By making a few verbal changes in the quotation from Psalm 40, Hebrews has emphasized the contrast between the end of the old order and the basis of the new. The quotation is now repeated in a rather different form, but with no major change of meaning. First or “above” (Revised Standard Version) may mean “earlier in what I am writing,” or more probably, “earlier in the quotation,” in contrast with Then, verse 9.

In view of the way in which the direct quotations are introduced in verses 5 and 7, it may be good in verse 8 to render First he said as “First Christ said.” It may be necessary to introduce God as the person to whom the statement is made, since only in this way is the referent of the pronoun You made clear.

The rendering of the direct quotation in verse 8 depends largely on the way in which similar expressions are rendered in verses 5 and 6.

He said this even though all these sacrifices are offered according to the Law is an aside, or parenthetic expression, as Revised Standard Version shows by using parentheses. Nowhere else does Hebrews speak so positively about the Law of Moses, and the meaning here may be only “these sacrifices belong to the old order, governed by the Law.” Since the Greek participle, literally “saying,” is translated He said, it would be possible to put are offered into the past tense also. A better solution is Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch‘s “although all these sacrifices are prescribed (or, laid down) in the Law” or Barclay‘s “and these are the offerings which the law prescribes” (similarly Translator’s New Testament).

Some languages do not use a concessive clause introduced by a conjunction such as “though” or even though. However, it is always possible to express a concession by introducing a conjunction such as “nevertheless”; for example, “All these sacrifices were made as the Law said they should be made, but nevertheless he said this.”

As in verse 7, it may be necessary to alter the position of O God or to incorporate it as an indirect object of the verb said; for example, “Then he said to God, ‘I am here to do your will.’ ”

Translations are usually longer than the texts they translate. This passage is so compressed in the Greek that translations may need to be much longer if they are to bring out the full meaning.

The translator also has to choose between different ways of making explicit what is implicit in the text. The main problems may be listed as follows, using Revised Standard Version as a basis. The first two questions must be studied together: (a) Who “abolishes the first in order to establish the second”? And (b) what is “that will”? There are two possibilities:

(a) “he abolishes…”
(i) God abolishes: Good News Translation, Bible en français courant
(ii) Christ abolishes: Revised Standard Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Phillips, Jerusalem Bible (?), Barclay (?).
(b) “that will”
(i) God’s will (in general): Bijbel in Gewone Taal, Knox (?), New English Bible
(ii) Christ’s act of obedient sacrifices: Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Translator’s New Testament

Many translations irresponsibly leave the reader to choose; those translations are not mentioned in this summary. If necessary, an alternative translation may be added in a footnote.

(a) There are two arguments in favor of choice (i), Good News Translation God does away…. First, if “Christ” is the grammatical subject, the conclusion “the body of Jesus Christ” is a little awkward. Second, it is usually God rather than Christ who is said to establish or change the Law, priesthood, and forms of worship. On the other hand, in favor of choice (ii) is the fact that “Christ” has been the subject of all the main verbs since verse 5. Most translations therefore imply or state that “Christ” is the subject here also.

(b) “That will” is literally “by which will,” referring back to “thy will” (Revised Standard Version) in verse 9. “Thy will” there means “God’s will.” The question arises whether the “will” that people should be purified from sin is (i) God’s will or (ii) the specific act by which Christ offered himself in sacrifice, in response to what God wanted him to do. Choice (ii) fits in more clearly with the context, and choice (i) could have been more naturally expressed in Greek in other ways.

On this basis other questions are more easily settled. (c) Does away with means “abolishes” a “law,” rather than having the general meaning “destroys.” (d) “The first” (Revised Standard Version) means the old animal sacrifices mentioned in verses 5-6, and “the second” (Revised Standard Version) is Christ’s willing obedience to God (verse 7), expressed in the sacrifice of his death. (e) In we are all purified or “made holy,” we includes all Christians. The Greek for been purified in verse 2 is different from the word used here, and so is the Greek for make perfect in verse 1, but the meaning is very similar. Alternatively purified may mean “set apart to belong to God in a special way.” Translator’s New Testament combines the two: “we are cleansed and set apart for his service.” Barclay emphasizes that for the writer, the purpose of holiness is to make possible a real meeting with God in worship: “we have been made fit to enter God’s presence.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (see below) emphasizes the inner purpose of worship as the removal of guilt, as in verses 17-18.

Even though the Greek text of verse 9b says only “he does away with the first in order to establish the second,” it is important to make clear what are the first and the second, and this is precisely what Good News Translation has attempted to do. But does away with should not be understood in the sense of “destroying” or “throwing away.” A more satisfactory rendering may be “declares that all the old sacrifices no longer have any power,” “causes all the old sacrifices to no longer have power,” or “… no longer be able to accomplish anything.” The rendering of puts the sacrifice of Christ in their place must be translated in such a way as to complement the first part of verse 9b. If the first part of 9b is translated “God takes away the power of all the old sacrifices,” one may translate the second part of 9b as “and he causes the sacrifice of Christ to have power.”

As in other contexts, we are all purified from sin may be best expressed negatively: “we no longer have sin” or “… have guilt.”

The offering … of his own body is the same as the sacrifice of himself in 9.26; compare 9.12. No contrast is implied between body, the keyword of verse 5, and “soul” or “spirit.” Offering, as in verse 8, is used in the sense of a “sacrifice.” The expression of means in the phrase by the offering that he made may be rendered in some languages as cause; for example, “because of the offering he made” or “because of the way he offered.”

In order to avoid the implication that his own body was something external to Christ himself, it may be best to translate by the offering that he made of his own body as “by the way in which he offered himself.”

Once and for all, in the Greek as in Good News Translation, comes at the end of the sentence, and is thus even more emphatic than usual. The tense of the verb indicates a past action, the effects of which continue into the present. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and some commentators understand the sentence to mean “we have been purified once for all,” but Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch first edition’s very clear translation is more probable: “Once for all, he offered himself.”

Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch sums up many of the choices recommended above: “In this way Christ puts an end to the old sacrifices and puts his own (sacrifice) in their place. Thus he did what God wanted of him. Once for all, he offered himself (emphasized). By this, we have been freed from all guilt.”

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 .