Abram and Melchizedek^(A)

¹⁸ Then ^(B)Melchizedek king of Salem brought out ^(C)bread and wine; he was ^(D)the priest of ^(E)God Most High. ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said:

And he ^(I)gave him ^[a]a tithe of all.

Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign^(A)

A Psalm of David.

Jesus’ Authority Questioned^(A)

²⁷ Then they came again to Jerusalem. ^(B)And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. ²⁸ And they said to Him, “By what ^(C)authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?”

The Test of Knowing Christ

2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^(A)we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ² And ^(B)He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^(C)also for the whole world.

³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? ^(A)It is God who justifies. ^34 (B)Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, ^(C)who is even at the right hand of God, ^(D)who also makes intercession for us.

Qualifications for High Priesthood

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

A Priest Forever

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

⁶ As He also says in another place:

⁹ And ^(A)having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, ¹⁰ called by God as High Priest ^(B)“according to the order of Melchizedek,” ¹¹ of whom ^(C)we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become ^(D)dull of hearing.

^20 (A)where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, ^(B)having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

The King of Righteousness^(C)

7 For this ^(D)Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ² to 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,” ³ without 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.

⁴ Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the ^[a]spoils. ⁵ And indeed ^(E)those 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; ⁶ but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham ^(F)and blessed ^(G)him who had the promises. ⁷ Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. ⁸ Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, ^(H)of whom it is witnessed that he lives. ⁹ Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

Need for a New Priesthood^(I)

^11 (J)Therefore, 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? ¹² For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. ¹³ For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has ^[b]officiated at the altar.

¹⁴ For it is evident that ^(K)our Lord arose from ^(L)Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning ^[c]priesthood. ¹⁵ And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest ¹⁶ who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. ¹⁷ For ^[d]He testifies:

¹⁸ For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of ^(N)its weakness and unprofitableness, ¹⁹ for ^(O)the law made nothing ^[e]perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of ^(P)a better hope, through which ^(Q)we draw near to God.

Greatness of the New Priest

²⁰ And 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:

²² by so much more Jesus has become a ^[g]surety of a ^(S)better covenant.

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

²⁶ For such a High Priest was fitting for us, ^(V)who is holy, ^[i]harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, ^(W)and has become higher than the heavens; ²⁷ who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His ^(X)own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. ²⁸ For 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.

The New Priestly Service

8 Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, ^(Y)who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ² a Minister of ^(Z)the ^[j]sanctuary and of ^(AA)the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

³ For ^(AB)every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore ^(AC)it is necessary that this One also have something to offer.

The Heavenly Sanctuary

¹¹ But Christ came as High Priest of ^(A)the good things ^[a]to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. ¹² Not ^(B)with the blood of goats and calves, but ^(C)with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place ^(D)once for all, ^(E)having obtained eternal redemption. ¹³ For if ^(F)the blood of bulls and goats and ^(G)the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, ^[b]sanctifies for the ^[c]purifying of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without ^[d]spot to God, ^(H)cleanse your conscience from ^(I)dead works ^(J)to serve the living God? ¹⁵ And for this reason ^(K)He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that ^(L)those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.