draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy Presence in virtue of the blood of Jesus, by the fresh, living way which he has inaugurated for us through the veil (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great Priest over the house of God,read more.
let us draw near with a true heart, in absolute assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from a bad conscience, and our bodies washed in pure water;

(for the Law made nothing perfect), and there is introduced a better Hope, by means of which we can draw near to God.

Now mere food will not bring us any nearer to God; if we abstain we do not lose anything, and if we eat we do not gain anything.

Further, if the Levitical priesthood had been the means of reaching perfection (for it was on the basis of that priesthood that the Law was enacted for the People), why was it still necessary for another sort of priest to emerge with the rank of Melchizedek, instead of simply with the rank of Aaron (for when the priesthood is changed, a change of law necessarily follows)? He who is thus described belongs to another tribe, no member of which ever devoted himself to the altar;read more.
for it is evident that our Lord sprang from Judah, and Moses never mentioned priesthood in connexion with that tribe. This becomes all the more plain when another priest emerges resembling Melchizedek, one who has become a priest by the power of an indissoluble Life and not by the law of an external command; for the witness to him is, Thou art priest for ever, with the rank of Melchizedek. A previous command is set aside on account of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and there is introduced a better Hope, by means of which we can draw near to God.

For as the Law has a mere shadow of the bliss that is to be, instead of representing the reality of that bliss, it never can perfect those who draw near with the same annual sacrifices that are perpetually offered. Otherwise, they would surely have ceased to be offered; for the worshippers, once cleansed, would no longer be conscious of sins! As it is, they are an annual reminder of sinsread more.
(for the blood of bulls and goats cannot possibly remove sins!). Hence, on entering the world he says, Thou hast no desire for sacrifice or offering; it is a body thou hast prepared for me ??6 in holocausts and sin-offerings thou takest no delight. So I said, 'Here I come ??in the roll of the book this is written of me ??I come to do thy will, O God.' He begins by saying, thou hast no desire for, thou takest no delight in, sacrifices and offerings and holocausts and sin-offerings (and these are what are offered in terms of the Law); he then adds, Here I come to do thy will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And it is by this will that we are consecrated, because Jesus Christ once for all has offered up his body.