Hebrews 9:1

The Arrangement and Ritual of the Earthly Sanctuary

9:1 Now the first covenant, ¹  in fact, had regulations for worship and its earthly sanctuary.

Hebrews 9:20

9:20 and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded you to keep.” ² 

Hebrews 9:4

9:4 It contained the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered entirely with gold. In this ark ³  were the golden urn containing the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

Hebrews 9:15

9:15 And so he is the mediator ⁴  of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, ⁵  since he died ⁶  to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant.

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¹ tn Grk “the first” (referring to the covenant described in Heb 8:7, 13). In the translation the referent (covenant) has been specified for clarity.

² tn Grk “which God commanded for you (or in your case).”

sn A quotation from Exod 24:8.

³ tn Grk “in which”; in the translation the referent (the ark) has been specified for clarity.

⁴ tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesith", “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms.

⁵ tn Grk “the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

⁶ tn Grk “a death having occurred.”