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They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.
Hebrews 9:10 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB being only (with meats and drinks and various washings) fleshly ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation.
  • KJV Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
  • NKJV concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.
  • NASB since they relate only to food, drink, and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.
  • NLT For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The old regulations dealt only with outward matters, food, drink, and washings, imposed until God's appointed time of reform. They were temporary by design.

Overview

These 'fleshly ordinances' addressed external, ceremonial cleanness rather than the heart. They were never meant to be permanent but were 'imposed until a time of reformation', the new order inaugurated by Christ. Their built-in expiration shows they pointed forward to a better covenant.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 29

  • Col 2:16Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath.
  • Eph 2:15by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace
  • Lev 11:2–47“Say to the Israelites, ‘Of all the beasts of the earth, these ones you may eat:
  • Heb 7:16one who has become a priest not by a law of succession, but by the power of an indestructible life.
  • Heb 9:1Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.
  • Deut 23:11When evening approaches, he must wash with water, and when the sun sets he may return to the camp.
  • Gal 4:3–4So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.
  • Exod 40:12Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.
  • Lev 16:4He is to wear the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments. He must tie a linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are holy garments, and he must bathe himself with water before he wears them.
  • Exod 30:19–21with which Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet.
  • Heb 10:22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
  • Eph 1:10as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.
  • Ezek 4:14“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.”
  • Lev 16:24He is to bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his own clothes. Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering to make atonement for himself and for the people.
  • Deut 21:6Then all the elders of the city nearest the victim shall wash their hands by the stream over the heifer whose neck has been broken,
  • Heb 2:5For it is not to angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.
  • Heb 6:5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age—
  • Acts 10:13–15Then a voice said to him: “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”
  • Mark 7:4And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.
  • Heb 6:2instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
  • Heb 13:9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to them.
  • Num 19:7–21Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
  • Lev 17:15–16And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean.
  • Lev 22:6the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening. He must not eat from the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.
  • Gal 4:9But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
  • Col 2:20–22If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations:
  • Exod 29:4Then present Aaron and his sons at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.
  • Deut 14:3–21You must not eat any detestable thing.
  • Lev 14:8–9The one being cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. Afterward, he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Hebrews videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Hebrews 9:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on HebrewsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Hebrews is sustained worship of Christ: better than angels, Moses, and the priests; the great High Priest after Melchizedek who by one sacrifice perfects forever those he saves.

How Hebrews 9:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.