15. For this reason Christ is the one who arranges a new covenant, so that those who have been called by God may receive the eternal blessings that God has promised. This can be done because there has been a death which sets people free from the wrongs they did while the first covenant was in force.
16. In the case of a will it is necessary to prove that the person who made it has died,
17. for a will means nothing while the person who made it is alive; it comes into effect only after his death.
18. That is why even the first covenant came into effect only with the use of blood.
19. First, Moses proclaimed to the people all the commandments as set forth in the Law. Then he took the blood of bulls and goats, mixed it with water, and sprinkled it on the book of the Law and all the people, using a sprig of hyssop and some red wool.
20. He said, “This is the blood which seals the covenant that God has commanded you to obey.”
21. In the same way Moses also sprinkled the blood on the Sacred Tent and over all the things used in worship.
22. Indeed, according to the Law almost everything is purified by blood, and sins are forgiven only if blood is poured out.
23. Those things, which are copies of the heavenly originals, had to be purified in that way. But the heavenly things themselves require much better sacrifices.
24. For Christ did not go into a Holy Place made by human hands, which was a copy of the real one. He went into heaven itself, where he now appears on our behalf in the presence of God.