1 Here is a summary of the things we are discussing: We have this kind of high priest. He sat down at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven.
2 He is a minister of the Holy Place and of the true Tabernacle, built by Jehovah and not man.
3 Every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. It is necessary to have something to offer.
4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law.
5 The work they do as priests is only a copy and a shadow of what is in heaven. It is the same as it was with Moses. When he was about to build the sacred tent, God told him: »Be sure to make everything according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.«
6 Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry. The covenant that he arranged between God and his people is a better one, because it is based on promises of better things.
7 If there had been nothing wrong with the first covenant, there would not have been a need for a second one.
8 God finds fault with his people and said to them: »The time is coming, says Jehovah, when I will draw up a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. (Jeremiah 31:31)
9 »It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. They were not faithful to the covenant I made with them, and so I paid no attention to them.
10 »This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, said Jehovah: I will put my teachings laws in their mind, I will write them upon their hearts deep thoughtunderstanding. I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Jeremiah 31:32)
11 »They will not teach a neighbor or brother saying: »Know Jehovah.« All will know me from the little one among them to the great among them. (Hosea 2:20)
12 »I will forgive their wickedness and I will remember their sins no more.«
13 By calling this covenant »new,« he has made the first one old obsolete. That which grows old and aged will soon disappear.