1 Here is the point of what we are saying. We have a high priest like that. He sat down at the right hand of the throne of the King, the Majesty in heaven.
2 He serves in the sacred tent. The Lord set up the true holy tent. A mere man did not set it up.
3 Every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. So that priest also had to have something to offer.
4 What if he were on earth? Then he would not be a priest. There are already priests who offer the gifts required by the law.
5 They serve at a sacred tent. But it is only a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. That's why God warned Moses when he was about to build the holy tent. God said, "Be sure to make everything just like the pattern I showed you on the mountain." (Exodus 25:40)
6 Jesus has been given a greater work to do for God. He is the go-between for the new covenant. That covenant is better than the old one. It is based on better promises.
7 Suppose nothing had been wrong with that first covenant. Then no one would have looked for another covenant.
8 But God found fault with the people. He said, "A new day is coming, says the Lord. I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel. I will also make it with the people of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their people of long ago. That was when I took them by the hand. I led them out of Egypt. My new covenant will be different because they didn't remain faithful to my old covenant. So I turned away from them, says the Lord.
10 This is the covenant I will make with Israel after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds. I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God. And they will be my people.
11 A man will not teach his neighbor anymore. And he will not teach his friend anymore. He will not say, 'Know the Lord.' Everyone will know me. From the least important of them to the most important, all of them will know me.
12 I will forgive their evil ways. I will not remember their sins anymore." (Jeremiah 31:31-34)