²⁷ “When you tell^(A) them all this, they will not listen^(B) to you; when you call to them, they will not answer.^{(C) 28} Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction.^(D) Truth^(E) has perished; it has vanished from their lips.

²⁹ “‘Cut off^(F) your hair and throw it away; take up a lament^(G) on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned^(H) this generation that is under his wrath.

The Valley of Slaughter

³⁰ “‘The people of Judah have done evil^(I) in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols^(J) in the house that bears my Name and have defiled^(K) it. ³¹ They have built the high places of Topheth^(L) in the Valley of Ben Hinnom^(M) to burn their sons and daughters^(N) in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.^{(O) 32} So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter,^(P) for they will bury^(Q) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. ³³ Then the carcasses^(R) of this people will become food^(S) for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.^{(T) 34} I will bring an end to the sounds^(U) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom^(V) in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem,^(W) for the land will become desolate.^(X)

The High Priest of a New Covenant

8 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) 2} and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle^(C) set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

³ 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) 4} 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) 5} 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) 6} 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.

⁷ For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.^(N)