1 Now this is the main point [or, the summary] of what we are saying: We have such a head priest [i.e., as described in chapter 7] who sat down at the right side of the throne of the Majesty [i.e., God] in heaven.
2 He is a minister in the sanctuary, [serving about holy things] in the true tabernacle, which was set up by the Lord and not by man [Note: This sanctuary/tabernacle represents either heaven or the church].
3 For every head priest [on earth] is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, so it is necessary that this Head Priest [i.e., Jesus] also have something to offer.
4 Now if He were [still] on earth, He would not be a priest [at all], since there are [already] those [on earth] who offer gifts according to the law of Moses.
5 These priests serve [in a sanctuary] that is [only] a copy and a foreshadow of the heavenly one. Now Moses was warned [by God] when he was about to build the Tabernacle, for God said [Ex. 25:40], "See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain [i.e., Mount Sinai]."
6 But now Jesus has obtained a ministry that is as far superior [to that of the Levitical priesthood] as the [New] Agreement, of which He is the Mediator, is better [than the old one], because it has been enacted on better promises.
7 For if that first Agreement had been faultless, then there would have been no need for a second one.
8 For God found fault with the Israelites [or, possibly with the first Agreement], saying [Jer. 31:31ff], "Look, the Lord says, the time will come when I will make a New Agreement with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.
9 [It will] not be like the Agreement that I made with their forefathers on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the country of Egypt. For they did not [continue to] keep my Agreement, so I did not regard them [as acceptable], says the Lord.
10 For this is the Agreement that I will make with the people of Israel in the coming days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and I will also write them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people.
11 And everyone will not [have to] teach his neighbor or his brother [anymore], telling them to 'Know the Lord,' because all of them will know me [as their Lord], from the least [important] ones to the most important ones.
12 For I will be merciful to their wickedness [i.e., by forgiving them] and I will not remember their sins anymore."