| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Now the first covenant also had regulations for ministry and an earthly sanctuary. | 1That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth. |
| 2For a tabernacle was set up, and in the first room, which is called the holy place, were the lampstand, the table, and the presentation loaves. | 2There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. |
| 3Behind the second curtain, the tabernacle was called the most holy place. | 3Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. |
| 4It contained the gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant, covered with gold on all sides, in which there was a gold jar containing the manna, Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. | 4In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant. |
| 5The cherubim of glory were above it overshadowing the mercy seat. It is not possible to speak about these things in detail right now. | 5Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now. |
| 6With these things set up this way, the priests enter the first room repeatedly, performing their ministry. | 6When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties. |
| 7But the high priest alone enters the second room, and he does that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. | 7But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. |
| 8The Holy Spirit was making it clear that the way into the most holy place had not yet been disclosed while the first tabernacle was still standing. | 8By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use. |
| 9This is a symbol for the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper's conscience. | 9This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. |
| 10They are physical regulations and only deal with food, drink, and various washings imposed until the time of restoration. | 10For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established. Christ Is the Perfect Sacrifice |
| 11But the Messiah has appeared, high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation), | 11So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. |
| 12He entered the most holy place once for all, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. | 12With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. |
| 13For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, | 13Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. |
| 14how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God? | 14Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. |
| 15Therefore, He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. | 15That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant. |
| 16Where a will exists, the death of the one who made it must be established. | 16Now when someone leaves a will, it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead. |
| 17For a will is valid only when people die, since it is never in force while the one who made it is living. | 17The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect. |
| 18That is why even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood. | 18That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal. |
| 19For when every command had been proclaimed by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll itself and all the people, | 19For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. |
| 20saying, This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded for you. | 20Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.” |
| 21In the same way, he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the articles of worship with blood. | 21And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship. |
| 22According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. | 22In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. |
| 23Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves to be purified with better sacrifices than these. | 23That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals. |
| 24For the Messiah did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that He might now appear in the presence of God for us. | 24For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. |
| 25He did not do this to offer Himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another. | 25And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. |
| 26Otherwise, He would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself. | 26If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. |
| 27And just as it is appointed for people to die once--and after this, judgment-- | 27And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, |
| 28so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him. | 28so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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