Hebrews 9

1 Then verily the first [covenant] had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.

[To continue]: In the first [covenant, God] regulated how people [should perform] rituals, and [he told them to make] [MTY] a sanctuary.

2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein [was] the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.

[That sanctuary] was a tent that [the Israelites] set up. In its outer room there was the lampstand and the table [on which they put] the bread that [the priests] presented [to God. That room] was called ‘the holy place’.

3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;

Behind the curtain inside [the holy place] there was [another] room. That was called ‘the very holy place’.

4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein [was] the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;

It had an altar, [made from] gold, [for burning] incense. [It also had the chest which they called] the chest of the covenant. All its sides were covered with gold. In it was the golden pot which contained [pieces of the food they called] manna. [That was the food with which God miraculously fed the people before they entered the promised land]. In the chest there was also Aaron’s walking stick that budded [to prove that he was God’s true priest]. In the chest were also the stone tablets [on which God had written] the Ten Commandments.

5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we can not now speak particularly.

On top of [the chest] were [figures of] winged creatures [that symbolized God’s] glory. Their [wings] overshadowed the chest’s lid where [the high priest sprinkled the blood] (to [atone for/to forgive]) [those who had sinned. I] do not [need] to write about these things in detail now.

6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service [of God].

After all those things were prepared {After they had prepared all those things like that} [in the two rooms of the tent], the [Jewish] priests habitually went into the outer [room of the] tent to perform their rituals.

7 But into the second [went] the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and [for] the errors of the people:

But into the inner room, only the Supreme Priest [went], once a year. He always took [LIT] the blood [of animals that they had slaughtered]. He offered them [to God] for his own [sins] and for the sins that other people had committed. They included sins that they did not realize [were sinful].

8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:

By those things the Holy Spirit indicated that [just like God] did not reveal the way [for ordinary people] to enter into the inner room while the outer room still existed [MET], [similarly he did not reveal the way for ordinary people to enter the presence of God while the Jewish system of offering sacrifices was in effect].

9 Which [was] a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

[The things that the priests did inside the outer room] [MTY] symbolized [what was true] during the time [when the first covenant was in effect]. According to [the first covenant] (OR, [In that outer room]), [priests] offered gifts and other sacrifices to God. But [by offering them], the people who brought them were unable to make themselves feel that they were no longer guilty for having sinned.

10 [Which stood] only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed [on them] until the time of reformation.

[They brought those gifts and made those sacrifices] according to [regulations concerning] things to eat and drink, and [according to rules that required people to] wash various things. [God] declared that those regulations about our bodies were to be in effect until [he put into effect the new covenant]; that was a better system.

11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

But when Christ came as our Supreme Priest, [he brought] the good things that are now available. When he appeared, [he went into God’s presence in heaven. That is like a] [MET] very great and perfect tent not made by humans {which no human made} [SYN]; that is, it is not part of the world [God] created. It was better [than the tent Moses set up here on earth].

12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us]. (aiōnios g166)

[When a Supreme Priest goes into the inner room in the tent each year, he takes] goats’ blood and calves’ blood [to offer as a sacrifice]. But Christ did not [do that. It was as though] he went into that very holy place only once, taking his own blood with him. By doing that, he eternally redeemed us. (aiōnios g166)

13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

The priests sprinkle on people goats’ blood and bulls’ blood and [the water that has been filtered through] the ashes of a [red] heifer that has been [completely burned. By performing that ritual, they can ritually] cleanse the bodies of those who are [ceremonially] unclean. Furthermore, performing those rituals enabled people to have fellowship with God again.

14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (aiōnios g166)

[So, because we know what] Christ [accomplished when] his blood flowed [when he died for us] [PRS, MTY], we will be very certain that we are not guilty [of having] done those things [that those who are spiritually] dead do. [As a result], we can serve God, who is all-powerful. [The priests always offer to God animals] with no defects. Similarly, when Christ offered himself [as a sacrifice] to God, he was sinless [MET]. He did that as a result of [God’s] eternal Spirit [helping him]. (aiōnios g166)

15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions [that were] under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. (aiōnios g166)

[By] dying [for us], [Christ] ([redeemed/] free from the penalty for their sins) even those who disobeyed the [conditions of] (OR, [during the time of]) the first covenant. So, [because] no [one could be made perfect by obeying the old covenant], now Christ establishes [between God and people] a new covenant. He does that in order that those whom God has chosen may eternally have [the blessings that God] has promised them. (aiōnios g166)

16 For where a testament [is], there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

A covenant [is like a will. In the case of a will], [in order to put its provisions into effect], someone must prove that the one who made it has died.

17 For a testament [is] of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

A will goes into effect [only when the one who makes the will] has died. It is not in effect when the one who made it is still alive.

18 Whereupon neither the first [testament] was dedicated without blood.

And so [God] put the first covenant into effect only [LIT] by means of [animals’] blood that was shed [when they were slaughtered].

19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,

After Moses had declared to all the Israelites everything that God commanded in the laws [that God gave him], he took calves’ and goats’ blood [mixed] with water. He [dipped into it] scarlet wool [that he tied around] a sprig of hyssop. Then he sprinkled [with some of the blood] the scroll itself containing God’s laws. Then he sprinkled [more of that blood on all the] people,

20 Saying, This [is] the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.

saying to them, “This is the blood [which brings into effect] the covenant that God commanded that you [obey].”

21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.

Likewise, he sprinkled with that blood the tent and every object that they used in performing rituals.

22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

It was by [sprinkling] blood that they [ritually] cleansed almost everything. That was what [was stated in] God’s laws. If blood is not shed [when people offer a sacrifice, God] cannot forgive [the person who is making the sacrifice].

23 [It was] therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

So, by rituals like that, it was necessary for [the priests] to cleanse the things that symbolized what Christ does [MTY] in heaven. But God has to [consecrate] the [people who will enter] [MTY] heaven [by means of] better sacrifices than those.

24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, [which are] the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

Christ did not enter a sanctuary that humans made. That one only represented the true [sanctuary]. Instead, he entered heaven itself, in order to now be in God’s presence [to plead with] God for us.

25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;

The [Jewish] Supreme Priest enters the very holy place once every year, taking blood that is not his own, [to offer it as a sacrifice]. But when Christ entered heaven, it was not in order to offer himself repeatedly like that.

26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (aiōn g165)

[If that were so], he would have needed to suffer [and shed his blood] repeatedly since [the time when God] created the world. But instead, in this final age, [Christ] has appeared once in order that by sacrificing himself he could cause [that people] no longer will be [punished for their] sins. (aiōn g165)

27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

All people must die once, and after that [God] will judge them [for their sins].

28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Likewise, when Christ [died], [God] offered him once to be a sacrifice, to punish him instead of the many [people who had] sinned. He will come [to earth] a second time, not [in order to sacrifice himself again for those who] have sinned, but in order to [complete] his saving those who expectantly wait for him.