Hebrews 8
1 Now in the things which we are saying, the main point is this: we have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
The main point of [all] that [I] have written is that we have a Supreme Priest like that. He has sat down to rule [MTY] with God [EUP] at the place of greatest honor in heaven.
2 a servant of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, not man.
He ministers in the Most Holy Place, that is, in the true place [of worship in heaven]. That is a place that [Moses’] tent [represented]. The Lord set up the true place of worship. No human [set it up].
3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.
Every Supreme Priest was appointed {[God] appointed every Supreme Priest} to offer [to God] gifts and sacrifices [for people who sinned]. So, since [Christ became a Supreme Priest], he also had to offer something.
4 For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law,
Since there are already [Jewish] priests who offer gifts as God’s laws [require], if Christ were [now living] on the earth, he would not be a Supreme Priest.
5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses was warned by God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for he said, “See, you shall make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.”
The [Jewish] priests perform rituals which are only a model [DOU] of [what Christ would do in heaven] [MTY]. What [God] told Moses when Moses was about to set up the tent [for worshipping him supports the idea that those rituals were only a model. God said], “Be sure that you [(sg)] make everything according to the model that I showed you on [Sinai] Mountain!”
6 But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law.
But now as it is, [Christ] ministers in a more excellent way [than the Jewish priests do]. Likewise, the [new] covenant that he established [between God and people] is better [than the old one. When the new covenant was established] {[God established the new covenant]}, he promised us better things [than the laws that God gave Moses did].
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
If that first covenant had been perfectly adequate [LIT], God would not have thought that he needed another [covenant/agreement to replace it]. But [it was not adequate, so he needed a new one].
8 For finding fault with them, he said, “Behold, the days are coming”, says the Lord, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
Because God declared [that the Israelites] were guilty [of not obeying the first covenant, he wanted a new covenant. This is what] ([a prophet/Jeremiah]) [wrote about that]: The Lord says, “Listen! There will soon be a time when I will make a new covenant with the people [MTY] of Israel and the people [MTY] of Judah.
9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they didn’t continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them,” says the Lord.
That covenant will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I led them out of Egypt [MET] [like a father leads a child] by the hand. They did not continue to [obey] my covenant, so I rejected them,” says the Lord.
10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says the Lord: “I will put my laws into their mind; I will also write them on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
“This is the covenant that I will make with the Israelites [MTY], after [the first covenant has ended] [MTY],” says the Lord: “I will enable them to understand my laws [MTY], and I will enable them to obey them (OR, truly know them) [MTY] sincerely. I will be their God, and they will be my people [DOU].
11 They will not teach every man his fellow citizen and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know me, from their least to their greatest.
[As a result], no one will [need to] teach a fellow citizen or tell his fellow kinsmen, ‘[You need to] know the Lord,’ because all [my people] will know me: [My people] of every status [will know me].
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.”
I will mercifully [forgive them for] the wicked things they have done. I will no longer [consider] that [they are guilty for] [DOU] [their] sins.”
13 In that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first obsolete. But that which is becoming obsolete and grows aged is near to vanishing away.
Since God spoke about a new [covenant], he considered that the first [covenant] was no longer in use, and that it would soon disappear, just like [anything that] gets old [will disappear] [MET, DOU].
