A Better Ministry
1 Now the main point of what we have to sayis this:we have such a High Priest, [the Christ] who is seated [in the place of honor] at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty (God) in heaven,
2 a Minister (Officiating Priest) in the holy places and in the true tabernacle, which is erected not by man, but by the Lord.
3 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.
4 Now if He were [still living] on earth, He would not be a priest at all, for there are priests who offer the gifts [to God] in accordance with the Law.
5 They serve as a pattern and foreshadowing of [what has its true existence and reality in] the heavenly things (sanctuary). For when Moses was about to erect the tabernacle, he was warnedby God,saying, “See that you makeit all [exactly]according to the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.”
6 But as it is, Christ has acquired a [priestly] ministry which is more excellent [than the old Levitical priestly ministry], for He is the Mediator (Arbiter) of a better covenant [uniting God and man], which has been enactedandrests on better promises.
A New Covenant
7 For if that firstcovenanthad been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second oneoran attempt to institute another one [the new covenant].
8 However, God finds fault with them [showing its inadequacy] when He says,
“Behold,the days will come,says theLord,
WhenIwill makeandratifya new covenant
With the house ofIsrael and with the house ofJudah;
9 Not like the covenant thatImade with their fathers
On the day whenItook them by the hand
To lead them out of the land ofEgypt;
For they did not abide inMy covenant,
And soIwithdrewMy favoranddisregarded them,says theLord.
10 “For this is the covenant thatIwill make with the house ofIsrael
After those days,says theLord:
Iwill imprintMy laws upon their minds[even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding],
And engrave themupon their hearts[effecting their regeneration].
AndIwill be theirGod,
And they shall beMy people.
11 “And it will not be[necessary]for each one to teach his fellow citizen,
Or each one his brother,saying, ‘Know[by experience, have knowledge of]theLord,’
Forall will know[Me by experience and have knowledge of] Me,
From the least to the greatest of them.
12 “ForIwill be mercifulandgracious toward their wickedness,
AndIwill remember their sins no more.”
13 When God speaks of “A newcovenant,” He makes the first one obsolete. And whatever is becoming obsolete (out of use, annulled) and growing old is ready to disappear.