Hebrews 9 6

Hebrews 9:6 kjv

Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.

Hebrews 9:6 nkjv

Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.

Hebrews 9:6 niv

When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry.

Hebrews 9:6 esv

These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties,

Hebrews 9:6 nlt

When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties.

Hebrews 9 verses

Hebrews 9 6 Meaning

Hebrews 9:6 describes the regular and repetitive duties performed by the Levitical priests within the first section of the earthly tabernacle, known as the Holy Place. This continuous performance of service was divinely ordained as part of the Old Covenant system of worship, highlighting the partial access to God granted under the Law and foreshadowing the need for a superior, final offering.

Hebrews 9 6 Context

Hebrews chapter 9 serves as a bridge, transitioning from the superiority of Christ's priesthood to the superiority of His sacrifice and the New Covenant. The preceding verses (Heb 9:1-5) describe the layout and furnishings of the earthly tabernacle (or temple system) under the Old Covenant, particularly detailing the Holy Place (the first tabernacle) and the Most Holy Place (the second). This sets the physical stage for the priestly activities mentioned in verse 6. The author's primary purpose is to demonstrate the inadequacy and temporal nature of the Old Covenant sacrificial system, which constantly needed repetition, foreshadowing the complete and once-for-all sacrifice of Christ. Verse 6, by detailing the daily, unrestricted access of many priests into the first section of the tabernacle, implicitly contrasts with the highly restricted access of only the High Priest, only once a year, into the Most Holy Place (v. 7). Historically, the Jerusalem Temple, a permanent structure, had largely replaced the Tabernacle, but its functions and the priestly duties remained the same as those outlined in the Mosaic Law. The audience, Jewish Christians, would be intimately familiar with these practices.

Hebrews 9 6 Word analysis

• Now when these things were thus ordained:

  • Greek: Τούτων δὲ οὕτως κατεσκευασμένων (Toutōn de houtōs kateskeuasmenōn)
  • κατεσκευασμένων (kateskeuasmenōn): From kataskeuazō, meaning "to prepare, arrange, ordain, furnish." Implies careful, intentional, and complete preparation according to a divine plan. It refers back to the detailed description of the tabernacle and its contents in verses 1-5, emphasizing that this entire arrangement was divinely instituted. This system was not humanly devised but God's ordained order for worship before Christ.

• the priests:

  • Greek: οἱ ἱερεῖς (hoi hiereis)
  • Refers specifically to the Levitical priests descended from Aaron, who were designated by God to perform the ceremonial duties within the tabernacle/temple. This highlights the human agents appointed for the Old Covenant system. They served by divine decree, mediating between God and the people through prescribed rituals.

• went always:

  • Greek: διὰ παντὸς εἰσίασιν (dia pantos eisiasin)
  • διὰ παντὸς (dia pantos): "continually," "at all times," "always." This emphasizes the routine, daily, and ceaseless nature of the priestly duties in the Holy Place. It underscores the perpetual, unending requirements of the Old Covenant rituals because they could not bring final cleansing or perfection.
  • εἰσίασιν (eisiasin): "they enter." Indicative of regular and free access, in contrast to the once-a-year entry into the Most Holy Place.

• into the first tabernacle:

  • Greek: εἰς μὲν τὴν πρώτην σκηνὴν (eis men tēn prōtēn skēnēn)
  • πρώτην σκηνὴν (prōtēn skēnēn): "the first tabernacle," referring to the Holy Place. This was the outer chamber of the two main divisions of the tabernacle. It housed the lampstand, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense. This explicit distinction sets up the contrast with the "second tabernacle" (the Most Holy Place), which was highly restricted. Access to the "first" indicated a degree of proximity but not ultimate nearness to God's immediate presence.

• accomplishing the service of God;

  • Greek: τὰς λατρείας ἐπιτελοῦντες (tas latreias epitelountes)
  • τὰς λατρείας (tas latreias): "the services," "the divine services," "the acts of worship." This term refers to the religious duties and rituals commanded by God under the Mosaic Law. These included lighting lamps, burning incense, changing the showbread, and preparing various sacrifices performed outside or by others, but still part of the priestly domain. It represents obedience and ritualistic worship.
  • ἐπιτελοῦντες (epitelountes): "accomplishing," "performing," "completing." It signifies the diligent execution of these prescribed duties.

• Words-group analysis:

  • "Now when these things were thus ordained... into the first tabernacle": This phrase establishes the divine sanction and structured nature of the old covenant worship. It emphasizes that the described practices were not arbitrary but part of God's revealed system, operating in a specific, divinely-designed space. The very ordinance implies a purpose, which the author will reveal to be preparatory and pointing to Christ.
  • "the priests went always... accomplishing the service of God": This highlights the continual, never-ending nature of the Old Covenant priestly work. The daily repetition signifies its inability to perfectly or permanently cleanse from sin. The priests' "service of God" was outwardly commendable and commanded, yet ultimately limited in its efficacy for full spiritual cleansing, contrasting sharply with Christ's single, perfected offering.

Hebrews 9 6 Bonus section

• The Holy Place (πρώτην σκηνὴν) symbolized proximity to God's presence, but not full intimacy or union. It represented the means of worship available to ordinary priests but maintained a veil between them and the ultimate dwelling place of God's glory in the Most Holy Place.
• The description here emphasizes the physicality and ritualistic nature of Old Covenant worship. The activities were tangible: lamp care, incense burning, bread changing. This tangible nature serves as a stark contrast to the spiritual and internal nature of the New Covenant's worship through Christ's shed blood, which provides spiritual access, not just ritual cleansing.
• The "service of God" (λατρείας) here is specific to the Levitical temple service, distinguished from general personal piety. It speaks to a divinely ordained, structured form of religious duty that could only be carried out by a specially consecrated priesthood. This pre-Christian cultic understanding of leitourgia (service/ministry) sets up the greater leitourgia of Christ's heavenly ministry.
• The meticulous adherence to these "ordained" (kateskeuasmenon) services highlights the human inability to innovate or alter God's prescribed means of approaching Him under the Old Covenant, thereby reinforcing the seriousness of God's standards and the ultimate need for divine provision for salvation.

Hebrews 9 6 Commentary

Hebrews 9:6 offers a crucial detail in the author's argument for the superiority of Christ's priestly ministry and His New Covenant sacrifice over the Old Covenant system. It specifically describes the ordinary operations of the priests in the Holy Place of the tabernacle. The phrase "these things were thus ordained" points back to the meticulous divine instructions for the tabernacle's construction and furnishings (vv. 1-5), underscoring that this system was not arbitrary but God-given.

The key elements are "always" (διὰ παντὸς) and "first tabernacle." The priests' continual entry into the Holy Place to perform their ritual "service of God" — such as tending the lamps, burning incense on the golden altar, and setting out the showbread — vividly illustrates the daily, ceaseless nature of Old Covenant worship. This constant activity implicitly highlights the incompleteness of the previous system. If it were perfect, its work would be done. The never-ending repetition served as a constant reminder of humanity's sin and the law's inability to provide perfect and permanent access to God or complete cleansing from sin.

This routine, while sacred and commanded, contrasted sharply with the unique, singular entry of the High Priest into the Most Holy Place, and ultimately foreshadowed the singular, once-for-all access to God achieved by Jesus Christ. The author meticulously lays out these details not to critique the old system as flawed by human design, but as designed by God Himself to be inherently temporary and to point beyond itself to Christ. The Old Covenant system's limitation was its repetition and the inherent need for continuous acts of propitiation, demonstrating that true spiritual cleansing and intimate access to God awaited the arrival of the ultimate High Priest and His perfect sacrifice. The Jewish Christians reading this would understand that this ongoing service never yielded true peace or confidence before God, only continued anticipation.