Hebrews 7
New Catholic Bible
A Different Kind of High Priest[a]
Chapter 7
Melchizedek.[b] 1 This Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, met Abraham as he was returning from his defeat of the kings, and he blessed him. 2 Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. His name first means “king of righteousness,” and then “king of Salem,” that is, “king of peace.” 3 Without father, or mother, or genealogy, and without beginning of days or end of life, thus bearing a resemblance to the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
4 Just consider now how great this man must have been for the patriarch Abraham to give him a tenth of his spoils. 5 The descendants of Levi who succeed to the priestly office are required by the Law to collect tithes from the people, that is, from their fellow countrymen, although they too are descended from Abraham. 6 However, Melchizedek, who was not of the same ancestry, received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises.
7 It is indisputable that a lesser person is blessed by one who is greater. 8 In the one case, it is ordinary mortal men who receive tithes; in the other, the recipient is one of whom it is attested that he is alive. 9 One could even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, actually paid tithes through Abraham, 10 inasmuch as he was still in his father’s loins when Melchizedek met Abraham.
11 Another High Priest according to the Order of Melchizedek.[c] If perfection was therefore achieved through the Levitical priesthood, on the basis of which the Law was given to the people, what need would there have been for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek rather than one according to the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is any change in the priesthood, there must also be a change in the Law.
13 Now the one about whom these things were said belonged to a different tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is clear that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe about which Moses said nothing in regard to priests.
15 This becomes even more obvious now that another priest has arisen, one like Melchizedek, 16 who was one not through a legal requirement concerning physical descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is attested of him:
“You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”
18 The earlier commandment is abrogated because of its weakness and ineffectiveness, 19 since the Law brought nothing to perfection. On the other hand, a better hope is introduced through which we draw nearer to God.
20 This was confirmed by an oath. When others became priests, no oath was required, 21 but this one became a priest with the swearing of an oath by the one who said to him,
“The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent:
‘You are a priest forever.’ ”
22 Accordingly, Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant.
23 Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from remaining in office. 24 However, Jesus holds a perpetual priesthood because he remains forever. 25 Therefore, he has the full power to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to intercede for them.
26 The High Priest That We Needed.[d] It was fitting that we should have such a high priest—holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and raised high above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people. He accomplished this once for all when he offered himself. 28 The Law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the Law, appointed the Son who has been made perfect forever.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 7:1 A mysterious figure made his appearance in the story of Abraham: Melchizedek (see Gen 14:17-20), and Ps 110—which held a special place in Israel’s meditation on the Messiah—speaks of a mysterious priesthood of the kind exercised by Melchizedek (v. 4). The Letter to the Hebrews says that those passages foretell the priesthood of Christ. Yet the priesthood of Christ cannot be measured by the same standard as the Jewish priesthood, because it renders the latter obsolete.
- Hebrews 7:1 The figure of Melchizedek is full of symbols. His name means “king of righteousness”; his reign was one of “peace.” Most unusually, the Bible gives us no chronological or genealogical information about him, naming neither his ancestors nor his descendants. His priesthood does not seem to be connected in any way with a hereditary line of priests, but only with his own person, as though it were something everlasting. And Abraham, to whom is given all the power to bless and the promises for Israel, receives a blessing from Melchizedek and offers him a tithe. All the more, then, does this priest stand above all the descendants of the Patriarch, and especially Levi, from whom descends all the Jewish priests whose standing the people acknowledge by paying them a tithe (see Lev 27:30-33; Num 18:21f). In the person of Abraham, they all bowed down to the mysterious priesthood of Melchizedek, who prefigured Jesus.
- Hebrews 7:11 Jesus Christ, foretold by the person of Melchizedek, does not have a place in the priestly genealogies that were set up after Moses; his priesthood is based on the commitment of God himself, on the divine oath (vv. 20-22). He is the definitive mediator between God and humanity.
- Hebrews 7:26 A first conclusion rises as a chant of freedom and a beautiful hymn to Christ. Perishable offerings are no longer anything but a symbol of self-giving already completed in reality: Christ alone can commit himself completely to God, become an offering, and in his very person be the representative of human beings before God. The Son who has been made perfect forever: Jesus, the Son, is God, and he shares the divine attributes, e.g., holiness (see v. 26; Jn 8:46; 2 Cor 5:21); eternity (see Mic 5:2; Jn 1:1; 8:58; 17:5, 24; Col 1:17); omnipotence (see Heb 1:3; Mt 28:18; Rev 1:8); omniscience (see Mt 9:4; Jn 6:64; 16:30; Col 2:3); immutability (see Heb 1:11f; 13:8); omnipresence (see Mt 28:20; Jn 3:13; Eph 1:23); creative power (see Heb 1:8, 10; Jn 1:3; 1 Cor 8:6; Col 1:16f); power to forgive sins (see Mk 2:5, 7-10; Lk 24:47; Jn 1:29; Acts 10:43; 1 Jn 1:7); the right to be worshiped (see Mt 8:2; Phil 2:10).
Hebrews 7
The Voice
7 In the Book of Genesis, we read about when Melchizedek, the king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he returned from defeating King Chedorlaomer and his allies. Melchizedek blessed our ancestor, and 2 Abraham gave him a tenth of everything captured in the battle.[a]
Let’s look more closely at Melchizedek. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; and his title, king of Salem, means “king of peace.” 3 The Scriptures don’t name his mother or father or descendants, and they don’t record his birth or his death. We could say he’s like the Son of God: eternal, a priest forever.
4 And just imagine how great this man was, that even our great and honorable patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the spoils. 5 Compare him to the priests who serve in our temple, the descendants of Levi, who were given a commandment in the law of Moses to collect one-tenth of the income of the tribes of Israel. The priests took that tithe from their own people, even though they were also descended from Abraham. 6 But this man, Melchizedek, who did not belong to that Levite ancestry, collected a tenth part of Abraham’s income; and although Abraham had received the promises, it was Melchizedek who blessed Abraham. 7 Now I don’t have to tell you that it is the lesser one who receives a blessing from the greater. 8 In the case of the priests descended from Levi, they are mortal men who receive a tithe of one-tenth; but the Scriptures record no death of Melchizedek, the one who received Abraham’s tithe. 9 I guess you could even say that Levi, who receives our tithes, originally paid tithes through Abraham 10 because he was still unborn and only a part of his ancestor when Abraham met Melchizedek.
So Melchizedek must be considered superior even to the patriarch Abraham.
11 If a perfect method of reconciling with God—a perfect priesthood—had been found in the sons of Levi (a priesthood that communicated God’s law to the people), then why would the Scriptures speak of another priest, a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, instead of, say, from the order of Aaron? What would be the need for it? It would reflect a new way of relating to God 12 because when there is a change in the priesthood there must be a corresponding change in the law as well. 13 We’re talking about someone who comes from another tribe, from which no member has ever served at God’s altar. 14 It’s clear that Jesus, our Lord, descended from the tribe of Judah; but Moses never spoke about priests from that tribe. 15 Doesn’t it seem obvious? Jesus is a priest who resembles Melchizedek in so many ways; 16 He is someone who has become a priest, not because of some requirement about human lineage, but because of the power of a life without end. 17 Remember, the psalmist says,
You are a priest forever—
in the honored order of Melchizedek.[b]
18 Because the earlier commandment was weak and did not reconcile us to God effectively, it was set aside— 19 after all, the law could not make anyone or anything perfect. God has now introduced a new and better hope, through which we may draw near to Him, 20 and confirmed it by swearing to it. 21 The Levite order of priests took office without an oath, but this man Jesus became a priest through God’s oath:
The Eternal One has sworn an oath
and cannot change His mind:
You are a priest forever.[c]
22 So we can see that Jesus has become the guarantee of a new and better covenant. 23 Further, the prior priesthood of the sons of Levi has included many priests because death cut short their service, 24 but Jesus holds His priesthood permanently because He lives His resurrected life forever. 25 From such a vantage, He is able to save those who approach God through Him for all time because He will forever live to be their advocate in the presence of God.
26 It is only fitting that we should have a High Priest who is devoted to God, blameless, pure, compassionate toward but separate from sinners, and exalted by God to the highest place of honor. 27 Unlike other high priests, He does not first need to make atonement every day for His own sins, and only then for His people’s, because He already made atonement, reconciling us with God once and forever when He offered Himself as a sacrifice. 28 The law made imperfect men high priests; but after that law was given, God swore an oath that made His perfected Son a high priest for all time.
Footnotes
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.