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Now the main point of what we have to say is this: We have such a High Priest, One Who is seated at the right hand of the majestic [God] in heaven,(A)

As officiating Priest, a Minister in the holy places and in the true tabernacle which is erected not by man but by the Lord.

For every high priest is appointed to offer up gifts and sacrifices; so it is essential for this [High Priest] to have some offering to make also.

If then He were still living on earth, He would not be a priest at all, for there are [already priests] who offer the gifts in accordance with the Law.

[But these offer] service [merely] as a pattern and as a foreshadowing of [what has its true existence and reality in] the heavenly sanctuary. For when Moses was about to erect the tabernacle, he was warned by God, saying, See to it that you make it all [exactly] according to the copy (the model) which was shown to you on the mountain.(B)

But as it now is, He [Christ] has acquired a [priestly] ministry which is as much superior and more excellent [than the old] as the covenant (the agreement) of which He is the Mediator (the Arbiter, Agent) is superior and more excellent, [because] it is enacted and rests upon more important (sublimer, higher, and nobler) promises.

For if that first covenant had been without defect, there would have been no room for another one or an attempt to institute another one.

However, He finds fault with them [showing its inadequacy] when He says, Behold, the days will come, says the Lord, when I will make and ratify a new covenant or agreement with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their forefathers on the day when I grasped them by the hand to help and relieve them and to lead them out from the land of Egypt, for they did not abide in My agreement with them, and so I withdrew My favor and disregarded them, says the Lord.

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their minds, even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding, and engrave them upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

11 And it will nevermore be necessary for each one to teach his neighbor and his fellow citizen or each one his brother, saying, Know (perceive, have knowledge of, and get acquainted by experience with) the Lord, for all will know Me, from the smallest to the greatest of them.

12 For I will be merciful and gracious toward their sins and I will remember their deeds of unrighteousness no more.(C)

13 When God speaks of a new [covenant or agreement], He makes the first one obsolete (out of use). And what is obsolete (out of use and annulled because of age) is ripe for disappearance and to be dispensed with altogether.

Christ, grand-prêtre d’une alliance bien meilleure

Or, voici le point capital de ce que nous sommes en train de dire : nous avons bien un grand-prêtre comme celui-ci, qui s’est assis dans le ciel à la droite du trône du Dieu majestueux. Il y accomplit le service du grand-prêtre dans le sanctuaire, c’est-à-dire dans le véritable tabernacle, dressé non par des hommes, mais par le Seigneur.

Tout grand-prêtre, en effet, est établi pour présenter à Dieu des offrandes et des sacrifices. Il faut donc que notre grand-prêtre aussi ait quelque chose à présenter. S’il était sur terre, il ne serait même pas prêtre. En effet, ceux qui présentent les offrandes conformément à la Loi sont déjà là. Ils sont au service d’un sanctuaire qui n’est qu’une image, que l’ombre du sanctuaire céleste. Moïse en a été averti au moment où il allait construire le tabernacle : Aie soin, lui dit le Seigneur, de faire tout selon le modèle qui t’est montré sur la montagne[a].

Mais maintenant, c’est un service bien supérieur qui a été confié à notre grand-prêtre car il est le médiateur d’une alliance bien meilleure fondée sur de meilleures promesses.

L’ancienne et la nouvelle alliance

En effet, si la première alliance avait été sans défaut, il n’aurait pas été nécessaire de la remplacer par une seconde.

Or, c’est bien un reproche que Dieu adresse à son peuple lorsqu’il déclare :

Mais des jours vont venir,dit le Seigneur,
où je concluraiavec le peuple d’Israëlet celui de Judaune alliance nouvelle.
Elle ne sera pascomme celle que j’ai conclueavec leurs pères
quand je les ai pris par la mainpour les faire sortir d’Egypte.
Puisqu’ils n’ont pas été fidèlesà mon alliance,
moi alors, je me suis détourné d’eux,dit le Seigneur.
10 Mais voici quelle alliance je vais conclureavec le peuple d’Israël
après ces jours,dit le Seigneur :
je placerai mes lois dans leur pensée,
je les graverai sur leur cœur ;
je serai leur Dieu,
et ils seront mon peuple.
11 Ils n’auront plus besoinde s’enseigner l’un l’autre
en répétant chacunà son concitoyenou à son frère :
« Il faut que tu connaisses le Seigneur ! »
Car tous me connaîtront,
du plus petit jusqu’au plus grand d’entre eux.
12 Car je pardonnerai leurs fautes,
je ne tiendrai plus comptede leurs péchés[b].

13 Par le simple fait d’appeler cette alliance-là nouvelle, le Seigneur a rendu la première ancienne ; or, ce qui devient ancien et ce qui vieillit est près de disparaître.

The High Priest of a New Covenant

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest,(A) who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,(B) and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle(C) set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

Every high priest(D) is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices,(E) and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.(F) If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law.(G) They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy(H) and shadow(I) of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned(J) when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”[a](K) But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant(L) of which he is mediator(M) is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.(N) But God found fault with the people and said[b]:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when I will make a new covenant(O)
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors(P)
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
    and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
10 This is the covenant(Q) I will establish with the people of Israel
    after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
    and write them on their hearts.(R)
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.(S)
11 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,(T)
    from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.(U)[c](V)

13 By calling this covenant “new,”(W) he has made the first one obsolete;(X) and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 8:5 Exodus 25:40
  2. Hebrews 8:8 Some manuscripts may be translated fault and said to the people.
  3. Hebrews 8:12 Jer. 31:31-34