Hebrews 9

9:1 The first agreement had rules for praising God and giving him honour and respect. It had a special holy place here on earth. 9:2 Moses set up a large special tent. The first area contained the lamp and the table with the holy bread on it. This was the holy place. 9:3 Behind the second curtain there was a room that was the most holy place. 9:4 In here there was an altar of gold on which priests burned special incense. There was also a special large box made of wood and covered with gold. This box was the box of the agreement. In it was the gold jar that contained bread from heaven. There was also Aaron’s stick that began to grow, and the stones on which God wrote the agreement. 9:5 On top of the special box there were the shapes of two special angels. Their wings spread over the box. Under the shadow of their wings, on top of the box, was a lid of pure gold. We cannot speak in detail of these things now.

9:6 While this special tent was in use, the priests went in and out of the first room to do their work. 9:7 Only the chief priest could go into the inner room. He had to go in, by himself and only once a year. When he went in, he had to take blood with him. He offered the blood to God for the sins he himself had done. He offered blood also for any sins that the people had done without realising it. 9:8 The Holy Spirit was teaching that the way into the most holy place in heaven was not yet open. He would not show it while the first special tent was in use. 9:9 The old special tent was an image, or a copy, for the present time. In the tent, the priests offered gifts and sacrifices to God. Yet, these could not make the conscience clean before God. 9:10 The gifts and sacrifices were only food and drink. There were rules on how to wash and other rules to do with the body. These rules were there until the time of the new agreement.

9:11 Jesus has now come as the chief priest of the good things that have come. He has gone into the better and more perfect tent. Men did not make this special tent and it does not belong to this world. 9:12 Jesus did not take the blood of goats and young cows into the most holy place. He took his own blood into the most holy place, once for all time. He has purchased us with his life so that we may live always with God. 9:13 The priest took the blood of goats and young cows and the ashes of a young cow. He put them on the people who had done bad things. This made their bodies clean. 9:14 The blood of Jesus will do much more than clean bodies. By the Holy Spirit who lives always, Jesus offered himself to God on our behalf. He was the perfect sacrifice for all who have sinned. He is able to make our conscience clean from all the sins that lead to death. By him, we may now serve the God who lives always.

9:15 Therefore Jesus is the one who obtained for us the new agreement with God. When Jesus died, he paid for all the sins that people had done under the first agreement. The people whom God now calls can have what he promised. That is, a place in heaven that will always be theirs. 9:16 Before a person dies, he can say who is to own his things after his death. He writes down his wishes in an agreement. Before anyone can take his things, there has to be proof that the person who owned them has died. 9:17 Because this agreement is for after the person dies, it has no value while the one who made it is still alive. 9:18 This is why even the first agreement had no value without a death. 9:19 Moses read aloud all the commands of the law to all the people. Then he took the blood of young cows and goats, and some water. With red wool and branches of hyssop, he put some on the book and some on all the people. 9:20 As he did so, he said, ‘This is the blood of the agreement which God has commanded you to obey’ (Exodus 24:8). 9:21 In the same way he put some of the blood on the special tent. He also put some on all the things that the priests used in their work. 9:22 In fact, by the old law, the use of blood makes nearly everything clean. If there is no sacrifice of blood, God will not forgive our sins.

9:23 The first agreement gave copies on earth of the real things that are in heaven. These copies had to be clean. The blood of the sacrifices of goats and young cows made the copies clean. The real things in heaven need much better sacrifices than animals. 9:24 For Jesus did not go into the holy place made by men. That was only a copy of the true one. He went into heaven itself. Now he is there before God on our behalf. 9:25 The chief priest of the old agreement had to go into the most holy place once every year. He had to take blood with him. It was not his own blood, but the blood of an animal. Jesus does not need to go to heaven again and again with his blood. 9:26 If he had needed to do this, he would have had to die many times since the world began. As it is, Jesus came once in these last days. He came to take away all sin. He died once for all time as the perfect sacrifice.

9:27 Everyone will die one day, and then afterwards stand before God. He will be their judge. 9:28 So Jesus died once as the sacrifice. By doing that, he took away all the sins of many people. He will come a second time. He will not have to die again for our sins. He comes the second time to rescue all who are waiting for him and make them whole.