Hebrews 7–8

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.