Hebrews - Chapter 9

1Now the first agreement had its rules of worship, and a holy order. 2For the first Tent was made ready, having in it the vessels for the lights and the table and the ordering of the bread; and this is named the holy place. 3And inside the second veil was the place which is named the Holy of holies; 4Having a vessel of gold in it for burning perfumes, and the ark of the agreement, which was covered with gold and which had in it a pot made of gold for the manna, and Aaron's rod which put out buds, and the stones with the writing of the agreement; 5And over it were the winged ones of glory with their wings covering the mercy-seat; about which it is not possible now to say anything in detail. 6Now while these things were in existence, the priests went into the first Tent at all times, for prayer and the making of offerings. 7But only the high priest went into the second, once a year, not without making an offering of blood for himself and for the errors of the people: 8The Holy Spirit witnessing by this that the way into the holy place had not at that time been made open, while the first Tent was still in being; 9And this is an image of the present time; when the offerings which are given are not able to make the heart of the worshipper completely clean, 10Because they are only rules of the flesh, of meats and drinks and washings, which have their place till the time comes when things will be put right. 11But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things of the future, through this greater and better Tent, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this world, 12And has gone once and for ever into the holy place, having got eternal salvation, not through the blood of goats and young oxen, but through his blood. 13For if the blood of goats and oxen, and the dust from the burning of a young cow, being put on the unclean, make the flesh clean: 14How much more will the blood of Christ, who, being without sin, made an offering of himself to God through the Holy Spirit, make your hearts clean from dead works to be servants of the living God? 15And for this cause it is through him that a new agreement has come into being, so that after the errors under the first agreement had been taken away by his death, the word of God might have effect for those who were marked out for an eternal heritage. 16Because where there is a testament, there has to be the death of the man who made it. 17For a testament has effect after death; for what power has it while the man who made it is living? 18So that even the first agreement was not made without blood. 19For when Moses had given all the rules of the law to the people, he took the blood of goats and young oxen, with water and red wool and hyssop, and put it on the book itself and on all the people, 20Saying, This blood is the sign of the agreement which God has made with you. 21And the blood was put on the Tent and all the holy vessels in the same way. 22And by the law almost all things are made clean with blood, and without blood there is no forgiveness. 23For this cause it was necessary to make the copies of the things in heaven clean with these offerings; but the things themselves are made clean with better offerings than these. 24For Christ did not go into a holy place which had been made by men's hands as the copy of the true one; but he went into heaven itself, and now takes his place before the face of God for us. 25And he did not have to make an offering of himself again and again, as the high priest goes into the holy place every year with blood which is not his; 26For then he would have undergone a number of deaths from the time of the making of the world: but now he has come to us at the end of the old order, to put away sin by the offering of himself. 27And because by God's law death comes to men once, and after that they are judged; 28So Christ, having at his first coming taken on himself the sins of men, will be seen a second time, without sin, by those who are waiting for him, for their salvation.