The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”

一七之内，他必与许多人坚定盟约；一七之半，他必使祭祀与供献止息。那行毁坏可憎的如飞而来，并且有忿怒倾在那行毁坏的身上，直到所定的结局。”

在一七之期，他必与许多人坚立盟约；一七之半，他必使献祭与供献止息。那施行毁灭的可憎之物必立在圣殿里，直到所定的结局倾倒在那行毁灭者的身上。”

在一七之期，他必与许多人坚立盟约；一七之半，他必使献祭与供献止息。那施行毁灭的可憎之物必立在圣殿里，直到所定的结局倾倒在那行毁灭者的身上。”

那王必与许多人缔结一七之久的盟约。一七之半，他必终止祭牲和供物，并且设立带来毁灭的可憎之物，直到所定的结局临到这恶者。”

一七之内，他必和许多人坚立盟约；一七之半，他必使献祭和供物终止；他必在殿里（“殿里”原文作“翼上”）；设立那使地荒凉的可憎的像（“可憎的像”原文是复数），直到指定的结局倾倒在那造成荒凉的人身上。”

他将与许多人订立一个‘七’之久的坚固盟约；而在半个‘七’的时候，他将使祭物和供物止息。在那些可憎者的羽翼上，必出现一个带来荒凉的人，直到那被注定的灭绝倾泻在这带来荒凉的人身上。”

一七之內，他必與許多人堅定盟約；一七之半，他必使祭祀與供獻止息。那行毀壞可憎的如飛而來，並且有忿怒傾在那行毀壞的身上，直到所定的結局。」

在一七之期，他必與許多人堅立盟約；一七之半，他必使獻祭與供獻止息。那施行毀滅的可憎之物必立在聖殿裏，直到所定的結局傾倒在那行毀滅者的身上。」

在一七之期，他必與許多人堅立盟約；一七之半，他必使獻祭與供獻止息。那施行毀滅的可憎之物必立在聖殿裏，直到所定的結局傾倒在那行毀滅者的身上。」

那王必與許多人締結一七之久的盟約。一七之半，他必終止祭牲和供物，並且設立帶來毀滅的可憎之物，直到所定的結局臨到這惡者。」

一七之內，他必和許多人堅立盟約；一七之半，他必使獻祭和供物終止；他必在殿裡（“殿裡”原文作“翼上”）；設立那使地荒涼的可憎的像（“可憎的像”原文是複數），直到指定的結局傾倒在那造成荒涼的人身上。”

一個七之內、他必跟許多人堅定盟約；一個七之一半、他必使宰祭和素祭止息；代替這祭獻的必是個可憎者、使聖地荒涼者，直到毁滅之事、鐵定之事、傾倒在那使聖地荒涼者身上為止。』

他將與許多人訂立一個『七』之久的堅固盟約；而在半個『七』的時候，他將使祭物和供物止息。在那些可憎者的羽翼上，必出現一個帶來荒涼的人，直到那被註定的滅絕傾瀉在這帶來荒涼的人身上。」

彼與多人將立堅約、歷至七日、一七之間、使祭祀與祭品俱息、殘賊者藉可憎之翼而來、且有忿怒、傾於行毀滅者、至於所定之末期、

最後七日、主必與眾民立約、七日之間、祭祀將不復行、殘賊可惡之物、立於聖地、所定之災、必有應驗、終至荒蕪。

一七之間、彼與多人定約、一七之半間、將使祭祀與獻禮咸息、殘賊可惡之物、必立於聖所、必立於聖所或作必立於聖所之墻待所定之災、盡降於行毀滅者、行毀滅者或作受毀滅者

He will confirm a covenant with many for one‘ seven.’ In the middle of the‘ seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”

A covenant will be put into effect with many people for one‘ week.’ In the middle of the‘ week’ sacrifices and offerings will come to an end. And at the temple a hated thing that destroys will be set up. It will remain until that ruler who will come is destroyed. Then he will experience what the Lord has ordered.”

And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

He will make a firm covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering. And the abomination of desolation will be on a wing of the temple until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”

And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come the one who makes desolate, until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, gushes forth on the one who makes desolate.”

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”

And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate.

He will make a firm covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering. And the abomination of desolation will be on a wing of the temple until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make[ it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of that week he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt. On the wing of abominations will come one who destroys, until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys.”

He will make a firm covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate; and even to the full end, and that determined, wrath will be poured out on the desolate.”

“ The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about— the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.”( Reader, pay attention!)

“ And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived.

“ From the time the daily sacrifice is stopped and the sacrilegious object that causes desecration is set up to be worshiped, there will be 1,290 days.

But though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant of them will return. The Lord has rightly decided to destroy his people.Yes, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, has already decided to destroy the entire land.

“ The day is coming when you will see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing where he should not be.”( Reader, pay attention!)“ Then those in Judea must flee to the hills.

“ The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to be greater than every god, even blaspheming the God of gods. He will succeed, but only until the time of wrath is completed. For what has been determined will surely take place.

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me.I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.“ This is what the Lord says: Just as I have brought all these calamities on them, so I will do all the good I have promised them.

Then I heard two holy ones talking to each other. One of them asked,“ How long will the events of this vision last? How long will the rebellion that causes desecration stop the daily sacrifices? How long will the Temple and heaven’s army be trampled on?”

“ Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.

For the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, has plainly said that he is determined to crush the whole land. So scoff no more, or your punishment will be even greater.

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures,“ Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case.God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say“ to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says“ to his child”— and that, of course, means Christ.This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise.

Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.Now when someone leaves a will, it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead.The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect.That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal.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.Then he said,“ This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.”

Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.Then you will remember with shame all the evil you have done. I will make your sisters, Samaria and Sodom, to be your daughters, even though they are not part of our covenant.And I will reaffirm my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord.You will remember your sins and cover your mouth in silent shame when I forgive you of all that you have done. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

Let the bountiful table set before them become a snare and their prosperity become a trap.Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and make their bodies shake continually.Pour out your fury on them; consume them with your burning anger.Let their homes become desolate and their tents be deserted.To the one you have punished, they add insult to injury; they add to the pain of those you have hurt.Pile their sins up high, and don’t let them go free.Erase their names from the Book of Life; don’t let them be counted among the righteous.

Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:“ For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.”

I am making this covenant with you so that no one among you— no man, woman, clan, or tribe— will turn away from the Lord our God to worship these gods of other nations, and so that no root among you bears bitter and poisonous fruit.“ Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking,‘ I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.’ This would lead to utter ruin!The Lord will never pardon such people. Instead his anger and jealousy will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will come down on them, and the Lord will erase their names from under heaven.The Lord will separate them from all the tribes of Israel, to pour out on them all the curses of the covenant recorded in this Book of Instruction.“ Then the generations to come, both your own descendants and the foreigners who come from distant lands, will see the devastation of the land and the diseases the Lord inflicts on it.They will exclaim,‘ The whole land is devastated by sulfur and salt. It is a wasteland with nothing planted and nothing growing, not even a blade of grass. It is like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger.’“ And all the surrounding nations will ask,‘ Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why was he so angry?’“ And the answer will be,‘ This happened because the people of the land abandoned the covenant that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.Instead, they turned away to serve and worship gods they had not known before, gods that were not from the Lord.That is why the Lord’s anger has burned against this land, bringing down on it every curse recorded in this book.In great anger and fury the Lord uprooted his people from their land and banished them to another land, where they still live today!’“ The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.

But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.

“ Now summon all the elders and officials of your tribes, so that I can speak to them directly and call heaven and earth to witness against them.I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and will turn from the way I have commanded you to follow. In the days to come, disaster will come down on you, for you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, making him very angry with your actions.”

“ Today I call on heaven and earth as witnesses against you. If you break my covenant, you will quickly disappear from the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will live there only a short time; then you will be utterly destroyed.For the Lord will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive.There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone— gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

But when God found fault with the people, he said:“ The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord.But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying,‘ You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already.And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”When God speaks of a“ new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.

For some of the Jews killed the prophets, and some even killed the Lord Jesus. Now they have persecuted us, too. They fail to please God and work against all humanityas they try to keep us from preaching the Good News of salvation to the Gentiles. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last.

For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:“ I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding.God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind.So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.

“ The day is coming,” says the Lord,“ when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.“ But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord.“ I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying,‘ You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord.“ And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say,“ The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.

“ But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you:Your towns and your fields will be cursed.Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be cursed.Your children and your crops will be cursed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be cursed.Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be cursed.“ The Lord himself will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in everything you do, until at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and abandoning me.The Lord will afflict you with diseases until none of you are left in the land you are about to enter and occupy.The Lord will strike you with wasting diseases, fever, and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew. These disasters will pursue you until you die.The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze, and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron.The Lord will change the rain that falls on your land into powder, and dust will pour down from the sky until you are destroyed.“ The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.Your corpses will be food for all the scavenging birds and wild animals, and no one will be there to chase them away.“ The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, scurvy, and the itch, from which you cannot be cured.The Lord will strike you with madness, blindness, and panic.You will grope around in broad daylight like a blind person groping in the darkness, but you will not find your way. You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you.“ You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will sleep with her. You will build a house, but someone else will live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will never enjoy its fruit.Your ox will be butchered before your eyes, but you will not eat a single bite of the meat. Your donkey will be taken from you, never to be returned. Your sheep and goats will be given to your enemies, and no one will be there to help you.You will watch as your sons and daughters are taken away as slaves. Your heart will break for them, but you won’t be able to help them.A foreign nation you have never heard about will eat the crops you worked so hard to grow. You will suffer under constant oppression and harsh treatment.You will go mad because of all the tragedy you see around you.The Lord will cover your knees and legs with incurable boils. In fact, you will be covered from head to foot.“ The Lord will exile you and your king to a nation unknown to you and your ancestors. There in exile you will worship gods of wood and stone!You will become an object of horror, ridicule, and mockery among all the nations to which the Lord sends you.“ You will plant much but harvest little, for locusts will eat your crops.You will plant vineyards and care for them, but you will not drink the wine or eat the grapes, for worms will destroy the vines.You will grow olive trees throughout your land, but you will never use the olive oil, for the fruit will drop before it ripens.You will have sons and daughters, but you will lose them, for they will be led away into captivity.Swarms of insects will destroy your trees and crops.“ The foreigners living among you will become stronger and stronger, while you become weaker and weaker.They will lend money to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, and you will be the tail!“ If you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and to obey the commands and decrees he has given you, all these curses will pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed.These horrors will serve as a sign and warning among you and your descendants forever.If you do not serve the Lord your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have received,you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. You will be left hungry, thirsty, naked, and lacking in everything. The Lord will put an iron yoke on your neck, oppressing you harshly until he has destroyed you.“ The Lord will bring a distant nation against you from the end of the earth, and it will swoop down on you like a vulture. It is a nation whose language you do not understand,a fierce and heartless nation that shows no respect for the old and no pity for the young.Its armies will devour your livestock and crops, and you will be destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine, olive oil, calves, or lambs, and you will starve to death.They will attack your cities until all the fortified walls in your land— the walls you trusted to protect you— are knocked down. They will attack all the towns in the land the Lord your God has given you.“ The siege and terrible distress of the enemy’s attack will be so severe that you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you.The most tenderhearted man among you will have no compassion for his own brother, his beloved wife, and his surviving children.He will refuse to share with them the flesh he is devouring— the flesh of one of his own children— because he has nothing else to eat during the siege and terrible distress that your enemy will inflict on all your towns.The most tender and delicate woman among you— so delicate she would not so much as touch the ground with her foot— will be selfish toward the husband she loves and toward her own son or daughter.She will hide from them the afterbirth and the new baby she has borne, so that she herself can secretly eat them. She will have nothing else to eat during the siege and terrible distress that your enemy will inflict on all your towns.“ If you refuse to obey all the words of instruction that are written in this book, and if you do not fear the glorious and awesome name of the Lord your God,then the Lord will overwhelm you and your children with indescribable plagues. These plagues will be intense and without relief, making you miserable and unbearably sick.He will afflict you with all the diseases of Egypt that you feared so much, and you will have no relief.The Lord will afflict you with every sickness and plague there is, even those not mentioned in this Book of Instruction, until you are destroyed.Though you become as numerous as the stars in the sky, few of you will be left because you would not listen to the Lord your God.“ Just as the Lord has found great pleasure in causing you to prosper and multiply, the Lord will find pleasure in destroying you. You will be torn from the land you are about to enter and occupy.For the Lord will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship foreign gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods made of wood and stone!There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest. And the Lord will cause your heart to tremble, your eyesight to fail, and your soul to despair.Your life will constantly hang in the balance. You will live night and day in fear, unsure if you will survive.In the morning you will say,‘ If only it were night!’ And in the evening you will say,‘ If only it were morning!’ For you will be terrified by the awful horrors you see around you.Then the Lord will send you back to Egypt in ships, to a destination I promised you would never see again. There you will offer to sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves, but no one will buy you.”

“ The Lord saw this and drew back, provoked to anger by his own sons and daughters.He said,‘ I will abandon them; then see what becomes of them. For they are a twisted generation, children without integrity.They have roused my jealousy by worshiping things that are not God; they have provoked my anger with their useless idols. Now I will rouse their jealousy through people who are not even a people; I will provoke their anger through the foolish Gentiles.For my anger blazes forth like fire and burns to the depths of the grave. It devours the earth and all its crops and ignites the foundations of the mountains.I will heap disasters upon them and shoot them down with my arrows.I will weaken them with famine, burning fever, and deadly disease. I will send the fangs of wild beasts and poisonous snakes that glide in the dust.Outside, the sword will bring death, and inside, terror will strike both young men and young women, both infants and the aged.I would have annihilated them, wiping out even the memory of them.But I feared the taunt of Israel’s enemy, who might misunderstand and say,“ Our own power has triumphed! The Lord had nothing to do with this!”’“ But Israel is a senseless nation; the people are foolish, without understanding.Oh, that they were wise and could understand this! Oh, that they might know their fate!How could one person chase a thousand of them, and two people put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?But the rock of our enemies is not like our Rock, as even they recognize.Their vine grows from the vine of Sodom, from the vineyards of Gomorrah. Their grapes are poison, and their clusters are bitter.Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras.“ The Lord says,‘ Am I not storing up these things, sealing them away in my treasury?I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them.’“ Indeed, the Lord will give justice to his people, and he will change his mind about his servants, when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free.Then he will ask,‘ Where are their gods, the rocks they fled to for refuge?Where now are those gods, who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their offerings? Let those gods arise and help you! Let them provide you with shelter!Look now; I myself am he! There is no other god but me! I am the one who kills and gives life; I am the one who wounds and heals; no one can be rescued from my powerful hand!Now I raise my hand to heaven and declare,“ As surely as I live,when I sharpen my flashing sword and begin to carry out justice, I will take revenge on my enemies and repay those who reject me.I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword will devour flesh— the blood of the slaughtered and the captives, and the heads of the enemy leaders.”’“ Rejoice with him, you heavens, and let all of God’s angels worship him. Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles, and let all the angels be strengthened in him. For he will avenge the blood of his children; he will take revenge against his enemies. He will repay those who hate him and cleanse his people’s land.”So Moses came with Joshua son of Nun and recited all the words of this song to the people.

They will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world. And Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end.

“ But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods,then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.

For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God,“ You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer.You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin.Then I said,‘ Look, I have come to do your will, O God— as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”First, Christ said,“ You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them”( though they are required by the law of Moses).Then he said,“ Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins.But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet.For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says,“ This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”Then he says,“ I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.By his death, Jesus opened a new and life giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house,let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

“ However, if you do not listen to me or obey all these commands,and if you break my covenant by rejecting my decrees, treating my regulations with contempt, and refusing to obey my commands,I will punish you. I will bring sudden terrors upon you— wasting diseases and burning fevers that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will plant your crops in vain because your enemies will eat them.I will turn against you, and you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will run even when no one is chasing you!“ And if, in spite of all this, you still disobey me, I will punish you seven times over for your sins.I will break your proud spirit by making the skies as unyielding as iron and the earth as hard as bronze.All your work will be for nothing, for your land will yield no crops, and your trees will bear no fruit.“ If even then you remain hostile toward me and refuse to obey me, I will inflict disaster on you seven times over for your sins.I will send wild animals that will rob you of your children and destroy your livestock. Your numbers will dwindle, and your roads will be deserted.“ And if you fail to learn the lesson and continue your hostility toward me,then I myself will be hostile toward you. I will personally strike you with calamity seven times over for your sins.I will send armies against you to carry out the curse of the covenant you have broken. When you run to your towns for safety, I will send a plague to destroy you there, and you will be handed over to your enemies.I will destroy your food supply, so that ten women will need only one oven to bake bread for their families. They will ration your food by weight, and though you have food to eat, you will not be satisfied.“ If in spite of all this you still refuse to listen and still remain hostile toward me,then I will give full vent to my hostility. I myself will punish you seven times over for your sins.Then you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters.I will destroy your pagan shrines and knock down your places of worship. I will leave your lifeless corpses piled on top of your lifeless idols, and I will despise you.I will make your cities desolate and destroy your places of pagan worship. I will take no pleasure in your offerings that should be a pleasing aroma to me.Yes, I myself will devastate your land, and your enemies who come to occupy it will be appalled at what they see.I will scatter you among the nations and bring out my sword against you. Your land will become desolate, and your cities will lie in ruins.Then at last the land will enjoy its neglected Sabbath years as it lies desolate while you are in exile in the land of your enemies. Then the land will finally rest and enjoy the Sabbaths it missed.As long as the land lies in ruins, it will enjoy the rest you never allowed it to take every seventh year while you lived in it.“ And for those of you who survive, I will demoralize you in the land of your enemies. You will live in such fear that the sound of a leaf driven by the wind will send you fleeing. You will run as though fleeing from a sword, and you will fall even when no one pursues you.Though no one is chasing you, you will stumble over each other as though fleeing from a sword. You will have no power to stand up against your enemies.You will die among the foreign nations and be devoured in the land of your enemies.Those of you who survive will waste away in your enemies’ lands because of their sins and the sins of their ancestors.“ But at last my people will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors for betraying me and being hostile toward me.When I have turned their hostility back on them and brought them to the land of their enemies, then at last their stubborn hearts will be humbled, and they will pay for their sins.Then I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.For the land must be abandoned to enjoy its years of Sabbath rest as it lies deserted. At last the people will pay for their sins, for they have continually rejected my regulations and despised my decrees.“ But despite all this, I will not utterly reject or despise them while they are in exile in the land of their enemies. I will not cancel my covenant with them by wiping them out, for I am the Lord their God.For their sakes I will remember my ancient covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of all the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.”These are the decrees, regulations, and instructions that the Lord gave through Moses on Mount Sinai as evidence of the relationship between himself and the Israelites.

At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,

When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.

“ I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations.

so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.