Passage

Hebrews 8.6

Book: Hebrews · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

4. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are those who offer the gifts according to the law; 5. who serve that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses is warned of God when he is about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern that was showed thee in the mount.

6. But now hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then would no place have been sought for a second. 8. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, That I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; (Hebrews 8:4-8, ASV)

WEB

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; 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.”

6. But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8. For finding fault with them, he said, “Behold, the days come”, says the Lord, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; (Hebrews 8:4-8, WEB)

KJV

4. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: ^{there: or, they are priests} 5. Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

6. But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. ^{covenant: or, testament}

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: (Hebrews 8:4-8, KJV)

YLT

4. for if, indeed, he were upon earth, he would not be a priest, (there being the priests who are offering according to the law, the gifts, 5. who unto an example and shadow do serve of the heavenly things, as Moses hath been divinely warned, being about to construct the tabernacle, for 'See (saith He) thou mayest make all things according to the pattern that was shewn to thee in the mount;')

6. and now he hath obtained a more excellent service, how much also of a better covenant is he mediator, which on better promises hath been sanctioned,

for if that first were faultless, a place would not have been sought for a second. 8. For finding fault, He saith to them, 'Lo, days come, saith the Lord, and I will complete with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, a new covenant, (Hebrews 8:4-8, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the anonymous author of Hebrews. Pauline authorship was doubted in antiquity and Origen concluded that who wrote it, God knows
Audience: Jewish believers under pressure to fall back from Christ into the older covenant observances
Location: unknown; the closing greeting from those of Italy (13:24) points in two directions at once
Time period: most likely before AD 70, since the sacrificial system is discussed as still operating

Theological reading

But now hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises.

The verse is the hinge of the letter's central argument and its comparative structure is exact: the ministry is superior in the same proportion as the covenant is superior, and the covenant is superior because the promises are.

Mediator (mesites) is the key term. Moses stood between God and Israel at Sinai, and the word places Christ in that role for the arrangement now in force. The letter will press the point at 9:15 by noting that a covenant requires a death to take effect.

The word rendered enacted is legislative language, which matters for how the covenant is understood. This is not a mutual bargain struck between parties of comparable standing but a settlement established by one party in favour of the other, which is why the Jeremiah quotation that follows is a chain of divine first-person commitments: I will put my laws into their mind, I will be to them a God, I will be merciful.

What makes the promises better is specified by that quotation rather than left vague: internalisation of the law, immediacy of knowledge, and definitive forgiveness. The older covenant was not defective in what it was for. The letter's charge at verse 8 is aimed at the people, finding fault with them, which is a careful distinction worth preserving in any discussion of supersession. See Mosaic Law and The Jewish Defense.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G1242 - diatheke, diatheke, Strong's G1242

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Mosaic Law, via Hebrews 8.6-13
Theocratic Context of Mosaic Law, via Hebrews 8.5-13

Lexicon:

G1242 - diatheke
H1285 - berith, via Hebrews 8.6-13

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.