The King of Righteousness^(A)

7 For this ^(B)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 ^(C)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 ^(D)and blessed ^(E)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, ^(F)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^(G)

^11 (H)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 ^(I)our Lord arose from ^(J)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 ^(L)its weakness and unprofitableness, ¹⁹ for ^(M)the law made nothing ^[e]perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of ^(N)a better hope, through which ^(O)we draw near to God.

Faithful Abraham^(A)

⁸ By faith ^(B)Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, ^(C)dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, ^(D)the heirs with him of the same promise; ¹⁰ for he waited for ^(E)the city which has foundations, ^(F)whose builder and maker is God.

¹¹ By faith ^(G)Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and ^(H)she^[a] bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him ^(I)faithful who had promised. ¹² Therefore from one man, and him as good as ^(J)dead, were born as many as the ^(K)stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ^(A)

1 The book of the ^(B)genealogy^[a] of Jesus Christ, ^(C)the Son of David, ^(D)the Son of Abraham:

^2 (E)Abraham begot Isaac, ^(F)Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot ^(G)Judah and his brothers. ^3 (H)Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, ^(I)Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. ⁴ Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. ⁵ Salmon begot ^(J)Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, ⁶ and ^(K)Jesse begot David the king.

^(L)David the king begot Solomon by her ^[b]who had been the wife of Uriah. ^7 (M)Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot ^(N)Abijah, and Abijah begot ^[c]Asa. ⁸ Asa begot ^(O)Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot ^(P)Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot ^(Q)Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. ^10 (R)Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot ^[d]Amon, and Amon begot ^(S)Josiah. ^11 (T)Josiah begot ^[e]Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were ^(U)carried away to Babylon.

¹² And after they were brought to Babylon, ^(V)Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot ^(W)Zerubbabel. ¹³ Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. ¹⁴ Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. ¹⁵ Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. ¹⁶ And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of ^(X)Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.