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.
Now this Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning from the slaughter of the kings, Melchizedek met him 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’.
and Abraham gave him a tenth of all the spoils. His name means “king of righteousness,” but he is also “king of Salem,” which 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.
He is without father, without mother, and without genealogy; there is no beginning to his days or end to his life. But resembling the Son of God, he remains 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].
Consider how great this man must be, that even Abraham the patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils.
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.
Now the law commands the sons of Levi who receive the priestly office to collect tithes from the people, that is, their brothers, even though their brothers are also 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 was not among the descendants of Levi, received a tithe from Abraham. He also blessed Abraham, who had received the 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].
It is beyond all dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.
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 mortal men, but in the other case, they are received by one who is attested 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],
One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through 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 Levi was still in the loins of his ancestor Abraham when Melchizedek met him.
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 had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under this priesthood the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek rather than 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]}.
For when the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed.
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].
Now he of whom these things are spoken belongs to a different tribe, from which no one has ever served 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.
For it is clear that our Lord arose from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priesthood.
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.
Now this point becomes even more clear when there arises another priest like 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).
one who has become a priest, not through a legal requirement concerning physical descent, but through the power of an endless life.
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)
For God testifies, “Yoʋ 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].
The former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and ineffectiveness
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 made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near 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].
And none of this happened without an oath. Aaron's descendants become priests 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 Jesus was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘Yoʋ are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’” (aiōn g165)
22 Because of that, Jesus guarantees that [the new] covenant will be better [than the old one].
Accordingly, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.
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].
Now the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office;
24 But because [Jesus] lives eternally, he will continue to be a Supreme Priest forever. (aiōn g165)
but because Jesus continues forever, he has a permanent priesthood. (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.
Therefore he is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
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.
It was fitting for us to have such a high priest, one who is holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the 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!
He has no need, like the other high priests, to offer up daily sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. For he did this once for all when he offered up 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)
For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son, who has been made perfect forever. (aiōn g165)
