Hebrews 9:9-11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
9 This is a symbol of the present time,[a] in which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper in conscience 10 but only in matters of food and drink and various ritual washings: regulations concerning the flesh, imposed until the time of the new order.(A)
Sacrifice of Jesus. 11 [b]But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be,[c] passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,(B)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 9:9 The present time: this expression is equivalent to the “present age,” used in contradistinction to the “age to come.”
- 9:11–14 Christ, the high priest of the spiritual blessings foreshadowed in the Old Testament sanctuary, has actually entered the true sanctuary of heaven that is not of human making (Hb 9:11). His place there is permanent, and his offering is his own blood that won eternal redemption (Hb 9:12). If the sacrifice of animals could bestow legal purification (Hb 9:13), how much more effective is the blood of the sinless, divine Christ who spontaneously offered himself to purge the human race of sin and render it fit for the service of God (Hb 9:14).
- 9:11 The good things that have come to be: the majority of later manuscripts here read “the good things to come”; cf. Hb 10:1.
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