[Since HTML does not have a long O character, the traditional transliteration of omega, I use an umlaut O to represent omega. Similarly, I use and umlaut E to represent eta.]

Verse 1: skian, accusative singular noun: shadow. Used in 8:5 to say that the tabernacle was a copy and shadow of heavenly realities. Here it comes first in the sentence, not in the usual syntactical flow, giving it some emphasis. Used in Col. 2:17 to say that festivals, new moons and sabbaths (plural) were a shadow (singular) of things to come, but the reality (söma) is of Christ. Used in Plato and Philo to indicate material/inferior copies of immaterial realities. Heb. 8:5 is a spatial contrast between earthly shadow and heavenly reality; here and in Col. it is a temporal contrast: the shadow precedes "things to come" as a typological precursor.

gar, conjunction: for.

echön, present active participle, nominative masculine singular: having.

ho nomos, masculine singular nominative: the law.

tön mellontön, article plus present active participle, genitive plural: coming (things). Also used in Col. 2:17. Grammatically, the coming things are future in reference to the law; they may or may not be future with respect to the writing.¹ However, as noted in the structural outline, the parallelism in vv. 1-4 implies that the coming good things are the perfection, cleansing, and removal of sins that the readers already have.² The law had a shadow of such things but was unable to effect them.

agathön, genitive plural, substantive: good things. Used in 9:11 substantivally for "good things that have come" (some manuscripts have "good things to come," but the letter throughout stresses that Christ is already high priest and already brings blessings).

ouk autën, negative and an accusative feminine singular pronoun, used reflexively for emphasis: not itself, referring to image.

tën eikona, article and accusative feminine singular noun: the image. Not used elsewhere in Heb. Used in Plato as a near synonym of shadow, as an inferior copy of reality.³ The NT sometimes uses it for the image on a coin or an idol. Also used more positively: Humans are to be the image of the Son (Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49), the Son is the image of the Father (2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15). Zuntz, although acknowledging that the Greek tradition does not use eikön with this meaning, concludes that here it means "the real presence of transcendent reality."⁴

tön pragmatön, article plus genitive plural neuter noun: of the things. This is a flexible word, used also in 6:18 and 11:1. The thought in this phrase is that the law has a shadow of good things to come, not the image itself of the thing being pictured. Since eikon is used here nearly synonymous with reality, tön pragmatön is a genitive of apposition.⁵ The NIV translates the words as synonyms: "the realities themselves."

kat' eniauton, preposition and noun meaning year; kata with nouns of time has a distributive sense, here: every year. It is referring to the annual sacrifices of the Day of Atonement (cf. 9:7).

tais autais thysiais, article, demonstrative adjective used for emphasis, and feminine plural noun, dative of means: by the same sacrifices. Thysia is Hebrews' most common word for sacrifices.

has, relative pronoun, accusative feminine plural: which.

prospherousin, present active indicative verb, third person plural used with an unnamed actor to convey a passive sense: are offered. In Hebrews, prospherö is often used with thysia.

eis to diënekes, preposition, article, and noun, literally, into the forever; more idiomatically: forever. Diënekes is used in Heb. 7:3, 10:1, 12, 14, (always with eis to) and not elsewhere in the NT. The exegetical question is whether this phrase refers to the sacrifices already mentioned (as in the NRSV), or to the completion about to be mentioned (never able to perfect them forever).⁶ Either way, it might be seen as redundant: an annual sacrifice is by definition repeated continually, and a true perfecting is completed for all time. However, the author would probably not want to imply that the obsolete sacrifices would go on forever, and if he wished to connect this phrase to teleiösai, it would have been better to put it closer, not separated by a strong negative, oudepote. I think it makes better sense to connect the adverbial phrase to the words that immediately follow: oudepote dynatai. A literal rendering would be, It is perpetually never able to perfect the worshippers, or more idiomatically, it is forever unable. This could also be considered redundant, but it adds emphasis in a sensible place — the main point of this section: the inefficacy of the sacrifices.

oudepote dynatai, adverb and present indicative third person singular verb, literally, never is able: is unable. Nomos is the subject. Oudepote is used in Heb. only here and 10:11, where it is used to say that sacrifices can never take away sins — a concept also seen in 10:4. Perfection and removing sin are parallel thoughts — the perfection is a religious or cultic term, not a moral or ethical one. The law is always unable to make the people who come religiously complete. The author uses the present tense — it is a timeless truth that the law is never able to bring the worshipers to the completion of their desire.

tous proserchomenous, article and masculine plural present participle, literally, the ones who come (to worship): worshippers. Proserchomai is also used in Heb. 4:16; 7:25; 10:22; 11:6; 12:18, 22 — and in all those verses it refers to new covenant worship. Is 10:1 talking about the OT priests, or about all the people? The context here is about an annual sacrifice, the Day of Atonement sacrifice, brought by the high priest. However, if the law could not complete the priests, then it could not complete the laity, either. The author does not intend to restrict the meaning to the high priest, since the application is for Christians, not just Christ.⁷ Since the word proserchomenous can refer to either priests or people, it served the author's purpose well, bridging from the specific example of the high priest to anyone who comes to God. V. 2 uses latreuontas in a parallel way. All Christian laity have a high-priestly privilege: entering the holy place in heaven.

teleiösai, aorist infinitive active verb: to complete. The traditional translation, "perfect," has misleading connotations. As I noted in the outline, the author explains in part what he means by "complete" in subsequent verses: to cleanse the conscience and remove sin to allow the worshiper to approach God.⁸

Translation and paraphrase: For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the realities, is forever unable to complete the worshippers by means of the same sacrifices being offered every year.

The law has only a shadow of the good things to come; it does not have the real things. It is never able to bring the worshippers to completion by repetitions of the same annual sacrifices.

Verse 2:

epei, conjunction, usually meaning since, but in contrary-to-fact conditions conveying: otherwise.⁹

ouk an, negative and conditional particle: would not.

epausanto, middle third personal plural, aorist, implying something done at a time in the past: they have ceased. The implied subject is the sacrifices (feminine plural) mentioned in 10:1.

prospheromenai, present passive participle, nominative feminine plural: were being offered.

dia to, preposition and article, substantizing the subsequent infinitive clause: because of.

mëdemian, negative adjective, feminine singular, modifying syneidësin: no.

echein, present active infinitive: to have.

eti, adverb: still.

syneidësin, accusative singular feminine noun: conscience. Although the word usually refers to conscience, often with the connotation of guilt, many commentators, perhaps influenced by anamnësis in v. 3, argue that it here conveys a sense of awareness: consciousness (of sins). But does the author mean that Christians are no longer conscious of sin, no longer aware that they have sinned? No, for if that were true there would have been no need to write the book of Hebrews. And on the other hand, does he mean that OT people were always aware of their sins? No, the author seems to be referring to feelings of guilt or impurity, feeling a need for sacrifice. The people had a subjective awareness of an objective status that prevented their approach to God. "Consciousness" is too cognitive in connotation, but "conscience" allows the religious significance that the author intended. A "conscience of sins" is a conscience characterized by sins, i.e., a guilty conscience.¹⁰

hamartiön, genitive plural noun, literally, of sins, used here as a genitive of description: sinful. A similar use is seen in Rom. 6:6 in the phrase "the body of sin," meaning the sinful body.¹¹

tous latreuontas, article and present active participle, accusative masculine plural, subject of the infinitive: the worshippers.

hapax, adverb, once.

kekatharismenous, passive participle, accusative masculine plural, perfect tense indicating something done in the past with continuing effect: having been cleansed.

Translation and paraphrase: Otherwise, would not the sacrifices have ceased being offered, because the worshippers would not still have a sinful conscience, once they were cleansed?

If sacrifices could make the worshippers complete, wouldn't the people stop offering them? If the people were truly cleansed, wouldn't they stop being worried about sins?

all', conjunction giving a contrast: but.¹²

en autais, preposition and dative feminine plural pronoun: in them.

anamnësis, feminine singular nominative noun: remembrance. Found only here and in the Luke/Pauline Lord's Supper.¹³

hamartiön, genitive plural feminine noun: of sins.

kat' eniauton, preposition and accusative masculine singular noun. In this phrase: each year.

Translation and paraphrase: But in them there is a reminder of sins each year.

Instead, the sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.

adynaton, nominative neuter singular, first in the sentence for emphasis: unable.

gar, conjunction: for.

haima, neuter singular, nominative or accusative: blood. I take it as the subject and supply "is"; others supply "it is" and make blood the subject of the infinitive. The advantage of this in English is that adynaton can retain its emphatic position at the beginning of the sentence: It is impossible...

taurön kai tragön, two genitive plural nouns and a conjunction: of bulls and goats. Our author used tauros and tragos to refer to the Day of Atonement rituals in 9:12-13, although the LXX of Lev. 16 uses moschos and chimaros. Our author is basing his argument on the Day of Atonement, but the principle applies to any sacrifice, and that may be the reason he uses more general terms.

aphairein, present active infinitive: to take away.

hamartias, feminine accusative plural: sins.

Translation and paraphrase: For the blood of bulls and goats is unable to take away sins.

...because animal blood is not able to remove sins.

Verse 5:

dio, conjunction: therefore.

eiserchomenos, present deponent participle, nominative masculine singular: coming. The verb was used most previously in 9:12, 24-25 to say that Christ entered heaven once, not a man-made sanctuary and not repeatedly. Here, the subject is not specified, although the context soon makes it clear that Christ is the subject.¹⁴

eis ton kosmon, preposition, article, and masculine singular accusative noun: into the world. Heb. 1:6 uses oikoumenën to refer to the Son coming into the world.

legei, present active indicative, third person singular: he says. The subject is the participle phrase: he who is coming into the world, i.e., Christ. The present tense is used for something in the past. This suggests it is not a one-time statement at the moment of incarnation or birth, but a continuous attitude of Christ.¹⁵ This is also supported by the present tense verb "I am coming" (vv. 7, 9), but it is balanced by the aorist tense of "to do."

thysian kai prosphoran, two feminine accusative singular nouns and a conjunction: sacrifice and offering.

ouk ëthelësas, negative and second person singular verb, aorist, suggesting a specific time: you did not want.

söma de, neuter noun, nominative or accusative singular, plus a conjunction: but a body.

katërtisö, aorist indicative, second person singular: you prepared. Spicq argues that the word connotes not just manufacture, but preparation for a particular purpose.¹⁶

moi, first person singular dative pronoun, indirect object: for me.

Translation and paraphrase: Therefore, coming into the world, he says, "Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but a body you prepared for me.

Therefore Christ says, when coming into the world, You did not want sacrifice and offering, but you prepared a body for me.

Verse 6:

holokautömata kai, neuter plural noun, nominative or accusative, plus conjunction: burnt offerings and.

peri hamartias, preposition and genitive singular feminine noun, literally, concerning sin, technical term in the LXX: sin offering.

ouk eudokësas, negative and aorist active second person singular verb: you were not pleased with. Spicq associates the word with God's will, not just a passive enjoyment.¹⁷ Thus the connotation here would be displeasure, not indifference.

Translation and paraphrase: Burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased with.

And you were displeased with burnt offerings and sin offerings.

tote eipon, adverb and aorist first person singular verb: then I said.

idou hëkö, particle and present active first person singular verb: Behold, I am coming. Verse 5 used a different word for come.

en kephalidi bibliou, preposition, dative feminine singular noun and genitive neuter singular noun: in the scroll of the book. This is the only place in the NT that kephalidi is found. It is a diminutive of kephalis, meaning an extremity, perhaps the scroll handles, or by extension, the scroll itself. "The scroll of the book" is a literal translation of the Hebrew text, where its function is not clear.¹⁸ The LXX translators did not offer an interpretive paraphrase, and Hebrews simply quotes the LXX without attempting to comment about which book is meant. Although it would have been permissible to delete the line when quoting, our author did not, perhaps because the passage was a familiar part of the liturgy.¹⁹

gegraptai, perfect passive third person singular: it is written. This is the only time Hebrews uses graphö, ironically because it was written in the quote he was using. Hebrews normally says that the OT "speaks" — present tense.

peri emou, preposition and genitive singular first person pronoun: about me.

tou poiësai, article and aorist active infinitive: to do. The genitive article with an infinitive indicates purpose.²⁰ The aorist tense suggests a specific moment of obedience.

ho theos, article and vocative noun: O God.²¹

to thelëma sou, article, accusative singular neuter noun, second person singular genitive pronoun: your will.

Translation and paraphrase: Then I said, Behold, I am coming (in the scroll of the book it is written about me) to do your will, O God.

Then I said, as is written about me in the book, Behold, O God, I am coming to do your will.

anöteron, substantive adjective, masculine singular accusative, meaning "above" in the flow of the text: first.

legön, present active participle, nominative masculine singular: saying. The main verb of the sentence is in v. 9.

hoti, conjunction: that

thysias kai prosphoras kai holokautömata kai peri hamartias, conjunctions and accusative feminine plural nouns (hamartias is genitive singular, perhaps indeclinable when with peri as a technical term for sin offerings): sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings.

ouk ëthelësas, negative and aorist active, second person singular: you did not want.

oude eudokësas, negative and aorist active second person singular verb: nor were you pleased with. The author is paraphrasing parallel phrases of vv. 5-6.

haitines, feminine nominative plural relative pronoun, referring to the sacrifices: that.

kata nomon, preposition and accusative masculine singular noun: according to the law.

prospherontai, present tense passive third person plural: are offered.

Translation and paraphrase: Saying first that sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings that are offered according to the law you did not want nor were you pleased with.

First he said, "You did not want nor were you pleased with the various sacrifices and offerings of the law,"

Verse 9:

tote eirëken, adverb and perfect tense third person singular: then he said.

idou hëkö tou poiësai to thelëma sou. See v. 7: Behold, I am coming to do your will.

anairei, third person singular, present active verb: he eliminates. This verb is often used in Acts to denote "kill," but is used in Hebrews only here. It is used in the LXX with the meaning "destroy" or "kill."²² Here, the meaning is not that Christ kills or destroys sacrifices, but that he does away with the need for them.

to pröton, article and accusative neuter singular substantive adjective: the first. Since our author has restructured the quote by paraphrasing it and labeling part of it anöteron, he can refer to all the sacrifices and the law by the word pröton.

hina, conjunction: in order to.

to deuteron, article and accusative neuter singular substantive adjective: the second. This refers to the doing of God's will.

stësë, third person singular aorist verb, with a causative meaning when used transitively: cause to stand. Used in Hebrews only here and 10:11, where it is intransitive. "Stëse is employed in the LXX in connection with covenants, alliances, and vows."²³

Translation and paraphrase: Then he said, "Behold, I am coming to do your will." He eliminates the first in order to cause the second to stand.

Then he said, "Behold, I am coming to do your will." He gets rid of the old way in order to establish the new.

Verse 10:

en hö thelëmati, preposition and dative neuter singular relative pronoun and noun: in that will. En may be used in an instrumental sense here, meaning we are sanctified by that will, but the author could have expressed that meaning more clearly in other ways, such as with dia with the genitive (which is used later in the sentence and may have for that reason been avoided). The author conveys a less precise meaning by the general term en. hö thelëmati refers to to thelëma sou, God's will. However, it also hints at Christ's willingness to do God's will, to align his will with God's.²⁴

hëgiasmenoi esmen, perfect passive nominative masculine plural participle and present tense first person plural verb: we have been sanctified. A passive participle with a present tense copula is a typical way to express a passive meaning, but the combination could also be understood with the participle as a substantive: we are the ones who have been sanctified.²⁵ However, that would seem to put too much stress on "we"; the stress of the passage is more likely on "sanctified" — the accomplishment of what the OT cult merely shadowed. The passive meaning seems intended here. The perfect tense indicates that this has been accomplished by something in the past, with continuing effect.

dia tës prosphoras, preposition and genitive singular article and noun: by means of the offering.

tou sömatos, genitive neuter singular article and noun: of the body. This is a genitive of apposition, with the offering being identical to the body.

iësou christou, genitive masculine singular nouns: of Jesus Christ.

ephapax, adverb: once for all. The author uses ephapax only three times, hapax eight times. The prefix ep' adds emphasis, and "the once-for-allness of Christ's sacrifice is given even more weight by the placing of ephapax in the emphatic position at the end of the sentence."²⁶

Translation and paraphrase: In that will we have been sanctified by means of the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

It is God's will that the one-time bodily sacrifice of Jesus Christ has already sanctified us.