These verses sum up the argument up to this point, first negatively in verses 18-19a, and then positively in verse 19b. In some languages it may be more natural to put the positive statement first. If so, the translator should change the order of the statements, since the two statements describe different sides of the same event. On the other hand, it may be more natural to speak first of the old rule and then of the better hope. Many modern translations leave the contrast implicit.

Revised Standard Version‘s “On the one hand … on the other hand” is heavier than the Greek, but it has the same meaning. Good News Translation‘s then, omitted by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Revised Standard Version, and New English Bible, implies that what God says in the psalm just quoted annuls the earlier commandment by instituting a different kind of priesthood. A similar argument is used in 4.7-9.

The adjective old should emphasize the fact that the rule in question is “the former rule” or “the rule of earlier times.”

As in verse 16, the words rule (“command”) and Law (of Moses is implied) are used in the same context. Here the two terms may have been used for the sake of variety, rather than to express any difference of meaning. The legal power of the old Law has been broken because God has set up a new kind of priesthood.

The old rule, then, is set aside may be rendered as “Therefore, the old rule has been annulled,” “… no longer functions,” or “… no longer has any power.”

Weak and useless translate general terms of disapproval which were chosen partly for their similar sound in Greek; there is no great difference of meaning. Useless (Barclay “ineffective”) means that it did not do what it had been intended to do (see verse 11). It can therefore be called the old, that is, the “former, previous” commandment; it has now been made out of date (compare 8.13 ).

If one wishes to distinguish between weak and useless, it is possible to translate weak as “could not do what it was supposed to do” or “was not strong.” The term useless may be translated as “was not good for anything” or “had no value.”

The Law of Moses may be rendered, as in other contexts, as “the Law given to Moses,” “the Law which God gave through Moses,” or “the laws which God caused Moses to speak to the people.”

Could not make anything perfect may be rendered as “could not make anything just as it should be” or “could not make something without any defect.”

A better hope must mean “a hope for something better than the old Law could give.” Bijbel in Gewone Taal accordingly translates “But a hope for something better has come on the scene, and this hope brings us closer to God.” Hope, like “promise,” may mean the event of promising or hoping, or that which is promised or hoped for. In this verse the context requires the second meaning. A better hope may sometimes be rendered as “something better for us to hope for.” It may be necessary in some languages to state specifically what is being compared. It would be possible to say “what we hope for now is better than what we were able to hope for previously.” Or it may be more satisfactory to use a strong positive; for example, “what we hope for now is indeed very good.”

In verse 19 the verb translated has been provided is not passive in Greek, but it may refer to the activity of God, meaning “God has brought in” or “… brought on to the scene” (Barclay). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch‘s “now we have won a better hope” emphasizes human activity more strongly than does the Greek text. Instead of the passive has been provided, it is sometimes better to introduce God as the subject or agent. Has been provided may therefore be rendered as “God has caused us to have” or “God has caused us to (hope for something better).”

Revised Standard Version‘s “draw near to God,” still used in some more recent translations, reflects a term that originally meant coming into God’s presence in Jewish Temple worship by means of a sacrifice. It may not be easy to bring this out in translation, but sacrifice is so thoroughly discussed in the following chapters that a note is probably not necessary. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “a better hope … which really brings us into the nearness of God,” that is, “close to God.” It may be extremely difficult to speak of a better hope … through which we come near to God, for hope would not normally be regarded as a means. Furthermore, hope may have to be expressed as a verb. If so, means may be expressed as a causal relation; for example, “what we now hope for, which is better, causes us to come near to God” or “… makes it possible for us to come near to God.”

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 .