Hebrews 9:13-14

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, ¹  9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our ²  consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

Hebrews 7:18-19

7:18 On the one hand a former command is set aside ³  because it is weak and useless, ⁴  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 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. ⁵  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 ⁶  no further consciousness of sin? 10:3 But in those sacrifices ⁷  there is a reminder of sins year after year. 10:4 For the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. ⁸ 

Hebrews 10:11

10:11 And every priest stands day after day ⁹  serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again – sacrifices that can never take away sins.

Psalms 40:6-7

40:6 Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. ¹⁰ 

You make that quite clear to me! ¹¹ 

You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.

40:7 Then I say,

“Look! I come!

What is written in the scroll pertains to me. ¹² 

Galatians 3:21

3:21 Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? ¹³  Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. ¹⁴ 

[9:13]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

[7:18]  ³ tn Grk “the setting aside of a former command comes to pass.”

[7:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “because of its weakness and uselessness.”

[10:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “those who approach.”

[10:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “the worshipers, having been purified once for all, would have.”

[10:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “in them”; the referent (those sacrifices) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

[10:11]  ⁹ tn Or “daily,” “every day.”

[40:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “sacrifice and offering you do not desire.” The statement is exaggerated for the sake of emphasis (see Ps 51:16 as well). God is pleased with sacrifices, but his first priority is obedience and loyalty (see 1 Sam 15:22). Sacrifices and offerings apart from genuine allegiance are meaningless (see Isa 1:11-20).

[40:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “ears you hollowed out for me.” The meaning of this odd expression is debated (this is the only collocation of “hollowed out” and “ears” in the OT). It may have been an idiomatic expression referring to making a point clear to a listener. The LXX has “but a body you have prepared for me,” a reading which is followed in Heb 10:5.

[40:7]  ¹² tn Heb “in the roll of the scroll it is written concerning me.” Apparently the psalmist refers to the law of God (see v. 8), which contains the commandments God desires him to obey. If this is a distinctly royal psalm, then the psalmist/king may be referring specifically to the regulations of kingship prescribed in Deut 17:14-20. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 315.

[3:21]  ¹³ tc The reading τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou, “of God”) is well attested in א A C D (F G read θεοῦ without the article) Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co. However, Ì⁴⁶ B d Ambst lack the words. Ì⁴⁶ and B perhaps should not to be given as much weight as they normally are, since the combination of these two witnesses often produces a secondary shorter reading against all others. In addition, one might expect that if the shorter reading were original other variants would have crept into the textual tradition early on. But 104 (a.d. 1087) virtually stands alone with the variant τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou, “of Christ”). Nevertheless, if τοῦ θεοῦ were not part of the original text, it is the kind of variant that would be expected to show up early and often, especially in light of Paul’s usage elsewhere (Rom 4:20; 2 Cor 1:20). A slight preference should be given to the τοῦ θεοῦ over the omission. NA²⁷ rightly places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[3:21]  ¹⁴ tn Or “have been based on the law.”