Passage

Hebrews 9.10

Book: Hebrews · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

8. the Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holy place hath not yet been made manifest, while the first tabernacle is yet standing; 9. which is a figure for the time present; according to which are offered both gifts and sacrifices that cannot, as touching the conscience, make the worshipper perfect,

10. being only (with meats and drinks and divers washings) carnal ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation.

But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, 12. nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:8-12, ASV)

WEB

8. The Holy Spirit is indicating this, that the way into the Holy Place wasn’t yet revealed while the first tabernacle was still standing; 9. which is a symbol of the present age, where gifts and sacrifices are offered that are incapable, concerning the conscience, of making the worshiper perfect;

10. being only (with meats and drinks and various washings) fleshly ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation.

But Christ having come as a high priest of the coming good things, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, 12. nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:8-12, WEB)

KJV

8. The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 9. Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

10. Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. ^{ordinances: or, rites, or, ceremonies}

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (Hebrews 9:8-12, KJV)

YLT

8. the Holy Spirit this evidencing that not yet hath been manifested the way of the holy [places], the first tabernacle having yet a standing; 9. which [is] a simile in regard to the present time, in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which are not able, in regard to conscience, to make perfect him who is serving,

10. only in victuals, and drinks, and different baptisms, and fleshly ordinances, till the time of reformation imposed upon [them].

And Christ being come, chief priest of the coming good things, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation 12. neither through blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, did enter in once into the holy places, age-during redemption having obtained; (Hebrews 9:8-12, 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

Being only, with meats and drinks and divers washings, carnal ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation.

The verse gives the letter's verdict on the older covenant's ritual apparatus, and it is more carefully worded than summaries of it usually are.

Carnal ordinances is literally ordinances of flesh, meaning regulations concerning the body and its externals rather than regulations that are fleshly in the Pauline moral sense. The complaint of verse 9 is precise: the gifts and sacrifices offered cannot, as touching the conscience, make the worshipper perfect. They accomplished what they were for, which was ceremonial cleansing, and they could not do what only the new arrangement does, which is to cleanse the conscience.

Imposed until a time of reformation is the decisive clause. Diorthosis means a setting straight or putting right, used of correcting a defect. The ordinances carried an expiry built into their purpose. They were not abolished because they had failed but retired because the thing they anticipated arrived.

That framing matters for how Christians speak about the law. The letter does not present the older system as a mistake, a legalistic error, or a lower religion. It presents it as provisional by design, which is a very different charge and a far more defensible one. See Mosaic Law.

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.

G2540 - kairos, kairos, Strong's G2540
G4561 - sarx, sarx, Strong's G4561

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Mosaic Law

Lexicon:

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.