Hebrews 7–10

The Priest Melchizedek

7^*This Melchizedek was king of Salem and a priest of the Most High God. As Abraham was coming back from the battle in which he defeated the four kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him, ^2*and Abraham gave him a tenth of all he had taken. (The first meaning of Melchizedek’s name is “King of Righteousness”; and because he was king of Salem, his name also means “King of Peace”.) ³There is no record of Melchizedek’s father or mother or of any of his ancestors; no record of his birth or of his death. He is like the Son of God; he remains a priest for ever.

⁴You see, then, how great he was. Abraham, our famous ancestor, gave him a tenth of all he got in the battle. ^5*And those descendants of Levi who are priests are commanded by the Law to collect a tenth from the people of Israel, that is, from their own people, even though they are also descendants of Abraham. ⁶Melchizedek was not descended from Levi, but he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him, the man who received God’s promises. ⁷There is no doubt that the one who blesses is greater than the one who is blessed. ⁸In the case of the priests the tenth is collected by men who die; but as for Melchizedek the tenth was collected by one who lives, as the scripture says. ⁹And, so to speak, when Abraham paid the tenth, Levi (whose descendants collect the tenth) also paid it. ¹⁰For Levi had not yet been born, but was, so to speak, in the body of his ancestor Abraham when Melchizedek met him.

¹¹It was on the basis of the levitical priesthood that the Law was given to the people of Israel. Now, if the work of the levitical priests had been perfect, there would have been no need for a different kind of priest to appear, one who is in the priestly order of Melchizedek,^h not of Aaron. ¹²For when the priesthood is changed, there also has to be a change in the law. ¹³And our Lord, of whom these things are said, belonged to a different tribe, and no member of his tribe ever served as a priest. ¹⁴It is well known that he was born a member of the tribe of Judah; and Moses did not mention this tribe when he spoke of priests.

Another Priest, like Melchizedek

¹⁵The matter becomes even plainer; a different priest has appeared, who is like Melchizedek. ¹⁶He was made a priest, not by human rules and regulations, but through the power of a life which has no end. ^17*For the scripture says, “You will be a priest for ever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.”^{i 18}The old rule, then, is set aside, because it was weak and useless. ¹⁹For the Law of Moses could not make anything perfect. And now a better hope has been provided through which we come near to God.

²⁰In addition, there is also God’s vow. There was no such vow when the others were made priests. ^21*But Jesus became a priest by means of a vow when God said to him:

“The Lord has made a solemn promise

and will not take it back:

‘You will be a priest for ever.’ ”

²²This difference, then, also makes Jesus the guarantee of a better covenant.

²³There is another difference: there were many of those other priests, because they died and could not continue their work. ²⁴But Jesus lives on for ever, and his work as priest does not pass on to someone else. ²⁵And so he is able, now and always, to save those who come to God through him, because he lives for ever to plead with God for them.

²⁶Jesus, then, is the High Priest that meets our needs. He is holy; he has no fault or sin in him; he has been set apart from sinners and raised above the heavens. ^27*He is not like other high priests; he does not need to offer sacrifices every day for his own sins first and then for the sins of the people. He offered one sacrifice, once and for all, when he offered himself. ²⁸The Law of Moses appoints men who are imperfect to be high priests; but God’s promise made with the vow, which came later than the Law, appoints the Son, who has been made perfect for ever.

Jesus Our High Priest

8^*The whole point of what we are saying is that we have such a High Priest, who sits at the right of the throne of the Divine Majesty in heaven. ²He serves as High Priest in the Most Holy Place, that is, in the real tent which was put up by the Lord, not by human hands.

³Every High Priest is appointed to present offerings and animal sacrifices to God, and so our High Priest must also have something to offer. ⁴If he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer the gifts required by the Jewish Law. ^5*The work they do as priests is really only a copy and a shadow of what is in heaven. It is the same as it was with Moses. When he was about to build the Sacred Tent, God said to him, “Be sure to make everything according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.” ⁶But now, Jesus has been given priestly work which is superior to theirs, just as the covenant which he arranged between God and his people is a better one, because it is based on promises of better things.

⁷If there had been nothing wrong with the first covenant, there would have been no need for a second one. ^8*But God finds fault with his people when he says:

“The days are coming, says the Lord,

when I will draw up a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

^9*It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors

on the day I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt.

They were not faithful to the covenant I made with them,

and so I paid no attention to them.

^10*Now, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel

in the days to come, says the Lord:

I will put my laws in their minds

and write them on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

^11*None of them will have to teach their fellow-citizens

or say to their fellow-citizens,

‘Know the Lord.’

For they will all know me,

from the least to the greatest.

^12*I will forgive their sins

and will no longer remember their wrongs.”

¹³By speaking of a new covenant, God has made the first one old; and anything that becomes old and worn out will soon disappear.

Earthly and Heavenly Worship

9The first covenant had rules for worship and an earthly place for worship as well. ^2*A Tent was put up, the outer one, which was called the Holy Place. In it were the lamp-stand and the table with the bread offered to God. ^3*Behind the second curtain was the Tent called the Most Holy Place. ^4*In it were the gold altar for the burning of incense and the Covenant Box all covered with gold and containing the gold jar with the manna in it, Aaron’s stick that had sprouted leaves, and the two stone tablets with the commandments written on them. ^5*Above the Box were the winged creatures representing God’s presence, with their wings spread over the place where sins were forgiven. But now is not the time to explain everything in detail.

^6*This is how those things have been arranged. The priests go into the outer Tent every day to perform their duties, ^7*but only the High Priest goes into the inner Tent, and he does so only once a year. He takes with him blood which he offers to God on behalf of himself and for the sins which the people have committed without knowing they were sinning. ⁸The Holy Spirit clearly teaches from all these arrangements that the way into the Most Holy Place has not yet been opened as long as the outer Tent still stands. ⁹This is an illustration which points to the present time. It means that the offerings and animal sacrifices presented to God cannot make the worshipper’s heart perfect, ¹⁰since they have to do only with food, drink, and various purification ceremonies. These are all outward rules, which apply only until the time when God will establish the new order.

¹¹But Christ has already come as the High Priest of the good things that are already here.^j The tent in which he serves is greater and more perfect; it is not a tent made by human hands, that is, it is not a part of this created world. ¹²When Christ went through the tent and entered once and for all into the Most Holy Place, he did not take the blood of goats and bulls to offer as a sacrifice; rather, he took his own blood and obtained eternal salvation for us. ^13*The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a burnt calf are sprinkled on the people who are ritually unclean, and this purifies them by taking away their ritual impurity. ¹⁴Since this is true, how much more is accomplished by the blood of Christ! Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will purify our consciences from useless rituals, so that we may serve the living God.

¹⁵For this reason Christ is the one who arranges a new covenant, so that those who have been called by God may receive the eternal blessings that God has promised. This can be done because there has been a death which sets people free from the wrongs they did while the first covenant was in force.

¹⁶In the case of a will it is necessary to prove that the person who made it has died, ¹⁷for a will means nothing while the person who made it is alive; it comes into effect only after his death. ¹⁸That is why even the first covenant^k came into effect only with the use of blood. ^19*First, Moses proclaimed to the people all the commandments as set forth in the Law. Then he took the blood of bulls and goats, mixed it with water, and sprinkled it on the book of the Law and all the people, using a sprig of hyssop and some red wool. ^20*He said, “This is the blood which seals the covenant that God has commanded you to obey.” ^21*In the same way Moses also sprinkled the blood on the Sacred Tent and over all the things used in worship. ^22*Indeed, according to the Law almost everything is purified by blood, and sins are forgiven only if blood is poured out.

Christ’s Sacrifice Takes Away Sins

²³Those things, which are copies of the heavenly originals, had to be purified in that way. But the heavenly things themselves require much better sacrifices. ²⁴For Christ did not go into a Holy Place made…