Hebrews 9:15

Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — An anonymous author writes to Jewish Christians who are wavering between the Levitical system and the new covenant in Christ. The verse sits at the hinge of a long argument (ch. 8–10) showing that Christ's blood surpasses the tabernacle order.

The words — Καινῆς (kainῆs) means "new in kind," not merely "new in time" (νέος); it marks a different order of covenant, not a revision of the old one. Διαθήκης (diathēkēs) carries the sense of a disposition or arrangement, a word the author immediately applies to a will (v. 16), linking covenant to a death-confirmed testament.

The thread — The "called" in this verse runs through Romans 8:28–30, where calling is the thread connecting predestination to glorification. The redemption language echoes Romans 3:24, where justification comes "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

Why it lands — The verse makes the inheritance rest on a call and on Christ's death, not on the reader's performance under the first covenant. It asks the reader to stop measuring their standing against the old system and recognize that access to the promise depends entirely on what Christ has already done.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Cross-references

Romans 3:24 and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:30 And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.
Romans 8:28 And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
Hebrews 9:12 He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
Hebrews 10:36 You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
Hebrews 12:24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
Hebrews 7:22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,