5:1 For every high priest is taken from among the people 3 and appointed 4 to represent them before God, 5 to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.
1 tn Grk “for whom are all things and through whom are all things.”
2 sn The Greek word translated pioneer is used of a “prince” or leader, the representative head of a family. It also carries nuances of “trailblazer,” one who breaks through to new ground for those who follow him. It is used some thirty-five times in the Greek OT and four times in the NT, always of Christ (Acts 3:15; 5:31; Heb 2:10; 12:2).
3 tn Grk “from among men,” but since the point in context is shared humanity (rather than shared maleness), the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated “people.”
4 tn Grk “who is taken from among people is appointed.”
5 tn Grk “appointed on behalf of people in reference to things relating to God.”
6 tn Grk “putting…I will inscribe.”
7 sn A quotation from Jer 31:33.
8 tn Grk “in assurance of faith.”
9 sn The phrase our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience combines the OT imagery of the sprinkling with blood to give ritual purity with the emphasis on the interior cleansing provided by the new covenant: It is the heart that is cleansed and the conscience made perfect (cf. Heb 8:10; 9:9, 14; 10:2, 16).