Discovery BoxHebrews 9:11-14 
Context9:11 But now Christ has come 1 as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, 9:12 and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured 2 eternal redemption. 9:13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, 3 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our 4 consciences from dead works to worship the living God.
Hebrews 9:22-28
Context9:22 Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 9:23 So it was necessary for the sketches 5 of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, 6 but the heavenly things themselves required 7 better sacrifices than these. 9:24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands – the representation 8 of the true sanctuary 9 – but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us. 9:25 And he did not enter to offer 10 himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the sanctuary year after year with blood that is not his own, 9:26 for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the consummation of the ages to put away sin by his sacrifice. 9:27 And just as people 11 are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment, 12 9:28 so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, 13 to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin 14 but to bring salvation. 15
1 tn Grk “But Christ, when he came,” introducing a sentence that includes all of Heb 9:11-12. The main construction is “Christ, having come…, entered…, having secured…,” and everything else describes his entrance.
2 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.”
3 tn Grk “for the purifying of the flesh.” The “flesh” here is symbolic of outward or ritual purity in contrast to inner purity, that of the conscience (cf. Heb 9:9).
4 tc The reading adopted by the translation is attested by many authorities (A D* K P 365 1739* al). But many others (א D2 0278 33 1739c 1881 Ï lat sa) read “your” instead of “our.” The diversity of evidence makes this a difficult case to decide from external evidence alone. The first and second person pronouns differ by only one letter in Greek, as in English, also making this problem difficult to decide based on internal evidence and transcriptional probability. In the context, the author’s description of sacrificial activities seems to invite the reader to compare his own possible participation in OT liturgy as over against the completed work of Christ, so the second person pronoun “your” might make more sense. On the other hand, TCGNT 599 argues that “our” is preferable because the author of Hebrews uses direct address (i.e., the second person) only in the hortatory sections. What is more, the author seems to prefer the first person in explanatory remarks or when giving the logical grounds for an assertion (cf. Heb 4:15; 7:14). It is hard to reach a definitive conclusion in this case, but the data lean slightly in favor of the first person pronoun.
5 tn Or “prototypes,” “outlines,” referring to the earthly sanctuary. See Heb 8:5 above for the prior use of this term.
6 tn Grk “with these”; in the translation the referent (sacrifices) has been specified for clarity.
7 tn Grk “the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”
8 tn Or “prefiguration.”
9 tn The word “sanctuary” is not in the Greek text at this point, but has been supplied for clarity.
10 tn Grk “and not that he might offer,” continuing the previous construction.
11 tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).
12 tn Grk “and after this – judgment.”
13 sn An allusion to Isa 53:12.
14 tn Grk “without sin,” but in context this does not refer to Christ’s sinlessness (as in Heb 4:15) but to the fact that sin is already dealt with by his first coming.
15 tn Grk “for salvation.” This may be construed with the verb “await” (those who wait for him to bring them salvation), but the connection with “appear” (as in the translation) is more likely.
