Hebrews 9:17

And a will is only of force in the case of a deceased person, being never of any avail so long as he who made it lives.

Weymouth NT (1912)

In The King James Version

For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

In Context

16For where there is a legal `will,' there must also be a death brought forward in evidence--the death of him who made it.

18Accordingly we find that the first Covenant was not inaugurated without blood.

Read all of Hebrews 9

Cross References

John 14:27Peace I leave with you: my own peace I give to you. It is not as the world gives its greetings that I give you peace. Let not your hearts be troubled or dismayed.

Matthew Henry on Hebrews 9:16-23

The Priesthood of Christ. ( a. d. 62.) 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. 16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. 18 Whereupon neither the first… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Hebrews 9:17