9:15 And so he is the mediator 2 of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, 3 since he died 4 to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant.
1 tn This verb occurs in the Greek middle voice, which here intensifies the role of the subject, Christ, in accomplishing the action: “he alone secured”; “he and no other secured.”
2 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.
3 tn Grk “the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
4 tn Grk “a death having occurred.”