Hebræos 7
1 Hic enim Melchisedech, rex Salem, sacerdos Dei summi, qui obviavit Abrahae regresso a caede regum, et benedixit ei:
[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.
2 cui et decimas omnium divisit Abraham: primum quidem qui interpretatur rex iustitiae: deinde autem et rex Salem, quod est, rex pacis,
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’.
3 sine patre, sine matre, sine genealogia, neque initium dierum, neque finem vitae habens, assimilatus autem Filio Dei, manet sacerdos in perpetuum.
[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.
4 Intuemini autem quantus sit hic, cui et decimas dedit de praecipuis Abraham patriarcha.
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].
5 Et quidem de filiis Levi sacerdotium accipientes, mandatum habent decimas sumere a populo secundum legem, id est, a fratribus suis: quamquam et ipsi exierint de lumbis Abrahae.
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.
6 Cuius autem generatio non annumeratur in eis, decimas sumpsit ab Abraham, et hunc, qui habebat repromissiones, benedixit.
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].
7 Sine ulla autem contradictione, quod minus est, a meliore benedicitur.
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].
8 Et hic quidem, decimas morientes homines accipiunt: ibi autem contestatur, quia vivit.
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].
9 Et (ut ita dictum sit) per Abraham, et Levi, qui decimas accepit, decimatus est:
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],
10 adhuc enim in lumbis patris erat, quando obviavit ei Melchisedech.
since [the sperm from which all those priests were eventually born] was still in Abraham’s body [EUP] when Melchizedek met Abraham.
11 Si ergo consummatio per sacerdotium Leviticum erat (populus enim sub ipso legem accepit) quid adhuc necessarium fuit secundum ordinem Melchisedech, alium surgere sacerdotem, et non secundum ordinem Aaron dici?
[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].
12 Translato enim sacerdotio, necesse est ut et legis translatio fiat.
[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]}.
13 In quo enim haec dicuntur, de alia tribu est, de qua nullus altari praesto fuit.
[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].
14 Manifestum est enim quod ex Iuda ortus sit Dominus noster: in qua tribu nihil de sacerdotibus Moyses locutus est.
[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 Et amplius adhuc manifestum est: si secundum similitudinem Melchisedech exurgat alius sacerdos,
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.
16 qui non secundum legem mandati carnalis factus est, sed secundum virtutem vitae insolubilis.
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).
[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)
18 Reprobatio quidem fit praecedentis mandati, propter infirmitatem eius, et inutilitatem:
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].
19 nihil enim ad perfectum adduxit lex: introductio vero melioris spei, per quam proximamus ad Deum.
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.
20 Et quantum est non sine iureiurando (alii quidem sine iureiurando sacerdotes facti sunt,
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].
21 hic autem cum iureiurando per eum, qui dixit ad illum: Iuravit Dominus, et non poenitebit eum: tu es sacerdos in aeternum): (aiōn g165)
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)
22 in tantum melioris testamenti sponsor factus est Iesus.
Because of that, Jesus guarantees that [the new] covenant will be better [than the old one].
23 Et alii quidem plures facti sunt sacerdotes secundum legem, idcirco quod morte prohiberentur permanere:
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].
But because [Jesus] lives eternally, he will continue to be a Supreme Priest forever. (aiōn g165)
25 Unde et salvare in perpetuum potest accedens per semetipsum ad Deum: semper vivens ad interpellandum pro nobis.
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.
26 Talis enim decebat ut nobis esset pontifex, sanctus, innocens, impollutus, segregatus a peccatoribus, et excelsior caelis factus:
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.
27 qui non habet necessitatem quotidie, quemadmodum sacerdotes, prius pro suis delictis hostias offerre, deinde pro populi: hoc enim fecit semel, seipsum offerendo.
[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!
28 Lex enim homines constituit sacerdotes infirmitatem habentes: sermo autem iurisiurandi, qui post legem est, Filium in aeternum perfectum. (aiōn g165)
[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)
