Hebrews 10:4 kjv
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Hebrews 10:4 nkjv
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
Hebrews 10:4 niv
It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Hebrews 10:4 esv
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Hebrews 10:4 nlt
For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Hebrews 10 4 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Heb 9:9 | ...gifts and sacrifices that cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience... | Limitation of OT sacrifices. |
| Heb 9:13-14 | If the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes...cleanse the body, how much more...blood of Christ...cleanse your conscience from dead works? | Christ's blood is superior. |
| Heb 10:1-3 | For since the law has but a shadow...never can make perfect...otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered? | Repetition shows insufficiency. |
| Heb 10:11-12 | Every priest stands daily...offering again and again the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. | Priestly sacrifices were ineffective. |
| Ps 40:6 | In burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. | God desires more than animal sacrifice. |
| Ps 51:16-17 | For You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it...The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. | God's preference for inner transformation. |
| Isa 1:11-15 | What to Me is the multitude of your sacrifices?...I am weary of them. | God rejects insincere sacrifices. |
| Mic 6:6-8 | With what shall I come before the LORD...? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams?...He has told you, O man, what is good...to do justly...love mercy...walk humbly with your God. | True obedience preferred over rituals. |
| Lev 17:11 | For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls... | Blood required for atonement. |
| Heb 9:22 | ...without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. | Principle of atonement requiring blood. |
| Heb 9:12 | ...He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. | Christ's unique and final sacrifice. |
| Heb 7:27 | He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily...He did this once for all when He offered up Himself. | Christ's one-time sacrifice. |
| Heb 9:26 | ...He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. | Christ's sacrifice removes sin definitively. |
| Col 2:16-17 | Therefore let no one pass judgment on you...with regard to a festival...These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. | Old Covenant rituals as shadows. |
| Rom 3:20 | For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. | Law cannot justify. |
| Gal 3:24 | So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. | Law's purpose until Christ. |
| 1 Pet 1:18-19 | ...knowing that you were ransomed...not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. | Ransom by Christ's blood. |
| Eph 1:7 | In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. | Forgiveness through Christ's blood. |
| Rom 3:25 | God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood—to be received by faith. | Atonement through Christ's blood. |
| John 1:29 | The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" | Christ is the ultimate sin-bearer. |
| 2 Cor 5:21 | For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. | Christ's substitutionary atonement. |
| Acts 13:38-39 | Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by Him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. | Forgiveness only through Christ. |
Hebrews 10 verses
Hebrews 10 4 Meaning
Hebrews 10:4 asserts the intrinsic inability of animal sacrifices—specifically the blood of bulls and goats—to truly and permanently cleanse or remove human sins. These Old Covenant offerings, though prescribed by God's Law, could only provide a temporary covering or atonement, foreshadowing a superior sacrifice yet to come, but were fundamentally insufficient to address the spiritual core of sin or grant eternal redemption. Their limitation necessitates the perfect and final sacrifice of Christ.
Hebrews 10 4 Context
Hebrews chapter 10 continues the author's extensive argument on the superiority of Christ's high priesthood and sacrifice over the Levitical system and its offerings. The preceding chapters established Christ's divine nature, His perfect sacrifice offered once for all, and the establishment of a New Covenant, making the Old Covenant obsolete. Verses 1-3 of chapter 10 emphasize that the Law and its sacrifices were mere shadows, unable to truly perfect or cleanse, evidenced by their continuous repetition year after year. Verse 4 then provides the direct theological reason for this inability: the inherent limitation of animal blood to deal with human sin at its core. This verse serves as a crucial bridge, leading into the explanation of Christ's obedient offering (v. 5-7) and the complete and final atonement He achieved.
Hebrews 10 4 Word analysis
- For: Greek gar (γὰρ). A causal conjunction, indicating the reason or explanation for the preceding statement (the inadequacy and repetition of the sacrifices).
- it is not possible: Greek ouch dunaton (οὐ δυνατὸν). Ouch is a strong negative particle, rendering an absolute impossibility. Dunaton means "able," "powerful," "possible." It signifies an inherent lack of power or capacity. Animal blood, by its very nature, lacks the spiritual power required for true removal of human sin before a holy God. This points to the absolute requirement of a superior offering.
- that the blood: Greek to haima (τὸ αἷμα). "Blood" here represents the life principle, the very essence of the animal sacrifice as commanded in the Mosaic Law for atonement (Lev 17:11).
- of bulls and of goats: Greek tauros kai tragos (ταύρων καὶ τράγων). These animals were chief offerings in the Levitical sacrificial system, used in daily offerings, sin offerings, and the solemn Day of Atonement (Lev 16). They represent the highest and most comprehensive of the prescribed animal sacrifices, encompassing major purification rituals.
- should take away: Greek aphaireō (ἀφαιρέω) - "to take off," "remove," "put away." This Greek term implies a permanent, complete removal, not just a covering or symbolic act. It highlights the distinction between the temporary appeasement or ceremonial cleansing offered by animal blood and the true, internal, and final purification that only Christ could achieve.
- sins: Greek hamartia (ἁμαρτία). This refers to transgression against God's holy standard, the state of separation from God due to disobedience and unrighteousness. The term signifies not merely outward acts but the deeper, intrinsic human failing that alienates from God.
Words-group analysis:
- "it is not possible that... should take away sins": This phrase emphasizes the absolute and categorical failure of the animal sacrifice system to deal with the root problem of sin. It highlights a fundamental ontological impossibility – that an animal's death, though required, could not cleanse the conscience or secure eternal salvation for a human. The inability is inherent to the nature of the offering itself, not merely its frequency or the priest's intention.
- "the blood of bulls and of goats": This specific mention of these prominent sacrificial animals collectively represents the entire Old Covenant system of animal offerings. It implies that no animal sacrifice, regardless of its type or significance within the Law, possessed the efficacy to achieve what God ultimately desired: a complete removal of sin and reconciliation.
Hebrews 10 4 Bonus section
The concept of "taking away sins" (aphairesis) here is crucial, distinct from "covering sins" (kipur, which the Old Testament sacrifices effectively did). Kipur often involved "making atonement" or "covering," implying a deferral or provisional forgiveness until the true removal could occur. The author of Hebrews argues for a definitive removal only possible through Christ. This verse served as a strong polemic against contemporary Jewish practices that still upheld the daily temple sacrifices, challenging their ultimate efficacy and spiritual value in light of Christ's finished work. The Law acted as a "shadow" (Heb 10:1), illustrating God's principles and pointing towards the reality in Christ. The continuous nature of the sacrifices also implies a perpetual reminder of sin, whereas Christ's single sacrifice achieves a perpetual reconciliation.
Hebrews 10 4 Commentary
Hebrews 10:4 forms a foundational truth in the Epistle, dismantling any lingering reliance on the obsolete Old Covenant rituals for true atonement. It decisively declares that animal sacrifices, while divinely appointed and valuable as types, inherently lacked the spiritual power to achieve permanent cleansing from sin. The repetition of these sacrifices, mentioned in verses 1-3, was the living proof of their ineffectiveness; if they truly perfected, they would cease. The author is addressing Jewish believers tempted to revert to the Law, showing them that such sacrifices could never touch the conscience or transform the inner being, but rather pointed towards the perfect sacrifice. The "blood of bulls and goats" served only as a ritualistic cover, enabling ceremonial access to God and teaching the seriousness of sin, but not a final removal of the moral guilt and eternal consequence. This verse sets the stage for the definitive explanation of Christ's superior sacrifice that follows, demonstrating the ultimate need for a unique, personal, and complete offering of a life capable of fully atoning for human sin—Jesus Christ Himself.