Hebrews 8

Chapter 8

Christ Is Our High Priest

1 Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven.

2 There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle,t the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.
3 And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too.4 If he were here on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts required by the law.

5 They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.”t

6 But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.
7 If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it.

8 But when God found fault with the people, he said:
“The day is coming, says the LORD,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel and Judah.9 This covenant will not be like the one
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
and led them out of the land of Egypt.
They did not remain faithful to my covenant,
so I turned my back on them, says the LORD.10 But this is the new covenant I will make
with the people of Israel on that day,t says the LORD:
I will put my laws in their minds,
and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.11 And they will not need to teach their neighbors,
nor will they need to teach their relatives,t
saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’
For everyone, from the least to the greatest,
will know me already.12 And I will forgive their wickedness,
and I will never again remember their sins.”t

13 When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

HEBREWS 8

A Better Promise

1  t What I mean is we have a high priest who sits at the right sidet of God's great throne in heaven.

2 He also serves as the priest in the most holy placet inside the real tent there in heaven. This tent of worship was set up by the Lord, not by humans.
3 Since all priests must offer gifts and sacrifices, Christ also needed to have something to offer. 4 If he were here on earth, he would not be a priest at all, because here the Law appoints other priests to offer sacrifices. 5 t But the tent where they serve is just a copy and a shadow of the real one in heaven. Before Moses made the tent, he was told, “Be sure to make it exactly like the pattern you were shown on the mountain!”

6 Now Christ has been appointed to serve as a priest in a much better way, and he has given us much assurance of a better agreement.
7 If the first agreement with God had been all right, there would not have been any need for another one.

8 t But the Lord found fault with it and said,
“I tell you the time will come,
when I will make
a new agreement
with the people of Israel
and the people of Judah.

9 It won't be like the agreement
that I made
with their ancestors,
when I took them by the hand
and led them out of Egypt.
They broke their agreement
with me,
and I stopped caring
about them!

10 “But now I tell the people
of Israel
this is my new agreement:
‘The time will come
when I, the Lord,
will write my laws
on their minds and hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be
my people.

11 Not one of them
will have to teach another
to know me, their Lord.’
“All of them will know me,
no matter who they are.

12 I will treat them with kindness,
even though they are wicked.
I will forget their sins.”
13 When the Lord talks about a new agreement, he means that the first one is out of date. And anything that is old and useless will soon disappear.