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.
Jesus Our High Priest
1 The whole point of what we are saying is that we have such a High Priest, who sits at the right of the throne of the Divine Majesty in heaven. 2 He serves as high priest in the Most Holy Place, that is, in the real tent which was put up by the Lord, not by human hands.
3 Every high priest is appointed to present offerings and animal sacrifices to God, and so our High Priest must also have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer the gifts required by the Jewish Law. 5 The work they do as priests is really only a copy and a shadow of what is in heaven. It is the same as it was with Moses. When he was about to build the Sacred Tent, God told him, “Be sure to make everything according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.” 6 But now, Jesus has been given priestly work which is superior to theirs, just as the covenant which he arranged between God and his people is a better one, because it is based on promises of better things.
7 If there had been nothing wrong with the first covenant, there would have been no need for a second one. 8 But God finds fault with his people when he says,
“The days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will draw up a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors
on the day I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt.
They were not faithful to the covenant I made with them,
and so I paid no attention to them.
10 Now, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel
in the days to come, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
11 None of them will have to teach their friends
or tell their neighbors,
‘Know the Lord.’
For they will all know me,
from the least to the greatest.
12 I will forgive their sins
and will no longer remember their wrongs.”
13 By speaking of a new covenant, God has made the first one old; and anything that becomes old and worn out will soon disappear.