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.
| אותו מלכי־צדק היה מלך העיר שלם וכהן לאל עליון. כשחזר אברהם מהקרב שבו ניצח מלכים רבים, יצא מלכי־צדק לקבל את פניו וברך אותו, |
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’.
| ואילו אברהם העניק לו מעשר מכל השלל שלקח. מלכי־צדק פירושו: מלך הצדקה, אך הוא גם מלך השלום, שכן שלם פירושו שלום. |
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.
| אין לנו כל מסמך שמעיד על ייחוסו של מלכי־צדק; לא אב ולא אם, וגם לא ידוע לנו דבר על לידתו ועל מותו. חייו דומים לחיי בן־האלוהים וכהונתו עומדת לנצח. |
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].
| הבה נבחן את גדולתו של מלכי־צדק: א) אפילו אברהם אבינו העניק לו מעשר משללו. |
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.
| אילו היה מלכי־צדק כהן משבט לוי, היה אברהם חייב לתת לו מעשר, כפי שבמרוצת הזמן ציוותה התורה על בני־ישראל לפרנס את הכוהנים שהקדישו את חייהם לעבודת אלוהים. |
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].
| מלכי־צדק לא השתייך למשפחת בני־לוי, ובכל זאת נתן לו אברהם מעשר. ב) מלכי־צדק ברך את אברהם – שלו ניתנה הבטחת ה׳ – |
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].
| וכפי שאנו יודעים, גדול מי שמברך ממקבל הברכה. ג) |
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].
| בכהונת הלויים היו מקבלי המעשר אנשים של בשר ודם, אשר מתו בבוא העת, ואילו על מלכי־צדק אנו קוראים כאילו הוא חי לעולם. ד) |
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],
| אפשר אף לומר שלוי עצמו – אבי שבט הכוהנים, ומי שבדרך כלל מקבל מעשר מאחרים – נתן מעשר למלכי־צדק באמצעות המעשר של אברהם. |
10 since [the sperm from which all those priests were eventually born] was still in Abraham’s body [EUP] when Melchizedek met Abraham.
| כיצד יתכן הדבר? אמנם לוי טרם נולד, אולם בהיותו זרע אברהם הוא היה בחלציו כשיצא מלכי־צדק לקראת אברהם. ה) |
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].
| אילו כהונת הלווים, שמשמשת יסוד לתורה, יכלה להושיע אותנו, מדוע שלח אלוהים את המשיח ככהן במעמד מלכי־צדק? מדוע לא במעמד אהרון, שהייתה דרגתם של כל שאר הכוהנים? |
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]}.
| התשובה היא: כיוון שאם יש שינוי בכהונה, צריך לשנות גם את התורה. |
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].
| כולנו יודעים שישוע המשיח לא השתייך לשבט לוי, אלא לשבט יהודה אשר אנשיו מעולם לא עסקו בתפקידי כהונה, שכן משה מעולם לא מינה אותם לכך. |
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.
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.
| אם כן, אנו יכולים לראות בבירור ששיטתו של אלוהים השתנתה: המשיח, שהוא הכהן הגדול בדרגת מלכי־צדק, |
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).
| לא נתמנה לתפקידו על־פי הישן שמחייב השתייכות לשבט לוי, כי אם על־פי הכוח של חיים נצחיים, |
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)
| ועדות לכך אנו מוצאים בתהלים:”אתה כוהן לעולם, על דברתי מלכי־צדק“. (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].
| השיטה הישנה, לפיה עבר תפקיד הכהונה בירושה מאב לבן, נתבטלה, משום שהוכיחה את עצמה כחלשה ובלתי־יעילה. |
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.
| התורה לא תיקנה את טבע האדם ולא הושיעה איש. מאידך, אלוהים העניק לנו תקווה טובה יותר: ישוע המשיח שמאפשר לנו להתקרב אל אלוהים. |
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].
| אלוהים נשבע שהמשיח יהיה כהן לנצח, אף כי מעולם לא נשבע לכוהנים אחרים. |
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)
| רק למשיח אמר אלוהים:”נשבע ה׳ ולא יינחם:’אתה כהן לעולם, על דברתי מלכי־צדק‘. “ (aiōn g165) |
22 Because of that, Jesus guarantees that [the new] covenant will be better [than the old one].
| בזכות שבועה זאת, המשיח הוא ערובה חיה לברית טובה יותר. |
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].
| הכוהנים הקודמים היו רבים במספר, מפני שמותם מנע מהם להמשיך בתפקידם לנצח. |
24 But because [Jesus] lives eternally, he will continue to be a Supreme Priest forever. (aiōn g165)
| ואילו המשיח מחזיק בכהונתו לנצח, מפני שלחייו אין סוף. (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.
| מסיבה זאת יכול המשיח להושיע את כל מי שבא אל אלוהים באמצעותו, ומאחר שהוא חי לנצח, תמיד יסנגר עלינו לפני אלוהים. |
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.
| אם כן, המשיח הוא כהן גדול המתאים בדיוק לצרכינו: קדוש, חסר־דופי, מושלם, טהור ונבדל מחוטאים. כן, זהו משיחנו שקיבל מקום כבוד בשמים. |
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!
| הוא אינו צריך להקריב מדי יום קורבנות עבור חטאיו וחטאי העם – כמנהג הכוהנים האחרים – שכן המשיח הקריב קורבן אחד לתמיד: המשיח הקריב את עצמו. |
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)
| התורה מינתה אנשים חלשים כמונו לשרת ככוהניה הגדולים, ואילו שבועת ה׳, שניתנה לאחר מתן התורה, מינתה את בן־אלוהים המושלם לכוהן נצחי. (aiōn g165) |
