1 ¶ Now of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum: We have such a high priest who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

Now the main point of what we have to say is this: We have such a High Priest, One Who is seated at the right hand of the majestic in heaven,

2 a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

As officiating Priest, a Minister in the holy places and in the true tabernacle which is erected not by man but by the Lord.

3 F or every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore, it is also necessary that this one have something to offer.

For every high priest is appointed to offer up gifts and sacrifices; so it is essential for this to have some offering to make also.

4 F or if he were on earth, he should not even be a priest, being present still the other priests that offer gifts according to the law,

If then He were still living on earth, He would not be a priest at all, for there are who offer the gifts in accordance with the Law.

5 ( who serve as an example and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed unto thee in the mount);

service as a pattern and as a foreshadowing of the heavenly sanctuary. For when Moses was about to erect the tabernacle, he was warned by God, saying, See to it that you make it all according to the copy (the model) which was shown to you on the mountain.

6 ¶ but now a more excellent ministry is his, in that he is the mediator of a better testament, which was established upon better promises.

But as it now is, He has acquired a ministry which is as much superior and more excellent as the covenant (the agreement) of which He is the Mediator (the Arbiter, Agent) is superior and more excellent, it is enacted and rests upon more important (sublimer, higher, and nobler) promises.

7 F or if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place should have been sought for the second.

For if that first covenant had been without defect, there would have been no room for another one or an attempt to institute another one.

8 F or finding fault with them, he said, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new testament with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

However, He finds fault with them when He says, Behold, the days will come, says the Lord, when I will make and ratify a new covenant or agreement with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

9 n ot according to the testament that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not continue in my testament, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their forefathers on the day when I grasped them by the hand to help and relieve them and to lead them out from the land of Egypt, for they did not abide in My agreement with them, and so I withdrew My favor and disregarded them, says the Lord.

10 F or this is the testament that I will ordain to the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will give my laws into their soul and write them upon their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their minds, even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding, and engrave them upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

11 a nd no one shall teach his neighbour nor anyone his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

And it will nevermore be necessary for each one to teach his neighbor and his fellow citizen or each one his brother, saying, Know (perceive, have knowledge of, and get acquainted by experience with) the Lord, for all will know Me, from the smallest to the greatest of them.

12 F or I will reconcile their iniquities and their sins, and their iniquities I will remember no more.

For I will be merciful and gracious toward their sins and I will remember their deeds of unrighteousness no more.

13 I n that he says, New, he has made the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away.

When God speaks of a new, He makes the first one obsolete (out of use). And what is obsolete (out of use and annulled because of age) is ripe for disappearance and to be dispensed with altogether.