Hebrews 8:1-10 ▼

1 The main point we want to make is this: We do have this kind of chief priest. This chief priest has received the highest position, the throne of majesty in heaven.

2 He serves as priest of the holy place and of the true tent set up by the Lord and not by any human.

3 Every chief priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. Therefore, this chief priest had to offer something.

4 If he were on earth, he would not even be a priest. On earth [other] priests offer gifts by following the instructions that Moses gave.

5 They serve at a place that is a pattern, a shadow, of what is in heaven. When Moses was about to make the tent, God warned him, |Be sure to make everything based on the plan I showed you on the mountain.|

6 Jesus has been given a priestly work that is superior to the Levitical priests' work. He also brings a better promise from God that is based on better guarantees.

7 If nothing had been wrong with the first promise, no one would look for another one.

8 But God found something wrong with his people and said to them, |The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new promise to Israel and Judah.

9 It will not be like the promise that I made to their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of Egypt. They rejected that promise, so I ignored them, says the Lord.

10 But this is the promise that I will make to Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my teachings inside them, and I will write those teachings on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.