Hebrews 9:11-22

Common English Bible

¹¹ But Christ has appeared as the high priest of the good things that have happened. He passed through the greater and more perfect meeting tent, which isn’t made by human hands (that is, it’s not a part of this world). ¹² He entered the holy of holies once for all by his own blood, not by the blood of goats or calves, securing our deliverance for all time. ¹³ If the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkled ashes of cows made spiritually contaminated people holy and clean, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Jesus wash our consciences clean from dead works in order to serve the living God? He offered himself to God through the eternal Spirit as a sacrifice without any flaw.

Christ’s death and the new covenant

¹⁵ This is why he’s the mediator of a new covenant (which is a will): so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance on the basis of his death. His death occurred to set them free from the offenses committed under the first covenant. ¹⁶ When there is a will, you need to confirm the death of the one who made the will. ¹⁷ This is because a will takes effect only after a death, since it’s not in force while the one who made the will is alive. ¹⁸ So not even the first covenant was put into effect without blood. ¹⁹ Moses took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the Law scroll itself and all the people after he had proclaimed every command of the Law to all the people. ²⁰ While he did it, he said, This is the blood of the covenant that God established for you.^{[a] 21} And in the same way he sprinkled the meeting tent and also all the equipment that would be used in the priests’ service with blood. ²² Almost everything is cleansed by blood, according to the Law’s regulations, and there is no forgiveness without blood being shed.