Hebrews 8

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

Hebrews 8 describes Jesus as a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven and who ministers in the true tabernacle set up by the Lord. It notes that every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices, and that earthly priests offer gifts according to the law in a sanctuary that serves as a copy and shadow of the heavenly pattern shown to Moses on the mountain. The text states that Jesus has received a more excellent ministry mediated through a better covenant founded on better promises. It quotes a passage where the Lord declares the coming of a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, replacing the previous covenant because the people did not abide by it. Under this new covenant, the Lord promises to put His laws in their minds, write them on their hearts, forgive their iniquities, and ensure that all will know Him. Finally, the chapter concludes that by speaking of a new covenant, the first one is made obsolete and will soon disappear.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ²and who ministers in the sanctuary and true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. ³And since every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, it was necessary for this One also to have something to offer. ⁴Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are already priests who offer gifts according to the law. ⁵The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” ⁶Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises. ⁷For if that first covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second. ⁸But God found fault with the people and said: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ⁹It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not abide by My covenant, and I disregarded them, declares the Lord. ¹⁰For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. ¹¹No longer will each one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. ¹²For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.” ¹³By speaking of a new covenant, He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

Test this chapter

Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.