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For when Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people,
Hebrews 9:19 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
  • KJV For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
  • NKJV For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
  • NASB For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
  • NLT For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool.

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

At Sinai Moses sealed the covenant by sprinkling the book and the people with blood. This dramatic act ratified the agreement between God and Israel.

Overview

Recalling Exodus 24, the author describes Moses sprinkling blood, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, on the law and the people. This solemn ceremony bound the people to the covenant. The detail reinforces that blood was indispensable for covenant ratification, pointing to the greater blood of Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 22

  • Exod 24:5–11Then he sent out some young men of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD.
  • Ezek 36:25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
  • Num 19:18Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, or a person who has died or been slain.
  • Heb 9:12He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
  • Num 19:6The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer.
  • Heb 10:4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
  • Lev 14:4–7the priest shall order that two live clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed.
  • 1 Pet 1:2according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
  • Lev 16:14–18And he is to take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the mercy seat.
  • Mark 15:17They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head.
  • Lev 1:2–3“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, you may bring as your offering an animal from the herd or the flock.
  • Isa 52:15so He will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For they will see what they have not been told, and they will understand what they have not heard.
  • Lev 3:6If, however, one’s peace offering to the LORD is from the flock, he must present a male or female without blemish.
  • John 19:2The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe.
  • 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.
  • Lev 14:49–52He is to take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop to purify the house;
  • Mark 15:20After they had mocked Him, they removed the purple robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him.
  • Matt 27:28They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
  • Lev 1:10If, however, one’s offering is a burnt offering from the flock—from the sheep or goats—he is to present an unblemished male.
  • John 19:5When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
  • Ps 51:7Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
  • Heb 12:24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (10)

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 9:19YouTube · 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 9:19 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.