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24 and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently[a] than that of Abel.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 12:24 Speaks more eloquently: the blood of Abel, the first human blood to be shed, is contrasted with that of Jesus. Abel’s blood cried out from the earth for vengeance, but the blood of Jesus has opened the way for everyone, providing cleansing and access to God (Hb 10:19).

while Abel, for his part, brought the fatty portion[a] of the firstlings of his flock.(A) The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

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Footnotes

  1. 4:4 Fatty portion: it was standard practice to offer the fat portions of animals. Others render, less satisfactorily, “the choicest of the firstlings.” The point is not that Abel gave a more valuable gift than Cain, but that God, for reasons not given in the text, accepts the offering of Abel and rejects that of Cain.

10 God then said: What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!

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