Hebrews 10

The law is only a shadow of the good things that were coming, not the real things themselves. So the same sacrifices, offered year after year without end, can never make complete the people who come to worship.

1For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Note"Shadow" and "the very image" are a matched pair: an outline cast on a wall against the solid thing that casts it. The second phrase does not mean a picture or copy; it means the actual form of the thing itself. "Make perfect" translates a word meaning to bring to completion or to fully qualify a person for a role, as a priest was qualified for service. It is not a claim about moral flawlessness. "Year by year" points to the one annual ceremony described in verse 3.

2If they could, wouldn't the offerings have stopped? The worshipers would have been made clean once and for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.

2For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.

Note"Conscience" here means awareness, the ongoing sense of carrying guilt, rather than the inner voice that tells right from wrong. "Purged" means cleansed.

3Instead, those sacrifices bring sins to mind again every year.

3But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.

NoteThe reference is to the Day of Atonement, the single day each year when Israel's high priest entered the innermost room of the sanctuary with blood to cleanse the people and the sanctuary itself (Leviticus 16). The writer's point is about the calendar: a rite repeated every year names the same sins every year.

4For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take sins away.

4For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

NoteBulls and goats were the specific animals of that annual rite, a bull for the high priest and his household and a goat for the people.

5So when Christ comes into the world, he says: "You did not want sacrifice and offering, but you prepared a body for me.

5Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

NoteVerses 5 to 7 quote Psalm 40:6 to 8 in its Greek translation, the Septuagint, which was the form of scripture most first century readers knew. The Hebrew text of the psalm reads "ears you have dug for me"; the Greek reads "a body you prepared for me." The argument that follows depends on the Greek wording.

6You took no pleasure in burnt offerings and offerings for sin.

6In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.

NoteA burnt offering was an animal burned whole on the altar, with no part eaten. An offering for sin dealt with a particular offense, and most of it was not burned. Naming four kinds of offering is a way of covering the whole sacrificial system, not listing exceptions.

7Then I said, 'Here I am. It is written about me in the scroll. I have come to do what you want, God.'"

7Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Note"The volume of the book" is a scroll, a long sheet rolled on a rod; "volume" translates a word for the roll itself, since books with pages did not yet exist. Which scroll is meant is left open: the psalm itself, or the Law as a whole.

8First he says, "You did not want sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings and offerings for sin, and you took no pleasure in them", and these are the very offerings the law requires.

8Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;

9Then he says, "Here I am. I have come to do what you want, God." He does away with the first in order to put the second in its place.

9Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

Note"The first" and "the second" are the two halves of the quotation just given: the sacrifices God says he did not want, and the doing of God's will that replaces them.

10Because of that will of God, we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once and for all.

10By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Note"Sanctified" means set apart for God's use, made holy; in this letter it describes a change of standing, not a gradual moral improvement. "Once for all" translates a single Greek word meaning once and never again, done in a way that cannot be repeated. It does not mean "once for everybody."

11Every priest stands and does his work day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, and those sacrifices can never take sins away.

11And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

NoteThe detail that the priest stands is deliberate. There was no seat in the sanctuary for a priest on duty, because his work was never finished. Compare the seated figure in the next verse.

12But this one offered a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time, and then sat down at God's right hand.

12But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

Note"After he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever" is ambiguous in the Greek: "for ever" can attach to the offering, giving a sacrifice valid for all time, or to what follows, giving a permanent sitting down. Both readings are old. "The right hand" is the place of highest honor, the seat next to a king, from which his authority is exercised.

13Since then he has been waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet.

13From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

NoteThe image comes from Psalm 110:1. A victorious ancient king would put his foot on a defeated enemy, and thrones had literal footstools; the picture combines the two.

14By that one offering he has made complete forever those who are being made holy.

14For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

NoteThe two verbs pull in different directions on purpose. "Hath perfected" is completed action; "them that are sanctified" is an ongoing process, people in the course of being set apart.

15The Holy Spirit also tells us this. First he says:

15Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,

NoteWhat follows is a quotation of Jeremiah 31:33 to 34, which the writer presents as the Holy Spirit's own testimony rather than simply as the prophet's words.

16"This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."

16This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

NoteA covenant is a binding agreement that establishes a relationship on stated terms, closer to a treaty between a king and a people than to a private contract. Israel's older covenant had its terms written on stone tablets, which is the contrast behind writing on hearts and minds.

17Then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawbreaking no more."

17And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Note"Iniquities" means lawless acts, deeds that break the covenant. "Remember no more" is a legal turn of phrase meaning not to hold something against a person any longer; it is not a statement about the limits of memory.

18And where these have been forgiven, no more offering for sin is needed.

18Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

Note"Remission" in 1611 English meant release or cancellation, the word used for calling off a debt or a penalty.

19So, brothers and sisters, we are free to go into the Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.

19Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

Note"Boldness" translates a word that first meant a citizen's right to speak freely in the public assembly, and then came to mean unrestricted access to someone important. "The holiest" is the Most Holy Place, the inner room of the sanctuary behind a heavy curtain, which only the high priest entered and only on the one day a year mentioned in verse 3.

20He opened a new and living way for us to go in, through the curtain, that is, through his own body.

20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

Note"Consecrated" here means opened up or inaugurated, the word used for the first use of a new road or building. The Greek of "through the veil, that is to say, his flesh" is compressed and has been read two ways since antiquity: his body is the curtain that is passed through, or his body is the means by which the curtain is passed.

21And we have a high priest, the chief priest, in charge of God's house.

21And having an high priest over the house of God;

Note"An high priest" here translates a phrase meaning "a great priest," the standard title for the chief priest in the Greek Old Testament. "The house of God" carries both senses at once: the sanctuary building and the household of people who belong to it.

22So let us come near to God with an honest heart and with full confidence that faith brings. Our hearts have been sprinkled clean from a guilty conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

22Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

NoteBoth images are priestly. Blood was sprinkled on the people when the covenant was made (Exodus 24) and on priests when they were ordained; priests also washed in water before entering to serve. Some readers have heard baptism in the second phrase, but the wording is the wording of the sanctuary.

23Let us hold on tightly to the hope we confess, and not waver, because the one who made the promise keeps his word.

23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

NoteThe Greek reads "the confession of the hope"; the King James "profession of our faith" follows a minority reading. "Profession" and "confession" both mean a statement said out loud in public, not a private conviction.

24And let us think about how to stir one another up to love and to good deeds.

24And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

Note"Provoke" in 1611 meant to spur or stir into action, with no hostile sense at all; the modern meaning of needling someone is a later shift. "Consider" means to look closely at, to pay real attention to.

25Let us not stay away from meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing. Instead let us encourage one another, all the more as you see the Day coming closer.

25Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Note"The day" is the expected day of the Lord, the day of judgment and rescue spoken of by the prophets. The writer names it with no explanation because his readers knew the phrase.

26If we keep on sinning on purpose after we have come to know the truth, there is no sacrifice for sins left,

26For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

NoteThe older law distinguished between sins committed in ignorance, for which sacrifice was provided, and defiant or "high handed" sin, for which it was not (Numbers 15:30 to 31). "Wilfully" carries that sense: deliberate, with full knowledge, and in the Greek an action kept up rather than a single lapse.

27only a terrifying wait for judgment and for a raging fire that will burn up those who set themselves against God.

27But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Note"Fiery indignation" translates a phrase meaning something like "a burning zeal," echoing Isaiah 26:11. "Adversaries" simply means opponents, those on the other side.

28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death without mercy, on the word of two or three witnesses.

28He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

Note"Despised" here means set aside or rejected outright, not merely looked down on. The rule about two or three witnesses comes from Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:15: no one could be put to death on the word of a single accuser.

29How much worse a punishment do you think someone deserves who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, treated as common the blood of the covenant that made him holy, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

29Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Note"Counted an unholy thing" means treated as common or ordinary, the exact opposite of set apart; the word is the everyday term for what anyone may handle. "Done despite unto" is an old phrase for insulting someone with open arrogance. "Wherewith he was sanctified" is ambiguous in the Greek: the one made holy may be the offender, or the Son himself.

30For we know the one who said, "Punishment is mine to give; I will pay back," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge his people."

30For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

NoteBoth quotations are from the Song of Moses, Deuteronomy 32:35 and 36. "Vengeance" in this sense is judicial punishment imposed by rightful authority, not private revenge; "recompense" means to pay back what is owed.

31It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32But remember the early days, after the light came to you, when you held out through a hard struggle with suffering.

32But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;

Note"Illuminated" means enlightened; it was an early term for coming to know the faith, and the light image is why the rendering speaks of light. "A great fight of afflictions" uses a word from athletics, a contest in the arena watched by a crowd.

33Sometimes you were put on public display, insulted and mistreated. Other times you stood beside those who were being treated that way.

33Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.

Note"Gazingstock" translates a verb built on the word for theater: to be put on stage for a crowd to stare at. The disgrace is public exposure, not just rough treatment.

34You felt for me when I was in chains, and you were glad even when your property was taken from you, because you knew that you have a better possession in heaven, one that lasts.

34For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.

NoteManuscripts differ here between "my bonds" and "the prisoners." Prisoners in the ancient world depended on friends outside for food and clothing, and helping them publicly identified you with them. "Spoiling of your goods" means property seized, whether by official confiscation or by a mob. "Substance" means a possession or piece of property.

35So do not throw away your confidence, because it brings a great reward.

35Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

Note"Confidence" translates the same Greek word rendered "boldness" in verse 19, the freedom to speak and approach. "Recompence of reward" means a payment that is due, like wages.

36You need to keep going, so that after you have done what God wants, you will receive what he promised.

36For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

Note"Patience" here is not calm waiting. The Greek word means holding out under pressure, staying in position when the weight is on you.

37For "in just a little while, the one who is coming will come and will not be late.

37For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

NoteThe opening phrase echoes Isaiah 26:20 and the rest quotes Habakkuk 2:3 to 4 in Greek. The Greek wording turns Habakkuk's "it will surely come" into a person, "the coming one," which is why the line reads as being about someone rather than something.

38But the person who is right with God will live by faith. And if he pulls back, I take no pleasure in him."

38Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

Note"The just" means the person who is in the right, righteous. The line has long been read two ways: the righteous person will live by his faith or faithfulness, or the person who is righteous by faith will live. The Greek supports both. "My soul shall have no pleasure" is a Hebrew way of saying simply "I take no pleasure," with "soul" standing for the speaker himself.

39But we are not people who pull back and are destroyed. We are people who have faith, and so our souls are saved.

39But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Note"Perdition" means ruin or destruction, the loss of the thing itself. "Soul" here means life or the whole self, as in the previous verse, not an immaterial part of a person.