1 For the law of Moses was [only] a foreshadow of the good things that [were] to come [i.e., in the Messianic age], not the exact image of those things. It can never, by the same sacrifices, continually offered year after year, make [morally] perfect those who draw near [to God in worship].
2 If it could, would not those sacrifices have stopped being offered [by now], since the worshipers would have been [ceremonially] cleansed and would not have had a sense of guilt anymore?
3 But those sacrifices were [only] a reminder of [the people's] sins year after year,
4 because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said [to God], [Psa. 40:6-8 LXX], "You did not want an [animal] sacrifice and an offering, but you prepared a body for me [to sacrifice].
6 You were not pleased with whole burnt offerings and sin offerings.
7 Then I said, 'Look, I have come to do what you want, O God, [just as] it is written in the scroll of the book [about me].'"
8 [After] saying the above, "You did not want, nor were you pleased, with [peace] sacrifices and [meal] offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin offerings," [although] these are offered according to the law of Moses,
9 He then said, "Look, I have come to do what you want." [So], Christ takes away the first [i.e., the animal and grain sacrifices] in order to establish the second [i.e., the sacrifice of Himself].
10 By [Christ doing] what God wanted, we have been set aside for God through Jesus Christ offering His body once for all time.
11 For every priest stands and performs his service day after day, offering over and over the same sacrifices which can never take away sins.
12 But when this Priest [i.e., Christ] had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, He sat down at the right side of God.
13 From that time onward He will wait until His enemies are placed [in full subjection] under His feet.
14 For by one offering [i.e., the sacrifice of Himself], Christ has made perfect forever those people who are being set apart for God.
15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for He said, first of all,
16 [Jer. 31:33f], "The Lord says, this is the Agreement I will make with them [i.e., with my people] after those days. I will put my laws in their hearts and I will write them on their minds." Then He said,
18 Now where forgiveness of sins has taken place, there is no longer [a need for an] offering for sin.
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Holy of Holies [i.e., heaven] by means of the blood of Jesus,
20 by means of a new and living way which He opened for us through the curtain of His physical body,
21 and since we have a great Priest [who is] over God's household [i.e., Christ],
22 we should draw close [to God] with a sincere heart and a fully assured faith, having had our hearts sprinkled from a guilty conscience [See 9:13-14] and having had our bodies washed with clean water [i.e., in our immersion].
23 [So], we should hold on firmly to the profession of our hope [in God], without wavering from it, for God is faithful to His promises.
24 And we should consider how we can stir up one another to love [more] and to perform good deeds.
25 We should not neglect our assembling together [as a church], as some people are in the habit of doing, but we should encourage one another [spiritually], and [do it] all the more [diligently] as you see the day [of judgment] coming closer.
26 For if we go on sinning intentionally, after we have received the full knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for [our] sins.
27 Instead, [there will be] a fearful expectation of [coming] judgment and of [God's] raging fire which will consume His enemies.
28 The person who has disregarded the law of Moses is put to death without being shown mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 How much more severely do you think a person deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God and has regarded the blood of the [New] Agreement, with which he was set apart for God, an unholy thing and has insulted the Holy Spirit, through whom God's unearned favor is shown?
30 For we know God, who said [Deut. 32:35], "Revenge belongs to me; I will pay back [for wrongdoing]." And again [Deut. 32:36], "The Lord will judge His people."
31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 But remember the earlier days when, after you were enlightened [to the truth], you endured a difficult struggle by having to suffer [much].
33 Sometimes you were subjected to public ridicule and abuse, and at other times you shared [vicariously] with those people who were treated that way.
34 For you showed sympathy for those who were in prison and accepted it joyfully when your [own] possessions were taken away, [because] you knew that you yourselves had a better and more permanent possession [in heaven].
35 [So], do not throw away your confidence, because it pays a rich reward.
36 For you need to be steadfast so that, after you have done what God wants, you will receive the promise [of an inheritance. See 9:15].