That is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore even the first covenant has not been dedicated without blood.
- KJV Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
- NKJV Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.
- NASB Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.
- NLT That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal.
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
Even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood. Covenant and sacrificial death have always gone together in God's dealings.
Overview
The author returns to history to show that blood marked the very founding of the old covenant. This establishes a pattern: covenants are ratified by sacrifice. It prepares the reader to see Christ's blood as the necessary and superior means by which the new covenant is established.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Exod 24:3–8When Moses came and told the people all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all responded with one voice: “All the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do.”
- Heb 9:22According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
- Heb 8:7–9For if that first covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second.
- Heb 9:14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
- Exod 12:22Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin, and brush the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.
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 9:18 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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