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strate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed (Rom. 3:24-25). Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation [hilaskomai] for the sins of the people (Heb. 2:17). He Himself is the propitiation [hilasmos] for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world (1 John 2:2). In this is love, not that we loved God,but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [hilasmos] for our sins (1 John 4:10).
Compare these same verses, however, with the translation of the New International Version where the Greek terms are not rendered by the English word "propitiation" but by another choice of words. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement [hilasterios], through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished (Rom. 3:25). For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement [hilaskomai] for the sins of the people (Heb. 2:17). He is the atoning sacrifice [hilasmos] for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice [hilasmos] for our sins (1 John 4:10).
For some biblical scholars, then, it appears that the New International Version brings out the essential meaning of these pas-