Leviticus 1:9

1:9 Finally, the one presenting the offering ¹  must wash its entrails and its legs in water and the priest must offer all of it up in smoke on the altar ²  – it is ³  a burnt offering, a gift ⁴  of a soothing aroma to the Lord.

Leviticus 1:13

1:13 Then the one presenting the offering must wash the entrails and the legs in water, and the priest must present all of it and offer it up in smoke on the altar – it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.

Leviticus 1:17

1:17 and tear it open by its wings without dividing it into two parts. ⁵  Finally, the priest must offer it up in smoke on the altar on the wood which is in the fire – it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.

Leviticus 3:3

3:3 Then the one presenting the offering ⁶  must present a gift to the Lord from the peace offering sacrifice: He must remove the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that surrounds the entrails, ⁷ 

Leviticus 3:5

3:5 Then the sons of Aaron must offer it up in smoke on the altar atop the burnt offering that is on the wood in the fire as a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord. ⁸ 

Leviticus 8:21

8:21 but the entrails and the legs he washed with water, ⁹  and Moses offered the whole ram up in smoke on the altar – it was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma, a gift to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ¹⁰ 

Exodus 29:18

29:18 and burn ¹¹  the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering ¹²  to the Lord, a soothing aroma; it is an offering made by fire ¹³  to the Lord. ¹⁴ 

Ezra 6:10

6:10 so that they may be offering incense to the God of heaven and may be praying for the good fortune of the king and his family. ¹⁵ 

Job 42:8

42:8 So now take ¹⁶  seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede ¹⁷  for you, and I will respect him, ¹⁸  so that I do not deal with you ¹⁹  according to your folly, ²⁰  because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.” ²¹ 

Psalms 40:6-7

40:6 Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. ²² 

You make that quite clear to me! ²³ 

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. ²⁴ 

Psalms 51:16-17

51:16 Certainly ²⁵  you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; ²⁶ 

you do not desire a burnt sacrifice. ²⁷ 

51:17 The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit ²⁸  –

O God, a humble and repentant heart ²⁹  you will not reject. ³⁰ 

Psalms 69:30-31

69:30 I will sing praises to God’s name! ³¹ 

I will magnify him as I give him thanks! ³² 

69:31 That will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull

with horns and hooves.

Isaiah 42:21

42:21 The Lord wanted to exhibit his justice

by magnifying his law and displaying it. ³³ 

Isaiah 53:10

53:10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,

once restitution is made, ³⁴ 

he will see descendants and enjoy long life, ³⁵ 

and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.

Matthew 3:17

3:17 And ³⁶  a voice from heaven said, ³⁷  “This is my one dear Son; ³⁸  in him ³⁹  I take great delight.” ⁴⁰ 

Ephesians 5:2

5:2 and live ⁴¹  in love, just as Christ also loved us ⁴²  and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering ⁴³  to God.

Hebrews 1:3

1:3 The Son is ⁴⁴  the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, ⁴⁵  and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. ⁴⁶ 

Hebrews 9:12

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 ⁴⁷  eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:14-15

9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our ⁴⁸  consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

9:15 And so he is the mediator ⁴⁹  of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, ⁵⁰  since he died ⁵¹  to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant.

Hebrews 10:12

10:12 But when this priest ⁵²  had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand ⁵³  of God,

Hebrews 10:14

10:14 For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy.

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. ⁵⁴ 

Hebrews 2:4-5

2:4 while God confirmed their witness ⁵⁵  with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed ⁵⁶  according to his will.

Exposition of Psalm 8: Jesus and the Destiny of Humanity

2:5 For he did not put the world to come, ⁵⁷  about which we are speaking, ⁵⁸  under the control of angels.

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Hebrews 1:7

1:7 And he says ⁵⁹  of the angels, “He makes ⁶⁰  his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire,” ⁶¹ 

Hebrews 4:9-10

4:9 Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. 4:10 For the one who enters God’s ⁶²  rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.

Revelation 5:9

5:9 They were singing a new song: ⁶³ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ⁶⁴ 

and at the cost of your own blood ⁶⁵  you have purchased ⁶⁶  for God

persons ⁶⁷  from every tribe, language, ⁶⁸  people, and nation.

[1:9]  ¹ tn Heb “Finally, he”; the referent (the offerer) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Once again, the MT assigns the preparation of the offering (here the entrails and legs) to the offerer because it did not bring him into direct contact with the altar, but reserves the actual placing of the sacrifice on the altar for the officiating priest (cf. the notes on vv. 5a and 6a).

[1:9]  ² tn Heb “toward the altar,” but the so-called locative ה (hey) attached to the word for “altar” can indicate the place where something is or happens (GKC 250 §90.d and GKC 373-74 §118.g; cf. also J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:161). This is a standard way of expressing “on/at the altar” with the verb “to offer up in smoke” (Hiphil of קָטַר [qatar]; cf. also Exod 29:13, 18, 25; Lev 1:9, 13, 15, 17; 2:2, etc.).

[1:9]  ³ tc A few Hebrew mss and possibly the Leningrad B19a ms itself (the basis of the BHS Hebrew text of the MT), under an apparent erasure, plus Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Tg. Ps.-J. suggest that Hebrew הוּא (hu’, translated as “it is”) should be added here as in vv. 13 and 17. Whether or not the text should be changed, the meaning is the same as in vv. 13 and 17, so it has been included in the translation here.

[1:9]  ⁴ sn The standard English translation of “gift” (אִשֶּׁה, ’isheh) is “an offering [made] by fire” (cf. KJV, ASV). It is based on a supposed etymological relationship to the Hebrew word for “fire” (אֵשׁ, ’esh) and is still maintained in many versions (e.g., NIV, RSV, NRSV, NLT; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 7-8). For various reasons, including the fact that some offerings referred to by this term are not burned on the altar (see, e.g., Lev 24:9), it is probably better to understand the term to mean “gift” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 22) or “food gift” (“food offering” in NEB and TEV; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:161-62). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:540-49 for a complete discussion.

[1:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “he shall not divide it.” Several Hebrew mss, Smr, LXX, and Syriac have a vav on the negative, yielding the translation, “but he shall not divide it into two parts.” Cf. NIV “not severing it completely” (NRSV similar).

[3:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (the person presenting the offering) has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. the note on Lev 1:5).

[3:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and all the fat on the entrails.” The fat layer that covers the entrails as a whole (i.e., “that covers the entrails”) is different from the fat that surrounds and adheres to the various organs (“on the entrails,” i.e., surrounding them; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:205-7).

[3:5]  ⁸ tn Or “on the fire – [it is] a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord” (see Lev 1:13b, 17b, and the note on 1:9b).

[8:21]  ⁹ tn Again, Aaron probably did the washing (v. 21a), but Moses presented the portions on the altar (v. 21b; cf. the note on v. 15 above).

[8:21]  ¹⁰ tn See Lev 1:9, 13.

[29:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “turn to sweet smoke.”

[29:18]  ¹² sn According to Lev 1 the burnt offering (often called whole burnt offering, except that the skins were usually given to the priests for income) was an atoning sacrifice. By consuming the entire animal, God was indicating that he had completely accepted the worshiper, and as it was a sweet smelling fire sacrifice, he was indicating that he was pleased to accept it. By offering the entire animal, the worshiper was indicating on his part a complete surrender to God.

[29:18]  ¹³ tn The word אִשֶּׁה (’isheh) has traditionally been translated “an offering made with fire” or the like, because it appears so obviously connected with fire. But further evidence from Ugaritic suggests that it might only mean “a gift” (see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, 161).

[29:18]  ¹⁴ sn These sections show that the priest had to be purified or cleansed from defilement of sin and also be atoned for and accepted by the Lord through the blood of the sacrifice. The principles from these two sacrifices should be basic to anyone seeking to serve God.

[6:10]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “for the life of the king and his sons.”

[42:8]  ¹⁶ tn The imperatives in this verse are plural, so all three had to do this together.

[42:8]  ¹⁷ tn The verb “pray” is the Hitpael from the root פָּלַל (palal). That root has the main idea of arbitration; so in this stem it means “to seek arbitration [for oneself],” or “to pray,” or “to intercede.”

[42:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will lift up his face,” meaning, “I will regard him.”

[42:8]  ¹⁹ tn This clause is a result clause, using the negated infinitive construct.

[42:8]  ²⁰ tn The word “folly” can also be taken in the sense of “disgrace.” If the latter is chosen, the word serves as the direct object. If the former, then it is an adverbial accusative.

[42:8]  ²¹ sn The difference between what they said and what Job said, therefore, has to do with truth. Job was honest, spoke the truth, poured out his complaints, but never blasphemed God. For his words God said he told the truth. He did so with incomplete understanding, and with all the impatience and frustration one might expect. Now the friends, however, did not tell what was right about God. They were not honest; rather, they were self-righteous and condescending. They were saying what they thought should be said, but it was wrong.

[40:6]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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.

[51:16]  ²⁵ tn Or “For.” The translation assumes the particle is asseverative (i.e., emphasizing: “certainly”). (Some translations that consider the particle asseverative leave it untranslated.) If taken as causal or explanatory (“for”, cf. NRSV), the verse would explain why the psalmist is pleading for forgiveness, rather than merely offering a sacrifice.

[51:16]  ²⁶ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative is used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “You do not want a sacrifice, should I offer [it]” (cf. NEB). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortative is part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.)

[51:16]  ²⁷ sn You do not desire a burnt sacrifice. The terminology used in v. 16 does not refer to expiatory sacrifices, but to dedication and communion offerings. This is not a categorical denial of the sacrificial system in general or of the importance of such offerings. The psalmist is talking about his specific situation. Dedication and communion offerings have their proper place in worship (see v. 19), but God requires something more fundamental, a repentant and humble attitude (see v. 17), before these offerings can have real meaning.

[51:17]  ²⁸ tn Heb “a broken spirit.”

[51:17]  ²⁹ tn Heb “a broken and crushed heart.”

[51:17]  ³⁰ tn Or “despise.”

[69:30]  ³¹ tn Heb “I will praise the name of God with a song.”

[69:30]  ³² tn Heb “I will magnify him with thanks.”

[42:21]  ³³ tn Heb “The Lord was pleased for the sake of his righteousness [or “justice”], he was magnifying [the] law and was making [it] glorious.” The Lord contrasts his good intentions for the people with their present crisis (v. 22). To demonstrate his just character and attract the nations, the Lord wanted to showcase his law among and through Israel (Deut 4:5-8). But Israel disobeyed (v. 24) and failed to carry out their commission.

[53:10]  ³⁴ tn The meaning of this line is uncertain. It reads literally, “if you/she makes, a reparation offering, his life.” The verb תָּשִׂים (tasim) could be second masculine singular,in which case it would have to be addressed to the servant or to God. However, the servant is only addressed once in this servant song (see 52:14a), and God either speaks or is spoken about in this servant song; he is never addressed. Furthermore, the idea of God himself making a reparation offering is odd. If the verb is taken as third feminine singular, then the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) at the end of the line is the likely subject. In this case one can take the suffixed form of the noun as equivalent to a pronoun and translate, “if he [literally, “his life”] makes a reparation offering.”

[53:10]  ³⁵ sn The idiomatic and stereotypical language emphasizes the servant’s restoration to divine favor. Having numerous descendants and living a long life are standard signs of divine blessing. See Job 42:13-16.

[3:17]  ³⁶ tn Grk “and behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here.

[3:17]  ³⁷ tn Grk “behold, a voice from the cloud, saying.” This is an incomplete sentence in Greek which portrays intensity and emotion. The participle λέγουσα (legousa) was translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style.

[3:17]  ³⁸ tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

[3:17]  ³⁹ tn Grk “in whom.”

[3:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “with whom I am well pleased.”

[5:2]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “walk.” The NT writers often used the verb “walk” (περιπατέω, peripatew) to refer to ethical conduct (cf. Rom 8:4; Gal 5:16; Col 4:5).

[5:2]  ⁴² tc A number of important witnesses have ὑμᾶς (Jumas, “you”; e.g., א* A B P 0159 81 1175 al it co as well as several fathers). Other, equally important witnesses read ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”; Ì⁴⁶ א² D F G Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 al lat sy). It is possible that ἡμᾶς was accidentally introduced via homoioarcton with the previous word (ἠγάπησεν, hgaphsen). On the other hand, ὑμᾶς may have been motivated by the preceding ὑμῖν (Jumin) in 4:32 and second person verbs in 5:1, 2. Further, the flow of argument seems to require the first person pronoun. A decision is difficult to make, but the first person pronoun has a slightly greater probability of being original.

[5:2]  ⁴³ tn Grk “an offering and sacrifice to God as a smell of fragrance.” The first expression, προσφορὰν καὶ θυσίαν (prosforan kai qusian), is probably a hendiadys and has been translated such that “sacrificial” modifies “offering.” The second expression, εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας (ei" osmhn euwdia", “as a smell of fragrance”) has been translated as “a fragrant offering”; see BDAG 728-29 s.v. ὀσμή 2. Putting these two together in a clear fashion in English yields the translation: “a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.”

[1:3]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “who being…and sustaining.” Heb 1:1-4 form one skillfully composed sentence in Greek, but it must be broken into shorter segments to correspond to contemporary English usage, which does not allow for sentences of this length and complexity.

[1:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “by the word of his power.”

[1:3]  ⁴⁶ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1, quoted often in Hebrews.

[9:12]  ⁴⁷ 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.”

[9:14]  ⁴⁸ 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.

[9:15]  ⁴⁹ 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]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

[9:15]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “a death having occurred.”

[10:12]  ⁵² 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]  ⁵³ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.

[10:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “those who approach.”

[2:4]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “God bearing witness together” (the phrase “with them” is implied).

[2:4]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “and distributions of the Holy Spirit.”

[2:5]  ⁵⁷ sn The phrase the world to come means “the coming inhabited earth,” using the Greek term which describes the world of people and their civilizations.

[2:5]  ⁵⁸ sn See the previous reference to the world in Heb 1:6.

[1:7]  ⁵⁹ sn The Greek correlative conjunctions μέν and δέ (men and de) emphasize the contrastive parallelism of vs. 7 (what God says about the angels) over against vv. 8-9 and vv. 10-12 (what God says about the son).

[1:7]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “He who makes.”

[1:7]  ⁶¹ sn A quotation from Ps 104:4.

[4:10]  ⁶² tn Grk “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:9]  ⁶³ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

[5:9]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:9]  ⁶⁵ tn The preposition ἐν (en) is taken to indicate price here, like the Hebrew preposition ב (bet) does at times. BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 5.b states, “The ἐν which takes the place of the gen. of price is also instrumental ἠγόρασας ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου Rv 5:9 (cp. 1 Ch 21:24 ἀγοράζω ἐν ἀργυρίῳ).”

[5:9]  ⁶⁶ tc The Greek text as it stands above (i.e., the reading τῷ θεῷ [tw qew] alone) is found in codex A. א 2050 2344 Ï sy add the term “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas), either before or after τῷ θεῷ, as an attempt to clarify the object of “purchased” (ἠγόρασας, hgorasa"). A few mss (1 vg^ms) delete the reference to God altogether and simply replace it with “us” (ἡμᾶς). This too is an attempt to remove ambiguity in the phrase and provide an object for “purchased.” The shorter reading, supported by the best witness for Revelation, best accounts for the other readings.

[5:9]  ⁶⁷ tn The word “persons” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[5:9]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “and language,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.