Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are already priests who offer ¹  the gifts prescribed by the law.

For he was still in his ancestor Abraham’s loins ¹  when Melchizedek met him.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, no one would have looked for a second one. ¹ 

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain, ¹ 

For it is clear that our Lord is descended from Judah, yet Moses said nothing about priests in connection with that tribe.

a minister in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up.

by the fresh and living way that he inaugurated for us ¹  through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ² 

In fact, the scene ¹  was so terrifying that Moses said, “I shudder with fear.” ² 

For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin, ¹  and so ²  he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, ³ 

This was a symbol for the time then present, when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper.

(the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth.

So if perfection had in fact been possible through the Levitical priesthood – for on that basis ¹  the people received the law – what further need would there have been for another priest to arise, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in Aaron’s order?

“This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put ¹  my laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds,” ² 

“It will not be like the covenant ¹  that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord.

“For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put ¹  my laws in their minds ²  and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people. ³