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Yeshua, Mediator of a Better Covenant

Now here is the main point being said. We do have such a Kohen Gadol, who has taken His seat at the right hand[a] of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. He is a priestly attendant of the Holies and the true Tent—which Adonai set up, not man. For every kohen gadol is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, so it is necessary for this One also to have something to offer. [b] Now if He were on earth, He would not be a kohen at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Torah. They offer service in a replica[c] and foreshadower of the heavenlies—one that is just as Moses was instructed by God when he was about to complete the tabernacle. For He says, “See that you make everything according to the design that was shown to you on the mountain.” [d] But now Yeshua has obtained a more excellent ministry, insofar as He is the mediator of a better covenant which has been enacted on better promises.

For if that first one had been faultless, there would not have been discourse seeking a second. For finding fault with them, He says,

“Behold, days are coming,
    says Adonai,
    when I will inaugurate a new covenant
    with the house of Israel
    and with the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their fathers
on the day when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not remain in My covenant,
    and I did not care for them, says Adonai.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make
    with the house of Israel
    after those days, says Adonai.
I will put My Torah into their mind,
    and upon their hearts I will write it.
And I will be their God,
    and they shall be My people.[e]
11 And no more will they teach,
    each one his fellow citizen
    and each one his brother, saying,
    ‘Know Adonai,’
    because all will know Me,
    from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
    and their sins I will remember no more.”[f]

13 In saying “new,” He has treated the first as old; but what is being made old and aging is close to vanishing.

The High Priest of a New Covenant

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest,(A) who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,(B) and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle(C) set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

Every high priest(D) is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices,(E) and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.(F) If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law.(G) They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy(H) and shadow(I) of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned(J) when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”[a](K) But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant(L) of which he is mediator(M) is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.(N) But God found fault with the people and said[b]:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when I will make a new covenant(O)
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors(P)
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
    and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
10 This is the covenant(Q) I will establish with the people of Israel
    after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
    and write them on their hearts.(R)
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.(S)
11 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,(T)
    from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.(U)[c](V)

13 By calling this covenant “new,”(W) he has made the first one obsolete;(X) and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 8:5 Exodus 25:40
  2. Hebrews 8:8 Some manuscripts may be translated fault and said to the people.
  3. Hebrews 8:12 Jer. 31:31-34