Melchizedek the Priest

7 This Melchizedek was king of Salemf and priest of God Most High.g He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him,h 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy,i without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God,j he remains a priest forever.

4 Just think how great he was: Even the patriarchk Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!l 5 Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the peoplem—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. 6 This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessedn him who had the promises.o 7 And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. 8 In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living.p 9 One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, 10 because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

Jesus Like Melchizedek

11 If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the peopleq established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come,r one in the order of Melchizedek,s not in the order of Aaron? 12 For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. 13 He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe,t and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar.u 14 For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah,v and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 15 And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16 one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is declared:

“You are a priest forever,

in the order of Melchizedek.”a w

18 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and uselessx 19 (for the law made nothing perfect),y and a better hopez is introduced, by which we draw near to God.a

20 And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, 21 but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:

“The Lord has sworn

and will not change his mind:b

‘You are a priest forever.’ ”b c

22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.d

23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.e 25 Therefore he is able to savef completelyc those who come to Godg through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.h

26 Such a high priesti truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners,j exalted above the heavens.k 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrificesl day after day, first for his own sins,m and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for alln when he offered himself.o 28 For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness;p but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son,q who has been made perfectr forever.

The High Priest of a New Covenant

8 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest,s who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,t 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacleu set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

3 Every high priestv is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices,w and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.x 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law.y 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copyz and shadowa of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warnedb when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”a c 6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenantd of which he is mediatore is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.f 8 But God found fault with the people and saidb:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,

when I will make a new covenantg

with the people of Israel

and with the people of Judah.

9 It will not be like the covenant

I made with their ancestorsh

when I took them by the hand

to lead them out of Egypt,

because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,

and I turned away from them,

declares the Lord.

10 This is the covenanti I will establish with the people of Israel

after that time, declares the Lord.

I will put my laws in their minds

and write them on their hearts.j

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.k

11 No longer will they teach their neighbor,

or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all know me,l

from the least of them to the greatest.

12 For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more.m”c n

13 By calling this covenant “new,”o he has made the first one obsolete;p and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle

9 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.q 2 A tabernacler was set up. In its first room were the lampstands and the tablet with its consecrated bread;u this was called the Holy Place.v 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,w 4 which had the golden altar of incensex and the gold-covered ark of the covenant.y This ark contained the gold jar of manna,z Aaron’s staff that had budded,a and the stone tablets of the covenant.b 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory,c overshadowing the atonement cover.d But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularlye into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest enteredf the inner room,g and that only once a year,h and never without blood,i which he offered for himselfj and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.k 8 The Holy Spirit was showingl by this that the waym into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. 9 This is an illustrationn for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offeredo were not able to clear the consciencep of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of foodq and drinkr and various ceremonial washingss—external regulationst applying until the time of the new order.

The Blood of Christ

11 But when Christ came as high priestu of the good things that are now already here,a v he went through the greater and more perfect tabernaclew that is not made with human hands,x that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves;y but he entered the Most Holy Placez once for alla by his own blood,b thus obtainingb eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bullsc and the ashes of a heiferd sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirite offered himselff unblemished to God, cleanse our consciencesg from acts that lead to death,c h so that we may serve the living God!i

15 For this reason Christ is the mediatorj of a new covenant,k that those who are calledl may receive the promisedm eternal inheritancen—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.o

16 In the case of a will,d it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.p 19 When Moses had proclaimedq every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves,r together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people.s 20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”e t 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood,u and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.v

23 It was necessary, then, for the copiesw of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one;x he entered heaven itself,y now to appear for us in God’s presence.z 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Placea every year with blood that is not his own.b 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world.c But he has appearedd once for alle at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.f 27 Just as people are destined to die once,g and after that to face judgment,h 28 so Christ was sacrificed oncei to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time,j not to bear sin,k but to bring salvationl to those who are waiting for him.m

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

10 The law is only a shadown of the good thingso that are coming—not the realities themselves.p For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, …