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Hebrews 10:2

New Testament Epistle (General) ASV (1901)

What does Hebrews 10:2 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Else would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Else would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins.
Hebrews 10:2 — American Standard Version

Context — Hebrews 10

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1For the law having a shadow of the good [things] to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect them that draw nigh.
2Else would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins.
3But in those [sacrifices] there is a remembrance made of sins year by year.
4For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.
5Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, But a body didst thou prepare for me;
← Hebrews 10:1Hebrews 10:3 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“For then would they not have ceased to be offered, etc..] The Complutensian edition, and the Syriac and Vulgate Latin versions, leave out the word “not”; and the sense requires it should be omitted, for the meaning is, that if perfection had been by the legal sacrifices, they would have ceased to have been offered; for if the former ones had made perfect, there would have been no need of others, or of the repetition of the same; but because they did not make perfect, therefore they were yearly renewed; unless the words are read with an interrogation, as they are in the Arabic version, “for then would they not have ceased to be offered?” yes, they would; they are indeed ceased now, but this…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“For--if the law could, by its sacrifices, have perfected the worshippers. they--the sacrifices. once purged--IF they were once for all cleansed (Heb 7:27). conscience--"consciousness of sin" (Heb 9:9).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“For then would they not have ceased to be offered? - Margin, “Or they would have.” The sense is the same. The idea is, that the very fact that they were repeated showed that there was some deficiency in them as to the matter of cleansing the soul from sin. If they had answered all the purposes of a sacrifice in putting away guilt, there would have been no need of repeating them in this manner. They were in this respect like medicine. If what is given to a patient heals him, there is no need of repeating it; but if it is repeated often it shows that there was some deficiency in it, and if taken periodically through a man’s life, and the disease should still remain, it would show that it was…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“They who had been once perfectly purged, would have been no longer conscious either of the guilt or power of their sins. Hebrews 10:3”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“10:2 The perpetual nature of the sacrifices demonstrates their inadequacy. If the sacrifices of the old covenant had offered true, lasting purity, they would have stopped. • their feelings of guilt would have disappeared: Cp. 9:9, 14; 10:22; 13:18.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“would they not have: or, they would have once: Heb 10:17, Heb 9:13, Heb 9:14; Psa 103:12; Isa 43:25, Isa 44:22; Mic 7:19 conscience: Our translators use the word conscience here, as elsewhere, for consciousness. Hebrews 10:3”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification