The first part of this verse is grammatically a subordinate part of the long sentence in Greek which includes verses 4-6. In meaning, however, it is a separate statement, and it should therefore be translated as such.
The work they do as priests may be rendered as “What these priests do.”
Only is implied.
Copy and shadow are two figurative ways of saying that earthly forms of worship are similar to, but less “real” than, the heavenly ones. The Greek word for copy was used in 4.11 to describe a bad human example of disobedience, as they did. In 10.1, where the context is similar, Good News Bible translates the Greek word for shadow as faint outline. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “only a shadow-picture, only an imperfect reproduction.” Good News Translation‘s a copy and a shadow could be misunderstood as suggesting that two different things are spoken of; in fact, the same thing is described in two ways. “A copy or shadow” would be clearer.
Is really only a copy and a shadow of what is in heaven may be rendered as “is really only similar but not the same as what is in heaven,” “… as what takes place in heaven,” or “… what happens in heaven,” since what is being compared here is a series of events and not one particular thing. In order to indicate clearly that the ritual on earth is only an imperfect reproduction of what takes place in heaven, it may be necessary to say “is not really the same but is similar to,” “looks like but is not identical with,” or “appears to be similar but is not really the same.”
What is the same as it was with Moses? Translator’s New Testament thinks that these words refer to acts of worship: “They are performing a service … just as Moses … was instructed to do.” This does not fit the context of the verse quoted, that is, Exodus 25.40, which deals with the construction of the tent rather than its use. It seems likely that the writer is not making a detailed comparison, but simply preparing to introduce the keyword, pattern, by means of the quotation. This is well brought out by Phillips: “Moses, you will remember … was cautioned by God….” One might translate “It is the same as happened with Moses,” “This is what happened when God spoke to Moses,” or simply “It was the same with Moses.”
God’s name is avoided throughout this verse, which is literally “Moses was instructed … he said … it was shown to you.” Passives may be turned into active verbs in languages which speak more freely of God: “As God instructed (or, told) Moses … like the pattern I showed you.” See also the comments on the next verse.
Build does not translate the same word as put up in verse 2. Here the Greek uses a more common verb meaning “complete, fulfil,” and sometimes “construct.” Rather than use build in reference to the Covenant Tent, it may be more appropriate to use “make.” Some languages have a specific term for putting up tents, for example, “to stretch,” or even “to weave.”
The Covenant Tent is literally “the tent.” The context makes it clear that this is the earthly tabernacle set up by Moses, not the heavenly tabernacle mentioned in verse 2. Good News Translation adds Covenant because modern readers may not know which tent is referred to in verse 5, and may even confuse it with the tent or tabernacle mentioned in verse 2. Good News Bible‘s example is followed by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and the Italian common language translation (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), and this solution should be adopted wherever possible (see also the next paragraph). In some languages it may be necessary to use some equivalent of “a (covenant) tent.”
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Hebrews adds everything to the quotation. The author may be thinking of Exodus 25 as a whole, or of verse 9 of that chapter, where the same Greek word is used in the Septuagint.
The words for copy and pattern belong closely together, because the “heavenly sanctuary” became a pattern for Moses when he was told to copy it. Unfortunately, in other contexts such as Romans 5.14, the word translated pattern may itself mean copy, but this need not confuse the translation of this passage. It is unnecessarily complicated to suppose that what God showed Moses in heaven was itself a copy of some still higher reality, so that the “earthly sanctuary” was only a “copy of a copy.”
Some languages may lack a term for pattern which could be applied to a tent. In such cases, according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain may be rendered as “according to the way in which you saw it on the mountain” or even “according to what you saw on the mountain.”
You were shown refers in the Greek to a completed action occurring entirely in the past. (The Septuagint uses a verb suggesting an uncompleted or recent action.)
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .