Hebrews 8

2 There he ministers in the sacred tent, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.

3 And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too.

4 If he were here on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts required by the law of Moses.

5 They serve in a place of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: "Be sure that you make everything according to the design I have shown you here on the mountain."*¹

6 But our High Priest has been given a ministry that is far superior to the ministry of those who serve under the old laws, for he is the one who guarantees for us a better covenant with God, based on better promises.

7 If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it.

8 But God himself found fault with the old one when he said: "The day will come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.²

9 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord.³

10 But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds so they will understand them, and I will write them on their hearts so they will obey them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.⁴

11 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their family, saying, `You should know the Lord.' For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will already know me.⁵

12 And I will forgive their wrongdoings, and I will never again remember their sins."*⁶

13 When God speaks of a new covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and ready to be put aside.

Read Hebrews 9

1: Exod 25:40; 26:30.

2: Jer 31:31-34.

3: Jer 31:31-34.

4: Jer 31:31-34.

5: Jer 31:31-34.

6: Jer 31:31-34.

^{New Living Translation Bible and Notes used with permission Tyndale House Publishers.}