Hebrews 7
1 [Now I will say more about] this [man] Melchizedek. He was the king of Salem [city and was] a priest of God, the one who is greater [than anyone else]. He met Abraham who was returning [home] after [he and his men] had defeated the [armies of four] kings [SYN]. Melchizedek [asked God to] bless Abraham.
Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of the Most High God. He met Abraham who was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him.
2 Then Abraham gave to him one tenth of all [the spoils he] took after winning [the battle. Melchizedek’s name] means firstly ‘king [who rules] righteously’, and since Salem means ‘peace’, he was the ‘king [who rules] peacefully’.
Abraham gave him a tithe of all that he had won. Melchizedek's name means “king of right” while king of Salem means “king of peace.”
3 [In the Scriptures there is] no [record of who his] father [was], nor [is there any record of who his] mother [was], nor [is there any record of who his] ancestors [were]. There is no [record of when he was] born, nor [is there any record of when he] died. [For these reasons], [it is as though] he continues to be a priest forever, and for this reason he is like God’s Son.
We don't have any information about his father or his mother or his family tree. We don't know when he was born or when he died. Like the Son of God he continues as a priest forever.
4 You can realize how great this [man Melchizedek was] from the fact that Abraham, [our famous] ancestor, gave him (a tithe/one tenth) of the spoils [from the battle].
Think how great this man was for Abraham the patriarch to give him a tithe of what was won in battle.
5 According to the laws [God gave Moses], the descendants of [Abraham’s great-grandson] Levi, who were priests, should take tithes from [God’s] people who were their relatives, even though those people also were Abraham’s descendants.
Yes, the sons of Levi who are priests were commanded by the law to receive a tithe from the people, their brothers and sisters, who are descended from Abraham.
6 But this man [Melchizedek], who was not among the descendants [of Levi], took tithes from Abraham. He also [asked God to] bless Abraham, the man to whom [God] promised [many descendants].
But Melchizedek who doesn't share their ancestry received tithes from Abraham, and blessed the one who had God's promises.
7 We know for certain that it is the more [important people] who [ask God to] bless the less important people. [And Melchizedek blessed Abraham. So we conclude that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham].
There's no argument that the lesser person is blessed by the one who is greater.
8 In the case of [the priests who are descendants of Levi], men who some day will die receive tithes. But in the case of [Melchizedek it is as if God] testifies that he was still living, [since there is no record in Scriptures about his death].
In the one case tithes are received by men who die, but in the other by one who is said to be living.
9 And it was as though Levi himself, and [all the priests descended from him]—who received tithes [from the people]—paid tithes [to Melchizedek]. And when Abraham paid tithes, it [was as though Levi and all the priests descended from him acknowledged that the work Melchizedek did as a priest was greater than the work Levi did],
So you could say that Levi, the one who receives tithes, has paid tithes through being a descendant of Abraham,
10 since [the sperm from which all those priests were eventually born] was still in Abraham’s body [EUP] when Melchizedek met Abraham.
for he was yet to be born from his father when Melchizedek met Abraham.
11 [God] gave his laws to his people at the same time he gave regulations about the priests. So, if what the priests who were descended from Levi did could have provided a way for God to completely [forgive] people [for disobeying those laws], certainly no other priest like Melchizedek would have been necessary. [RHQ] Instead, priests who were descended from Aaron, [Levi’s descendant, would have been adequate].
Now if perfection could have been achieved through the priesthood of Levi (for that's how the law was received), what was the need for another priest to come following the order of Melchizedek, and not following the order of Aaron?
12 [But we know they were not adequate, because a new type of priest like Melchizedek has come]. And since [God] has appointed a new type of priest, he also had to change the regulations [concerning how priests were appointed] {[he appointed priests]}.
If the priesthood is changed, then the law needs to be changed too.
13 [Jesus], the one about whom I am saying these things, is a descendant of someone else, [not a descendant of Levi]. None of the men from whom Jesus descended ever served as priests [MTY].
The one we're talking about comes from a different tribe, a tribe that has never provided priests to serve at the altar.
14 [We know that] since it is obvious that it is from [the tribe of] Judah that our Lord was descended. Moses never said that any of Judah’s descendants would [become] priests.
It's clear that our Lord is a descendant of Judah, and Moses said nothing about priests coming from this tribe.
15 Furthermore, [we know that the priests who were descended from Levi were inadequate, since] it is even more obvious that another priest has appeared who is like Melchizedek.
What makes it even clearer is when another priest appears who is similar to Melchizedek,
16 Jesus became a priest, but not because [he fulfilled] what [God’s] law required [about being a descendant of Levi]. Instead, he has the kind of power that [came from a] life that nothing can destroy (OR, [enabled him to] live [again after he was] killed).
and who didn't become a priest by virtue of his human ancestry but by the power of a life that cannot be ended.
17 [We know this] since [God] confirmed it in [the Scripture passage in which he said to his Son], You [(sg)] are a priest eternally just like Melchizedek was a priest. (aiōn g165)
That's why it says, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (aiōn g165)
18 On the one hand, God canceled what he commanded previously [concerning the priests] because it failed in every way to enable anyone [to become all that God intended].
So the previous rule has been set aside because it was powerless and didn't work,
19 Remember that no one was able to become all that God intended [by obeying] the laws [that God gave Moses]. On the other hand, [God caused that we could] confidently expect better things [than we could expect by obeying God’s laws]. [He did that by his establishing Christ as priest]. Now by means of [Christ sacrificing himself for us] we can come near to God.
(for the law didn't make anything perfect). But now it's been replaced by a better hope by which we can come close to God.
20 Furthermore, [when God appointed Christ, it was when God] solemnly declared [that Christ would be a priest] [LIT]. When [God appointed former] priests, it was not by his solemnly declaring [that they would be priests].
This was not without an oath, even though those who become priests do so without an oath.
21 However, when he [appointed Christ to be a priest], it was by these words that [the Psalmist wrote in Scripture]: The Lord has solemnly declared [to the Messiah], —and he will not change his mind— “You will be a priest forever!” (aiōn g165)
But he became a priest with an oath because God told him, “The Lord has taken a solemn vow and will not change his mind: You are a priest forever.” (aiōn g165)
22 Because of that, Jesus guarantees that [the new] covenant will be better [than the old one].
This is how Jesus became the guarantee of an agreed relationship with God that is so much better.
23 And formerly, the priests could not keep serving [as priests], because they all died [PRS]. So there were many priests [to take the place of the ones who died].
There have been many priests because death prevented them from being able to continue;
24 But because [Jesus] lives eternally, he will continue to be a Supreme Priest forever. (aiōn g165)
but since Jesus lives forever, his priesthood is permanent. (aiōn g165)
25 So, he can completely and eternally save those who come to God by [trusting in what Jesus has done for them], since he lives forever to plead [with God] to help them.
As a result he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, living always to plead their case on their behalf.
26 Jesus is the kind of Supreme Priest that we need. He was holy; he did no wrong; he was completely innocent. [God] has now taken him up to the highest heaven separated from [living among] sinners.
He is exactly the high priest we need: holy and without fault, pure and separate from sinners, and given a place in the highest heavens.
27 [The other] Supreme Priests need to sacrifice [animals] day by day [as well as year by year]. They do this, firstly, [to atone] for their own sins, and then [to atone for other] people [who have sinned]. [But because Jesus never sinned], he does not need to atone for his own sin. The only thing [he needed to do to save people] was to sacrifice himself once!
Unlike those human high priests, he doesn't need to offer a daily sacrifice for his sins and then the sins of the people. He did this once, and for everyone, when he offered himself.
28 [We need a Supreme Priest like] him, because in the laws [that God gave Moses] [PRS] the ones who would be appointed to be priests would be men who tended [to sin easily]. But [God] solemnly [declared] [PRS] after [he had given] his laws [to Moses] that [he would appoint] (his Son/the man who is also God) [to be a Supreme Priest. Now] ([his Son/the man who is also God]) has forever become all that God intends him to be. (aiōn g165)
The law appoints imperfect men as high priests, but God gave his solemn vow after the law, and appointed his Son, perfect forever. (aiōn g165)
