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1 Corinthians 16

Amplified Bible, 2015 (AMP)

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1 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is essential for this One also to have something to offer.
2 Now if He were [still living] on earth, He would not be a priest at all, for there are priests who offer the gifts [to God] in accordance with the Law.
3 They serve as a pattern and foreshadowing of [what has its true existence and reality in] the heavenly things (sanctuary). For when Moses was about to erect the tabernacle, he was warned by God, saying, "See that you make it all [exactly] according to the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain."
4 But as it is, Christ has acquired a [priestly] ministry which is more excellent [than the old Levitical priestly ministry], for He is the Mediator (Arbiter) of a better covenant [uniting God and man], which has been enacted and rests on better promises.
5 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one or an attempt to institute another one [the new covenant].
6 However, God finds fault with them [showing its inadequacy] when He says, "Behold, the days will come, says the Lord, When I will make and ratify a new covenant With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
7 Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers On the day when I took them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not abide in My covenant, And so I withdrew My favor and disregarded them, says the Lord.
8 "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their minds [even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding], And engrave them upon their hearts [effecting their regeneration]. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people.
9 "And it will not be [necessary] for each one to teach his fellow citizen, Or each one his brother, saying, 'Know [by experience, have knowledge of] the Lord,' For all will know [Me by experience and have knowledge of] Me, From the least to the greatest of them.
10 "For I will be merciful and gracious toward their wickedness, And I will remember their sins no more."
11 When God speaks of "A new covenant," He makes the first one obsolete. And whatever is becoming obsolete (out of use, annulled) and growing old is ready to disappear.
12 Now even the first covenant had regulations for divine worship and for the earthly sanctuary.
13 A tabernacle (sacred tent) was put up, the outer one or first section, in which were the lampstand and the table with [its loaves of] the sacred showbread; this is called the Holy Place.
14 Behind the second veil there was another tabernacle [the inner one or second section] known as the Holy of Holies,
15 [1] having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered entirely with gold. This contained a golden jar which held the manna, and the rod of Aaron that sprouted, and the [two stone] tablets of the covenant [inscribed with the Ten Commandments];
16 and above the ark were the [golden] cherubim of glory overshadowing[2] the mercy seat; but we cannot now go into detail about these things.
17 Now when these things have been prepared in this way, the priests continually enter the outer [or first section of the] tabernacle [that is, the Holy Place] performing [their ritual acts of] the divine worship,
18 but into the second [inner tabernacle, the Holy of Holies], only the high priest enters [and then only] once a year, and never without [bringing a sacrifice of] blood, which he offers [as a substitutionary atonement] for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.
19 By this the Holy Spirit signifies that the way into the Holy Place [the true Holy of Holies and the presence of God] has not yet been disclosed as long as the[3] first or outer tabernacle is still standing [that is, as long as the Levitical system of worship remains a recognized institution],
20 for this [first or outer tabernacle] is a symbol [that is, an archetype or paradigm] for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which are incapable of perfecting the conscience and renewing the [inner self of the] worshiper.
21 For they [the gifts, sacrifices, and ceremonies] deal only with [clean and unclean] food and drink and various ritual washings, [mere] external regulations for the body imposed [to help the worshipers] until the time of reformation [that is, the time of the new order when Christ will establish the reality of what these things foreshadow—a better covenant].
22 But when Christ appeared as a High Priest of the good things to come [that is, true spiritual worship], He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not a part of this [material] creation.
23 He went once for all into the Holy Place [the Holy of Holies of heaven, into the presence of God], and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, having obtained and secured eternal redemption [that is, the salvation of all who personally believe in Him as Savior].
24 For if the sprinkling of [ceremonially] defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a [burnt] heifer is sufficient for the cleansing of the body,