The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect.
Parallel translations
- WEB For a will is in force where there has been death, for it is never in force while he who made it lives.
- KJV For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
- BSB because a will does not take effect until the one who made it has died; it cannot be executed while he is still alive.
- NKJV For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.
- NASB For a covenant is valid only when people are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.
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 has force only after death; it means nothing while the maker still lives. Christ's death was therefore essential to enact the covenant's blessings.
Overview
Continuing the testament analogy, the author stresses that a will is powerless until the testator dies. Applied to the covenant, this shows that the inheritance and forgiveness it promises depend on Christ's death. His self-offering is what puts the new covenant into effect for his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Gen 48:21Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers.
- Gal 3:15Brothers, speaking of human terms, though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it.
- John 14:27Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 9:17 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
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