Hebrews 5–7

Qualifications for High Priesthood

5For every high priest taken from among men ^ais appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. ²He can ¹have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to ^bweakness. ³Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for ^chimself, to offer sacrifices for sins. ⁴And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as ^dAaron was.

A Priest Forever

^5eSo also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:

^f“You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You.”

⁶As He also says in another place:

^g“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek”;

⁷who, in the days of His flesh, when He had ^hoffered up prayers and supplications, ⁱwith vehement cries and tears to Him ^jwho was able to save Him from death, and was heard ^kbecause of His godly fear, ⁸though He was a Son, yet He learned ^lobedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹And ^mhaving been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, ¹⁰called by God as High Priest ⁿ“according to the order of Melchizedek,” ¹¹of whom ^owe have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become ^pdull of hearing.

Spiritual Immaturity

¹²For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the ²oracles of God; and you have come to need ^qmilk and not solid food. ¹³For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is ^ra babe. ¹⁴But solid food belongs to those who are ³of full age, that is, those who by reason of ⁴use have their senses exercised ^sto discern both good and evil.

The Peril of Not Progressing

6Therefore, ^aleaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to ¹perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from ^bdead works and of faith toward God, ^2cof the doctrine of baptisms, ^dof laying on of hands, ^eof resurrection of the dead, ^fand of eternal judgment. ³And this ²we will do if God permits.

⁴For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted ^gthe heavenly gift, and ^hhave become partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶³if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, ⁱsince they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

⁷For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, ^jreceives blessing from God; ^8kbut if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

A Better Estimate

⁹But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. ¹⁰For ^lGod is not unjust to forget ^myour work and ⁴labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ⁿministered to the saints, and do minister. ¹¹And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence ^oto the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹²that you do not become ⁵sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience ^pinherit the promises.

God’s Infallible Purpose in Christ

¹³For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, ^qHe swore by Himself, ¹⁴saying, ^r“Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” ¹⁵And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the ^spromise. ¹⁶For men indeed swear by the greater, and ^tan oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. ¹⁷Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to ^uthe heirs of promise ^vthe ⁶immutability of His counsel, ⁷confirmed it by an oath, ¹⁸that by two ⁸immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to ^wlie, we ⁹might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope ^xset before us.

¹⁹This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, ^yand which enters the Presence behind the veil, ^20zwhere the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, ^ahaving become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

The King of Righteousness

7For this ^aMelchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ²to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” ³without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

⁴Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the ¹spoils. ⁵And indeed ^bthose who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; ⁶but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham ^cand blessed ^dhim who had the promises. ⁷Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. ⁸Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, ^eof whom it is witnessed that he lives. ⁹Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, ¹⁰for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

Need for a New Priesthood

^11fTherefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? ¹²For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. ¹³For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has ²officiated at the altar.

¹⁴For it is evident that ^gour Lord arose from ^hJudah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning ³priesthood. ¹⁵And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest ¹⁶who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. ¹⁷For ⁴He testifies:

ⁱ“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of ^jits weakness and unprofitableness, ¹⁹for ^kthe law made nothing ⁵perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of ^la better hope, through which ^mwe draw near to God.

Greatness of the New Priest

²⁰And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath ²¹(for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:

ⁿ“The Lord has sworn

And will not relent,

‘You are a priest ⁶forever

According to the order of Melchizedek’ ”),

²²by so much more Jesus has become a ⁷surety of a ^obetter covenant.

²³Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. ²⁴But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. ²⁵Therefore He is also ^pable to save ⁸to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives ^qto make intercession for them.

²⁶For such a High Priest was fitting for us, ^rwho is holy, ⁹harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, ^sand has become higher than the heavens; ²⁷who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His ^town sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. ²⁸For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.