Hebrews 7

The Greatness of Melchizedek

7For this Melchizedek—

King of Salem, priest of the Most High God,

who met Abraham and blessed him

as he returned from defeating the kings,

²and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything;

first, his name means king of righteousness,

then also, king of Salem,

meaning king of peace;

³without father, mother, or genealogy,

having neither beginning of days nor end of life,

but resembling the Son of God ^j—

remains a priest forever.

⁴Now consider how great this man was—even Abraham the patriarch ^kgave a tenth of the plunder to him! ⁵The sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have a command according to the law to collect a tenth from the people ^l—that is, from their brothers—though they have also descended from Abraham. ^m6But one without this ⁿlineage collected tenths from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. ^o7Without a doubt, ^pthe inferior is blessed by the superior. ⁸In the one case, men who will die receive tenths, but in the other case, Scripture testifies that he lives. ^q9And in a sense Levi himself, who receives tenths, has paid tenths through Abraham, ¹⁰for he was still within his ancestor ^rwhen Melchizedek met him.

A Superior Priesthood

¹¹If then, perfection came through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law ^s), what further need was there for another priest to appear, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron? ^t12For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must be a change of law as well. ¹³For the One these things are spoken about belonged to a different tribe. No one from it has served at the altar. ¹⁴Now it is evident that our Lord came from Judah, ^uand Moses said nothing about that tribe concerning priests.

¹⁵And this becomes clearer if another priest like Melchizedek appears, ¹⁶who did not become a priest based on a legal command concerning physical ^vdescent but based on the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷For it has been testified:

You are a priest forever

in the order of Melchizedek. ^wx

¹⁸So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable ^y19(for the law perfected ^znothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. ^a

²⁰None of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without an oath, ²¹but He became a priest with an oath made by the One who said to Him:

The Lord has sworn,

and He will not change His mind,

You are a priest forever. ^bc

²²So Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant. ^d

²³Now many have become Levitical priests, since they are prevented by death from remaining in office. ²⁴But because He remains forever, He holds His priesthood permanently. ²⁵Therefore, He is always able to save ^ethose who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede ^ffor them.

²⁶For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. ^g27He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do—first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all when He offered Himself. ^h28For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promise of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son, ⁱwho has been perfected ^jforever.