World English Bible · Under Rome
Hebrews 9
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Now indeed even the first had ordinances of divine and an earthly sanctuary. For a was prepared. In the first part were the lamp stand, the table, and the show bread, which is called the Place. After the second was the which is called the of Holies, having a golden and the overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding , that budded, and the tablets of ; and above it of overshadowing the , of which things we can't speak now in detail. Now these things having been thus prepared, the priests go in continually into the first , accomplishing the services, but into the second the alone, once in the year, not without , which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people. is indicating this, that into the Place wasn't yet while the first was still standing. This is a symbol of the present age, where gifts and are offered that are incapable, concerning the , of making the worshiper perfect, being only (with foods and drinks and various washings) ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation. But Christ having come as a of the coming good things, through the greater and more perfect , not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, nor yet through of goats and calves, but through his own , entered in once for all into the Place, having obtained . For if of goats and bulls, and the of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, to the cleanness of , how much more will of Christ, who through the offered himself to , cleanse your from works to the living ? For this reason he is the mediator of a , since a has occurred for the of the that were under the first , that those who have been called may receive the promise of the . For where a last will and testament is, there must of necessity be the of him who made it. For a will is in force where there has been , for it is never in force while he who made it lives. Therefore even the first has not been dedicated without . For when every had been spoken by to all the people according to , he took of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and , and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, "This is of which has commanded you." He sprinkled the and all the vessels of the ministry in the same way with . According to , nearly everything is cleansed with , and apart from shedding of there is no remission. It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in should be cleansed with these, but the things themselves with better than these. For Christ hasn't entered into places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into itself, now to appear in the of for us; nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the enters into the place year by year with not his own, or else he must have suffered often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has been to by the of himself. Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to once, and after this, , so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with , but to those who are eagerly for him.
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.