Now when someone leaves a will, it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead.
Parallel translations
- WEB For where a last will and testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him who made it.
- KJV For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
- BSB In the case of a will, it is necessary to establish the death of the one who made it,
- NKJV For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
- NASB For where there is a covenant, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it.
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
A will or testament only takes effect when the one who made it dies. The author uses this everyday fact to illuminate the covenant.
Overview
The Greek word for covenant also means 'will' or 'testament', and the author plays on this double sense. Just as a will requires the death of the testator to be enacted, so the new covenant's blessings come through Christ's death. This vivid analogy underscores why the death of Christ was necessary to secure the inheritance promised to God's people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Jas 2:10For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
- 1 Cor 15:22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
- Rom 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Rom 5:12Therefore as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned.
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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.
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Original language
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