Hebrews 8:3
New International Version
Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.

New Living Translation
And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too.

English Standard Version
For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.

Berean Standard Bible
And since every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, it was necessary for this One also to have something to offer.

Berean Literal Bible
For every high priest is appointed in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it was necessary for this One also to have something that He might offer.

King James Bible
For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.

New King James Version
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer.

New American Standard Bible
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.

NASB 1995
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.

NASB 1977
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.

Legacy Standard Bible
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.

Amplified Bible
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is essential for this One also to have something to offer.

Christian Standard Bible
For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore, it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.

American Standard Version
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is necessary that this high priest also have somewhat to offer.

Contemporary English Version
Since all priests must offer gifts and sacrifices, Christ also needed to have something to offer.

English Revised Version
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is necessary that this high priest also have somewhat to offer.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Every chief priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, this chief priest had to offer something.

Good News Translation
Every high priest is appointed to present offerings and animal sacrifices to God, and so our High Priest must also have something to offer.

International Standard Version
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, this high priest had to offer something, too.

Majority Standard Bible
And since every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, it was necessary for this One also to have something to offer.

NET Bible
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. So this one too had to have something to offer.

New Heart English Bible
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.

Webster's Bible Translation
For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man should have somewhat also to offer.

Weymouth New Testament
Every High Priest, however, is appointed to offer both bloodless gifts and sacrifices. Therefore this High Priest also must have some offering to present.

World English Bible
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
for every chief priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, from where [it is] necessary for this One to also have something that He may offer;

Berean Literal Bible
For every high priest is appointed in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it was necessary for this One also to have something that He might offer.

Young's Literal Translation
for every chief priest to offer both gifts and sacrifices is appointed, whence it is necessary for this one to have also something that he may offer;

Smith's Literal Translation
For every chief priest is appointed to bring in gifts and sacrifices also: wherefore it is necessary also for this to have something which he might bring.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is necessary that he also should have some thing to offer.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, it is necessary for him also to have something to offer.

New American Bible
Now every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus the necessity for this one also to have something to offer.

New Revised Standard Version
For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices, therefore it is necessary that this man have something to offer also.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
For every High Priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices, and because of this it was right also for This One to have something to offer.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore, it is necessary that this one also have something which he may offer.

Godbey New Testament
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices: whence it is necessary to have something even that which he may offer.

Haweis New Testament
For every high-priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is necessary that this person also have somewhat to offer.

Mace New Testament
every high priest being establish'd to offer gifts and sacrifices: it was necessary that he likewise should make a peculiar offering,

Weymouth New Testament
Every High Priest, however, is appointed to offer both bloodless gifts and sacrifices. Therefore this High Priest also must have some offering to present.

Worrell New Testament
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; wherefore, it is necessary that This One also have something which He may offer.

Worsley New Testament
For every high-priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it was necessary that He also should have something to offer.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Christ's Eternal Priesthood
2and who ministers in the sanctuary and true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. 3And since every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, it was necessary for this One also to have something to offer. 4Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are already priests who offer gifts according to the law.…

Cross References
Hebrews 5:1
Every high priest is appointed from among men to represent them in matters relating to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

Hebrews 9:9
It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper.

Hebrews 9:12
He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:14
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!

Hebrews 10:11-12
Day after day every priest stands to minister and to offer again and again the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. / But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.

Hebrews 10:18
And where these have been forgiven, an offering for sin is no longer needed.

Hebrews 7:27
Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people; He sacrificed for sin once for all when He offered up Himself.

Hebrews 9:24
For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.

Hebrews 9:25
Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.

Hebrews 10:1
For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.

Leviticus 16:6
Aaron is to present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household.

Leviticus 16:11
When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering.

Leviticus 16:15
Aaron shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and bring its blood behind the veil, and with its blood he must do as he did with the bull’s blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it.

Exodus 29:36
Sacrifice a bull as a sin offering each day for atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it.

Exodus 29:38-42
This is what you are to offer regularly on the altar, each day: two lambs that are a year old. / Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight. / With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives, and a drink offering of a quarter hin of wine. ...


Treasury of Scripture

For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: why it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.

serve.

Hebrews 5:1
For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:

Hebrews 7:27
Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

have.

Hebrews 9:14
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Hebrews 10:9-12
Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second…

John 6:51
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

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Appointed Authority Chief Gifts Hence High However Necessary Necessity Offer Offering Offerings Ordained Present Priest Sacrifices Something Somewhat Whence Wherefore
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Appointed Authority Chief Gifts Hence High However Necessary Necessity Offer Offering Offerings Ordained Present Priest Sacrifices Something Somewhat Whence Wherefore
Hebrews 8
1. By the eternal priesthood of Christ the Levitical priesthood of Aaron is overshadowed;
7. and replaced by the new covenant of the Gospel.














Every high priest
The role of the high priest in ancient Israel was central to the religious life of the people. The Greek term used here, "ἀρχιερεύς" (archiereus), signifies the chief religious leader responsible for offering sacrifices and interceding on behalf of the people. Historically, the high priest was a descendant of Aaron, Moses' brother, and served as a mediator between God and Israel. This role prefigures Christ, who is our ultimate High Priest, offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice.

is appointed
The Greek word "καθίσταται" (kathistatai) implies being set in place or established. This appointment was not a matter of personal ambition but a divine calling. In the Old Testament, God Himself appointed the high priests, emphasizing that spiritual leadership is a divine vocation. This concept is crucial in understanding Christ's priesthood, as He was appointed by God, not by human lineage or decision.

to offer both gifts and sacrifices
The phrase "δῶρα τε καὶ θυσίας" (dōra te kai thysias) refers to the offerings and sacrifices made by the high priest. "Gifts" (δῶρα) could include offerings of gratitude or devotion, while "sacrifices" (θυσίας) often involved the shedding of blood for atonement. This dual role highlights the comprehensive nature of the high priest's duties, which Christ fulfills perfectly. His sacrifice on the cross was both a gift of love and the ultimate atonement for sin.

for sins
The Greek term "ἁμαρτιῶν" (hamartiōn) refers to sins, which are offenses against God's holy law. The high priest's primary role was to address the problem of sin through sacrifices, pointing to the need for reconciliation with God. In the New Testament context, Christ's sacrifice is the definitive solution to sin, offering complete forgiveness and restoration to those who believe.

(3) This verse and the three following confirm and illustrate the importance of the statement just made. The general course of thought appears to be as follows:--That which stands "at the head" of what we are saying, and gives completeness to the whole, is, that we have a High Priest who ministers in heaven itself (Hebrews 8:1-2). For, whereas the very conception of high-priestly duty would, were He on earth, exclude Him from being a priest at all (Hebrews 8:3-4), like those who "serve a copy of the heavenly things" (Hebrews 8:5), He in heaven holds and exercises that more excellent ministry of which their service was a shadow and a type (Hebrews 8:6).

That this man have . . .--Better, that this High Priest also have somewhat to offer. If these words refer to the continued ministration in the heavenly sanctuary, the explanation is found in Hebrews 9:24; but the meaning may simply be that every high priest, and therefore the Lord Jesus, must have some sacrifice to present to God, this being (Hebrews 5:1) the very object of his appointment to the office. . . .

Verses 3, 4. - For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this one also have somewhat to offer. For (rather, nay; the reading μὲν οῦν being better supported than the Textus Receptus μὲν γὰρ) if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, seeing there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law. These verses are in proof of the assertion of ver. 2, viz. that Christ has his ministry in the heavenly tabernacle. He has been shown to be a High Priest: therefore he must make some offering, this being the very purpose of a high priest's office (cf. Hebrews 5:1). But where? Not certainly in the earthly tabernacle, this being served already, and exclusively served, by the sons of Aaron. Therefore it must be in the heavenly sphere symbolized by the earthly tabernacle. And then, in ver. 5, that there is a heavenly reality, of which the earthly tabernacle is but a shadow, is shown by what was said of the latter when it was made. (What Christ offers in the heavenly sphere is surely his own atoning sacrifice. Some commentators have found a difficulty in this conception on the ground that this his sacrifice had been completed once for all before his ascension. True; but he is regarded as carrying its efficacy with him to the mercy-seat above, and so for ever offering it; even as it is continually commemorated and pleaded in the Eucharist by the Church below. And thus, be it observed, the symbolism of the Day of Atonement is accurately fulfilled. For the high priest did not sacrifice within the tabernacle; he only carried to the holy of holies the blood, representing the atoning efficacy of the sacrifice made outside before his entrance.)

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
And since
γὰρ (gar)
Conjunction
Strong's 1063: For. A primary particle; properly, assigning a reason.

every
Πᾶς (Pas)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3956: All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.

high priest
ἀρχιερεὺς (archiereus)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 749: High priest, chief priest. From arche and hiereus; the high-priest; by extension a chief priest.

is appointed
καθίσταται (kathistatai)
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2525: From kata and histemi; to place down, i.e. to designate, constitute, convoy.

to
εἰς (eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

offer
προσφέρειν (prospherein)
Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Strong's 4374: From pros and phero; to bear towards, i.e. Lead to, tender, treat.

both
τε (te)
Conjunction
Strong's 5037: And, both. A primary particle of connection or addition; both or also.

gifts
δῶρά (dōra)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 1435: A gift, present. A present; specially, a sacrifice.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

sacrifices,
θυσίας (thysias)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 2378: Abstr. and concr: sacrifice; a sacrifice, offering. From thuo; sacrifice.

[it was]
ὅθεν (hothen)
Conjunction
Strong's 3606: From hos with the directive enclitic of source; from which place or source or cause.

necessary
ἀναγκαῖον (anankaion)
Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 316: Necessary, essential, intimate, right, proper. From anagke; necessary; by implication, close.

[for] this One
τοῦτον (touton)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3778: This; he, she, it.

also
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

to have
ἔχειν (echein)
Verb - Present Infinitive Active
Strong's 2192: To have, hold, possess. Including an alternate form scheo skheh'-o; a primary verb; to hold.

something
τι (ti)
Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 5100: Any one, some one, a certain one or thing. An enclitic indefinite pronoun; some or any person or object.

to offer.
προσενέγκῃ (prosenenkē)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4374: From pros and phero; to bear towards, i.e. Lead to, tender, treat.


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NT Letters: Hebrews 8:3 For every high priest is appointed (Heb. He. Hb)
Hebrews 8:2
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