John 10:9

10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, ¹  and find pasture. ² 

Isaiah 35:8-9

35:8 A thoroughfare will be there –

it will be called the Way of Holiness. ³ 

The unclean will not travel on it;

it is reserved for those authorized to use it ⁴  –

fools ⁵  will not stray into it.

35:9 No lions will be there,

no ferocious wild animals will be on it ⁶  –

they will not be found there.

Those delivered from bondage will travel on it,

Matthew 11:27

11:27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. ⁷  No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides ⁸  to reveal him.

Acts 4:12

4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people ⁹  by which we must ¹⁰  be saved.”

Romans 5:2

5:2 through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice ¹¹  in the hope of God’s glory.

Ephesians 2:18

2:18 so that ¹²  through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Hebrews 7:25

7:25 So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Hebrews 9:8

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 ¹³  was standing.

Hebrews 10:19-22

Drawing Near to God in Enduring Faith

10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ¹⁴  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 ¹⁵  through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ¹⁶  10:21 and since we have a great priest ¹⁷  over the house of God, 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, ¹⁸  because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience ¹⁹  and our bodies washed in pure water.

Hebrews 10:1

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. ²⁰ 

Hebrews 1:1

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

1:1 After God spoke long ago ²¹  in various portions ²²  and in various ways ²³  to our ancestors ²⁴  through the prophets,

[10:9]  ¹ tn Since the Greek phrase εἰσέρχομαι καὶ ἐξέρχομαι (eisercomai kai exercomai, “come in and go out”) is in some places an idiom for living or conducting oneself in relationship to some community (“to live with, to live among” [cf. Acts 1:21; see also Num 27:17; 2 Chr 1:10]), it may well be that Jesus’ words here look forward to the new covenant community of believers. Another significant NT text is Luke 9:4, where both these verbs occur in the context of the safety and security provided by a given household for the disciples. See also BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β.

[10:9]  ² sn That is, pasture land in contrast to cultivated land.

[35:8]  ³ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and there will be there a road and a way, and the Way of Holiness it will be called.” וְדֶרֶךְ (vÿderekh, “and a/the way”) is accidentally duplicated; the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does not reflect the repetition of the phrase.

[35:8]  ⁴ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The text reads literally “and it is for them, the one who walks [on the] way.” In this context those authorized to use the Way of Holiness would be morally upright people who are the recipients of God’s deliverance, in contrast to the morally impure and foolish who are excluded from the new covenant community.

[35:8]  ⁵ tn In this context “fools” are those who are morally corrupt, not those with limited intellectual capacity.

[35:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “will go up on it”; TEV “will pass that way.”

[11:27]  ⁷ sn This verse has been noted for its conceptual similarity to teaching in John’s Gospel (10:15; 17:2). The authority of the Son and the Father are totally intertwined.

[11:27]  ⁸ tn Or “wishes”; or “intends”; or “plans” (cf. BDAG 182 s.v. βούλομαι 2.b). Here it is the Son who has sovereignty.

[4:12]  ⁹ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[4:12]  ¹⁰ sn Must be saved. The term used here (δεῖ, dei, “it is necessary”) reflects the necessity set up by God’s directive plan.

[5:2]  ¹¹ tn Or “exult, boast.”

[2:18]  ¹² tn Or “for.” BDAG gives the consecutive ὅτι (Joti) as a possible category of NT usage (BDAG 732 s.v. 5.c).

[9:8]  ¹³ 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.

[10:19]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[10:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “that he inaugurated for us as a fresh and living way,” referring to the entrance mentioned in v. 19.

[10:20]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “and a great priest,” continuing the construction begun in v. 19.

[10:22]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “in assurance of faith.”

[10:22]  ¹⁹ 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).

[10:1]  ²⁰ tn Grk “those who approach.”

[1:1]  ²¹ tn Or “spoke formerly.”

[1:1]  ²² tn Or “parts.” The idea is that God’s previous revelation came in many parts and was therefore fragmentary or partial (L&N 63.19), in comparison with the final and complete revelation contained in God’s Son. However, some interpret πολυμερῶς (polumerw") in Heb 1:1 to mean “on many different occasions” and would thus translate “many times” (L&N 67.11). This is the option followed by the NIV: “at many times and in various ways.” Finally, this word is also understood to refer to the different manners in which something may be done, and would then be translated “in many different ways” (L&N 89.81). In this last case, the two words πολυμερῶς and πολυτρόπως (polutropw") mutually reinforce one another (“in many and various ways,” NRSV).

[1:1]  ²³ tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.

[1:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “to the fathers.”