Hebrews 9:15-23

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  9:19 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.” ⁶  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 ⁷  of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, ⁸  but the heavenly things themselves required ⁹  better sacrifices than these.

[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.

[9:20]  ⁶ tn Grk “which God commanded for you (or in your case).”

[9:23]  ⁷ tn Or “prototypes,” “outlines,” referring to the earthly sanctuary. See Heb 8:5 above for the prior use of this term.

[9:23]  ⁸ tn Grk “with these”; in the translation the referent (sacrifices) has been specified for clarity.

[9:23]  ⁹ tn Grk “the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”