1 Nowe of the things which we haue spoken, this is the summe, that wee haue such an hie Priest, that sitteth at the right hand of the throne of the Maiestie in heauens, 2 And is a minister of the Sanctuarie, and of that true Tabernacle which the Lord pight, and not man. 3 For euery high Priest is ordeined to offer both giftes and sacrifices: wherefore it was of necessitie, that this man shoulde haue somewhat also to offer. 4 For he were not a Priest, if he were on the earth, seeing there are Priestes that according to the Lawe offer giftes, 5 Who serue vnto the paterne and shadowe of heauenly things, as Moses was warned by God, whe he was about to finish the Tabernacle. See, saide hee, that thou make all thinges according to the paterne, shewed to thee in the mount. 6 But nowe our hie Priest hath obteined a more excellent office, in as much as he is the Mediatour of a better Testament, which is established vpon better promises. 7 For if that first Testament had bene vnblameable, no place should haue bene sought for the second. 8 For in rebuking them he saith, Beholde, the dayes will come, saith the Lord, when I shall make with the house of Israel, and with the house of Iuda a newe Testament: 9 Not like the Testament that I made with their fathers, in the day that I tooke them by the hand, to leade them out of the land of Egypt: for they continued not in my Testament, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this is the Testament that I will make with the house of Israel, After those dayes, saith the Lord, I will put my Lawes in their minde, and in their heart I will write them, and I wil be their God, and they shalbe my people, 11 And they shall not teache euery man his neighbour and euery man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall knowe me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will bee mercifull to their vnrighteousnes, and I wil remember their sinnes and their iniquities no more. 13 In that he saith a new Testament, he hath abrogate the olde: nowe that which is disanulled and waxed olde, is ready to vanish away.
A Better Promise
1 What I mean is we have a high priest who sits at the right side of God's great throne in heaven. 2 He also serves as the priest in the most holy place 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 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 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.