Hebrews 9:15-18

9:15 And so he is the mediator ¹  of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, ²  since he died ³  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. ⁴  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. ⁵ 

[9:15]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Grk “the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

[9:15]  ³ tn Grk “a death having occurred.”

[9:16]  ⁴ tn Grk “there is a necessity for the death of the one who made it to be proven.”

[9:18]  ⁵ 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.