Passage
Hebrews 9.18-22
Book: Hebrews · NASB95
Immediate context (±2 verses)
ASV
16. For where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him that made it. 17. For a testament is of force where there hath been death: for it doth never avail while he that made it liveth.
18. Wherefore even the first covenant hath not been dedicated without blood. 19. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses unto all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20. saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded to you-ward. 21. Moreover the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled in like manner with the blood. 22. And according to the law, I may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.
- It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24. For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us: (Hebrews 9:16-24, ASV)
WEB
16. For where a last will and testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him who made it. 17. For a will is in force where there has been death, for it is never in force while he who made it lives.
18. Therefore even the first covenant has not been dedicated without blood. 19. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20. saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.” 21. Moreover he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry in the same way with the blood. 22. According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.
- It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24. For Christ hasn’t entered into holy places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; (Hebrews 9:16-24, WEB)
KJV
16. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. be: or, be brought in 17. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
18. Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. dedicated: or, purified 19. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, scarlet: or, purple 20. Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. 21. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. 22. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
- It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: (Hebrews 9:16-24, KJV)
YLT
16. for where a covenant [is], the death of the covenant-victim to come in is necessary, 17. for a covenant over dead victims [is] stedfast, since it is no force at all when the covenant-victim liveth,
18. whence not even the first apart from blood hath been initiated, 19. for every command having been spoken, according to law, by Moses, to all the people, having taken the blood of the calves and goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, he both the book itself and all the people did sprinkle, 20. saying, 'This [is] the blood of the covenant that God enjoined unto you,' 21. and both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the service with blood in like manner he did sprinkle, 22. and with blood almost all things are purified according to the law, and apart from blood-shedding forgiveness doth not come.
- [It is] necessary, therefore, the pattern indeed of the things in the heavens to be purified with these, and the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these; 24. for not into holy places made with hands did the Christ enter, figures of the true, but into the heaven itself, now to be manifested in the presence of God for us; (Hebrews 9:16-24, YLT)
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Setting
- Speaker: TBD
- Audience: TBD
- Location: TBD
- Time period: TBD
Theological reading
Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.
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.
- G0859 - aphesis, aphesis, Strong's G0859
- G1242 - diatheke, diatheke, Strong's G1242
- G3551 - nomos, nomos, Strong's G3551
- G1096 - ginomai, ginomai, Strong's G1096
- G4314 - pros, pros, Strong's G4314
- G3956 - pas, pas, Strong's G3956
Quoted in
Arguments and defeaters:
- Argument from Forgiveness, via Hebrews 9.22
- Blood Atonement Not Required Objection Defeater, via Hebrews 9.22
- Jesus is Not a Human Sacrifice (Defeater), via Hebrews 9.22
- Jesus's Sacrifice Was Not Real Because He Rose Objection Defeater, via Hebrews 9.22
Concepts:
- Animal Sacrifice Objection, via Hebrews 9.22
- Penal Substitutionary Atonement, via Hebrews 9.11-28, Hebrews 9.22-28
Lexicon:
- G0859 - aphesis, via Hebrews 9.22
- G1242 - diatheke, via Hebrews 9.1-22, Hebrews 9.20
- H1285 - berith, via Hebrews 9.11-22
- H1818 - dam, via Hebrews 9.22
- H3722 - kaphar, via Hebrews 9.22
Notes
Your annotations.
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.