, 7:21 but Jesus 26 did so 27 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’” 28 – 7:22 accordingly Jesus has become the guarantee 29 of a better covenant. 7:23 And the others 30 who became priests were numerous, because death prevented them 31 from continuing in office, 32 7:24 but he holds his priesthood permanently since he lives forever. 7:25 So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 7:26 For it is indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 7:27 He has no need to do every day what those priests do, to offer sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people, since he did this in offering himself once for all. 7:28 For the law appoints as high priests men subject to weakness, 33 but the word of solemn affirmation that came after the law appoints a son made perfect forever.
8:1 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: 34 We have such a high priest, one who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 35 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 36 the gifts prescribed by the law. 8:5 The place where they serve is 37 a sketch 38 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 39 shown to you on the mountain.” 40 8:6 But 41 now Jesus 42 has obtained a superior ministry, since 43 the covenant that he mediates is also better and is enacted 44 on better promises. 45
8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, no one would have looked for a second one. 46 8:8 But 47 showing its fault, 48 God 49 says to them, 50
“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 51 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 52 my laws in their minds 53 and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people. 54
8:11 “And there will be no need at all 55 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. 56
8:12 “For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer.” 57
8:13 When he speaks of a new covenant, 58 he makes the first obsolete. Now what is growing obsolete and aging is about to disappear. 59
9:1 Now the first covenant, 60 in fact, had regulations for worship and its earthly sanctuary. 9:2 For a tent was prepared, the outer one, 61 which contained 62 the lampstand, the table, and the presentation of the loaves; this 63 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 64 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 65 were the cherubim 66 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 67 as they perform their duties. 9:7 But only the high priest enters once a year into the inner tent, 68 and not without blood that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. 69 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 70 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 71 and various washings; they are external regulations 72 imposed until the new order came. 73
9:11 But now Christ has come 74 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 75 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, 76 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our 77 consciences from dead works to worship the living God.
9:15 And so he is the mediator 78 of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, 79 since he died 80 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. 81 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. 82 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.” 83 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 84 of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, 85 but the heavenly things themselves required 86 better sacrifices than these. 9:24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands – the representation 87 of the true sanctuary 88 – but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us. 9:25 And he did not enter to offer 89 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 90 are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment, 91 9:28 so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, 92 to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin 93 but to bring salvation. 94
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. 95 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 96 no further consciousness of sin? 10:3 But in those sacrifices 97 there is a reminder of sins year after year. 10:4 For the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. 98 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: 99 I have come – it is written of me in the scroll of the book – to do your will, O God.’” 100
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” 101 (which are offered according to the law), 10:9 then he says, “Here I am: I have come to do your will.” 102 He does away with 103 the first to establish the second. 10:10 By his will 104 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 105 serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again – sacrifices that can never take away sins. 10:12 But when this priest 106 had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand 107 of God, 10:13 where he is now waiting 108 until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. 109 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, 110 10:16 “This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put 111 my laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds,” 112 10:17 then he says, 113 “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer.” 114 10:18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, 115 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 116 through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 117 10:21 and since we have a great priest 118 over the house of God, 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, 119 because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience 120 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, 121 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 122 drawing near. 123
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, 124 10:27 but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury 125 of fire that will consume God’s enemies. 126 10:28 Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death 127 without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 128 10:29 How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for 129 the Son of God, and profanes 130 the blood of the covenant that made him holy, 131 and insults the Spirit of grace? 10:30 For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” 132 and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 133 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, 134 and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you certainly 135 had a better and lasting possession. 10:35 So do not throw away your confidence, because it 136 has great reward. 10:36 For you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised. 137 10:37 For just a little longer 138 and he who is coming will arrive and not delay. 139 10:38 But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I 140 take no pleasure in him. 141 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. 142
11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. 11:2 For by it the people of old 143 received God’s commendation. 144 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds 145 were set in order at God’s command, 146 so that the visible has its origin in the invisible. 147 11:4 By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith 148 he was commended as righteous, because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith 149 he still speaks, though he is dead. 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was not to be found because God took him up. For before his removal he had been commended as having pleased God. 11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 11:7 By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen, with reverent regard 150 constructed an ark for the deliverance of his family. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going. 11:9 By faith he lived as a foreigner 151 in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs 152 of the same promise. 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, 153 whose architect and builder is God. 11:11 By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, 154 he received the ability to procreate, 155 because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. 11:12 So in fact children 156 were fathered by one man – and this one as good as dead – like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand 157 on the seashore. 158 11:13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, 159 but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners 160 on the earth. 11:14 For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 11:15 In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 11:16 But as it is, 161 they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He had received the promises, 162 yet he was ready to offer up 163 his only son. 11:18 God had told him, “Through Isaac descendants will carry on your name,” 164 11:19 and he reasoned 165 that God could even raise him from the dead, and in a sense 166 he received him back from there. 11:20 By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. 11:21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped as he leaned on his staff. 167 11:22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, 168 mentioned the exodus of the sons of Israel 169 and gave instructions about his burial. 170
11:23 By faith, when Moses was born, his parents hid him 171 for three months, because they saw the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 11:24 By faith, when he grew up, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 11:25 choosing rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to enjoy sin’s fleeting pleasure. 11:26 He regarded abuse suffered for Christ 172 to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on 173 the reward. 11:27 By faith he left Egypt without fearing the king’s anger, for he persevered as though he could see the one who is invisible. 11:28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, 174 so that the one who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 11:29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry ground, but when the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up. 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho 175 fell after the people marched around them 176 for seven days. 11:31 By faith Rahab the prostitute escaped the destruction of 177 the disobedient, because she welcomed the spies in peace.
11:32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. 11:33 Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, 178 gained what was promised, 179 shut the mouths of lions, 11:34 quenched raging fire, 180 escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, 181 became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, 11:35 and women received back their dead raised to life. 182 But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life. 183 11:36 And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 11:37 They were stoned, sawed apart, 184 murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated 11:38 (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth. 11:39 And these all were commended 185 for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. 186 11:40 For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us. 187
[7:1] 1 sn A series of quotations from Gen 14:17-19.
[7:2] 2 tn Grk “to whom,” continuing the description of Melchizedek. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[7:2] 4 sn A quotation from Gen 14:20.
[7:2] 5 tn Grk “first being interpreted,” describing Melchizedek.
[7:5] 4 tn Or “the priesthood.”
[7:5] 5 tn Grk “from their brothers.” See BDAG 18-19 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.b.
[7:5] 6 tn Grk “have come from the loins of Abraham.”
[7:6] 5 tn Grk “the one”; in the translation the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified for clarity.
[7:6] 6 tn Grk “is not descended from them.”
[7:6] 8 sn The verbs “collected…and blessed” emphasize the continuing effect of the past actions, i.e., Melchizedek’s importance.
[7:10] 6 tn Grk “in the loins of his father” (a reference to Abraham). The name “Abraham” has been repeated in the translation at this point (cf. v. 9) in order to clarify the referent (i.e., what ancestor was in view).
[7:11] 7 tn Grk “based on it.”
[7:12] 8 tn Grk “of necessity a change in the law comes to pass.”
[7:13] 10 tn Grk “from which no one.”
[7:16] 10 tn Grk “a law of a fleshly command.”
[7:17] 11 tn Grk “for he/it is witnessed that.”
[7:17] 12 sn A quotation from Ps 110:4 (see Heb 5:6 and 6:20).
[7:18] 12 tn Grk “the setting aside of a former command comes to pass.”
[7:18] 13 tn Grk “because of its weakness and uselessness.”
[7:20] 13 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] 14 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:21] 15 tn The words “did so” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
[7:21] 16 sn A quotation from Ps 110:4 (see Heb 5:6, 6:20, and 7:17).
[7:23] 16 tn Grk “they on the one hand” in contrast with “he on the other hand” in v. 24.
[7:23] 17 tn Grk “they were prevented by death.”
[7:23] 18 tn Grk “from continuing” (the words “in office” are supplied for clarity).
[7:28] 17 sn See Heb 5:2 where this concept was introduced.
[8:1] 18 tn Grk “the main point of the things being said.”
[8:1] 19 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1; see Heb 1:3, 13.
[8:4] 19 tn Grk “there are those who offer.”
[8:5] 20 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] 21 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] 22 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] 23 sn A quotation from Exod 25:40.
[8:6] 21 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] 22 tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Jesus) has been specified for clarity.
[8:6] 23 tn Grk “to the degree that.”
[8:6] 24 tn Grk “which is enacted.”
[8:6] 25 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] 22 tn Grk “no occasion for a second one would have been sought.”
[8:8] 23 tn Grk “for,” but providing an explanation of the God-intended limitation of the first covenant from v. 7.
[8:8] 24 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] 25 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:8] 26 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] 24 tn Grk “not like the covenant,” continuing the description of v. 8b.
[8:10] 25 tn Grk “putting…I will inscribe.”
[8:10] 27 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] 26 tn Grk “they will not teach, each one his fellow citizen…” The Greek makes this negation emphatic: “they will certainly not teach.”
[8:11] 27 tn Grk “from the small to the great.”
[8:12] 27 sn A quotation from Jer 31:31-34.
[8:13] 28 tn Grk “when he says, ‘new,’” (referring to the covenant).
[8:13] 29 tn Grk “near to disappearing.”
[9:1] 29 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] 30 tn Grk “the first,” in order of approach in the ritual.
[9:2] 31 tn Grk “in which [were].”
[9:2] 32 tn Grk “which,” describing the outer tent.
[9:4] 31 tn Grk “in which”; in the translation the referent (the ark) has been specified for clarity.
[9:5] 32 tn Grk “above it”; in the translation the referent (the ark) has been specified for clarity.
[9:5] 33 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] 33 tn Grk “the first tent.”
[9:7] 34 tn Grk “the second tent.”
[9:7] 35 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] 35 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] 36 tn Grk “only for foods and drinks.”
[9:10] 37 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
[9:10] 38 tn Grk “until the time of setting things right.”
[9:11] 37 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] 38 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] 39 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] 40 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 1739c 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] 41 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] 42 tn Grk “the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
[9:15] 43 tn Grk “a death having occurred.”
[9:16] 42 tn Grk “there is a necessity for the death of the one who made it to be proven.”
[9:18] 43 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] 44 tn Grk “which God commanded for you (or in your case).”
[9:23] 45 tn Or “prototypes,” “outlines,” referring to the earthly sanctuary. See Heb 8:5 above for the prior use of this term.
[9:23] 46 tn Grk “with these”; in the translation the referent (sacrifices) has been specified for clarity.
[9:23] 47 tn Grk “the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”
[9:24] 46 tn Or “prefiguration.”
[9:24] 47 tn The word “sanctuary” is not in the Greek text at this point, but has been supplied for clarity.
[9:25] 47 tn Grk “and not that he might offer,” continuing the previous construction.
[9:27] 48 tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).
[9:27] 49 tn Grk “and after this – judgment.”
[9:28] 49 sn An allusion to Isa 53:12.
[9:28] 50 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] 51 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] 50 tn Grk “those who approach.”
[10:2] 51 tn Grk “the worshipers, having been purified once for all, would have.”
[10:3] 52 tn Grk “in them”; the referent (those sacrifices) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:4] 53 tn Grk “for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
[10:7] 54 tn Grk “behold,” but this construction often means “here is/there is” (cf. BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 2).
[10:7] 55 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] 55 sn Various phrases from the quotation of Ps 40:6 in Heb 10:5-6 are repeated in Heb 10:8.
[10:9] 56 tc The majority of
[10:10] 57 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] 58 tn Or “daily,” “every day.”
[10:12] 59 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] 60 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.
[10:13] 60 tn Grk “from then on waiting.”
[10:13] 61 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.
[10:15] 61 tn Grk “after having said,” emphasizing the present impact of this utterance.
[10:16] 62 tn Grk “putting…I will inscribe.”
[10:16] 63 sn A quotation from Jer 31:33.
[10:17] 64 sn A quotation from Jer 31:34.
[10:19] 64 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.
[10:20] 65 tn Grk “that he inaugurated for us as a fresh and living way,” referring to the entrance mentioned in v. 19.
[10:20] 66 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] 66 tn Grk “and a great priest,” continuing the construction begun in v. 19.
[10:22] 67 tn Grk “in assurance of faith.”
[10:22] 68 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] 68 tn Grk “let us consider one another for provoking of love and good deeds.”
[10:25] 69 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] 70 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] 70 tn Grk “is left,” with “for us” implied by the first half of the verse.
[10:27] 71 tn Grk “zeal,” recalling God’s jealous protection of his holiness and honor (cf. Exod 20:5).
[10:27] 72 tn Grk “the enemies.”
[10:28] 73 sn An allusion to Deut 17:6.
[10:29] 73 tn Grk “tramples under foot.”
[10:29] 74 tn Grk “regarded as common.”
[10:29] 75 tn Grk “by which he was made holy.”
[10:30] 74 sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.
[10:30] 75 sn A quotation from Deut 32:36.
[10:34] 75 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] 76 tn Grk “you yourselves.”
[10:35] 76 tn Grk “which,” but showing the reason.
[10:36] 77 tn Grk “the promise,” referring to the thing God promised, not to the pledge itself.
[10:37] 78 sn A quotation from Isa 26:20.
[10:37] 79 sn A quotation from Hab 2:3.
[10:38] 80 sn A quotation from Hab 2:4.
[10:39] 80 tn Grk “not…of shrinking back to perdition but of faith to the preservation of the soul.”
[11:2] 81 tn Or “the elders,” “the ancients.”
[11:2] 82 tn Grk “were attested,” “received commendation”; and Heb 11:4-6 shows this to be from God.
[11:3] 82 tn Grk “ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 1:2 for same usage.
[11:3] 83 tn Grk “by God’s word.”
[11:3] 84 sn The Greek phrasing emphasizes this point by negating the opposite: “so that what is seen did not come into being from things that are visible.”
[11:4] 83 tn Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through which.”
[11:4] 84 tn Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through it.”
[11:7] 84 tn Cf. BDAG 407 s.v. εὐλαβέομαι 2, “out of reverent regard (for God’s command).”
[11:9] 85 tn Or “settled as a resident alien.”
[11:9] 86 tn Or “heirs with him.”
[11:10] 86 tn Grk “that has foundations.”
[11:11] 87 tn Grk “past the time of maturity.”
[11:11] 88 tn Grk “power to deposit seed.” Though it is not as likely, some construe this phrase to mean “power to conceive seed,” making the whole verse about Sarah: “by faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and too old, she received ability to conceive, because she regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy.”
[11:12] 88 tn Grk “these”; in the translation the referent (children) has been specified for clarity.
[11:12] 89 tn Grk a collective “the sand.”
[11:12] 90 sn An allusion to Gen 22:17 (which itself goes back to Gen 15:5).
[11:13] 89 tn Grk “the promises,” referring to the things God promised, not to the pledges themselves.
[11:13] 90 tn Or “sojourners.”
[11:17] 91 tn Here “received the promises” refers to the pledges themselves, not to the things God promised.
[11:17] 92 tn Grk “he was offering up.” The tense of this verb indicates the attempt or readiness to sacrifice Isaac without the actual completion of the deed.
[11:18] 92 tn Grk “in Isaac seed will be named for you.”
[11:19] 93 tn Grk “having reasoned,” continuing the ideas of v. 17.
[11:19] 94 tn Grk “in/by a symbol.”
[11:21] 94 tn Grk “worshiped on the top of his staff,” a quotation from Gen 47:31 (LXX).
[11:22] 95 tn Grk “coming to an end,” “dying.”
[11:22] 96 sn Joseph’s prophecy about the exodus of the sons of Israel is found in Gen 50:24.
[11:22] 97 tn Grk “about his bones,” which refers by metonymy to the disposition of his bones, i.e., his burial.
[11:23] 96 tn Grk “Moses, when he was born, was hidden by his parents.”
[11:26] 97 tn Grk “the abuse [or ‘reproach’] of Christ.”
[11:26] 98 tn Grk “he was looking away to.”
[11:28] 98 tn Grk “the pouring out of the blood.”
[11:30] 99 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[11:30] 100 tn Grk “after they had been encircled.”
[11:31] 100 tn Grk “did not perish together with.”
[11:33] 101 tn This probably refers to the righteous rule of David and others. But it could be more general and mean “did what was righteous.”
[11:33] 102 tn Grk “obtained promises,” referring to the things God promised, not to the pledges themselves.
[11:34] 102 tn Grk “quenched the power of fire.”
[11:34] 103 tn Or “recovered from sickness.”
[11:35] 103 tn Grk “received back their dead from resurrection.”
[11:35] 104 tn Grk “to obtain a better resurrection.”
[11:37] 104 tc The reading ἐπρίσθησαν (ejprisqhsan, “they were sawed apart”) is found in some important witnesses (Ì46 [D* twice reads ἐπίρσθησαν, “they were burned”?] pc syp sa Orpt Eus). Other
[11:39] 105 sn The expression these all were commended forms an inclusio with Heb 11:2: The chapter begins and ends with references to commendation for faith.
[11:39] 106 tn Grk “the promise,” referring to the thing God promised, not to the pledge itself.
[11:40] 106 tn The Greek phrasing emphasizes this point by negating the opposite: “so that they would not be made perfect without us.”
