Hebrews 7-8
Expanded Bible
The Priest Melchizedek
7 Melchizedek [C a priest and king in the time of Abraham; Gen. 14:17–24; Heb. 5:6, 10; 6:20] was the king of Salem [C another name for Jerusalem, meaning “peace”; v. 2] and a priest for God Most High. He met Abraham when Abraham was coming back after ·defeating [L the slaughter of] the kings [Gen. 14:17–19]. When they met, Melchizedek blessed Abraham, 2 and Abraham ·gave [L apportioned/divided to] him a ·tenth [tithe] ·of everything he had brought back from the battle [L of everything]. First, Melchizedek’s name means “king of ·goodness [righteousness; justice],” and he is king of Salem [C another name for Jerusalem], which means “king of peace.” 3 ·No one knows who Melchizedek’s father or mother was [L …without father, without mother], ·where he came from [L without genealogy], ·when he was born, or when he died [L having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; C something unstated was assumed not to exist]. Melchizedek is like the Son of God; he continues being a priest forever [C Melchizedek’s unmentioned genealogy in Genesis is, by analogy, like Jesus’ eternal Sonship and priesthood].
4 You can see how great Melchizedek was. Abraham, the ·great father [patriarch], gave him a tenth of ·everything that he won in battle [the spoils/booty/plunder]. 5 Now the law ·says [authorizes; commands] that those ·in the tribe [L of the sons/descendants] of Levi who become priests must collect a ·tenth [tithe] from the people—their ·own people [L brothers (and sisters)]—even though ·the priests and the people [L they] ·are from the family [are also descendants; L have come from the loins/body] of Abraham. 6 [L But] Melchizedek was not ·from the tribe of Levi [L descended from them; v. 3; C he was not from the Levitical line of priests], but he collected a ·tenth [tithe] from Abraham. And he blessed Abraham, the man who had God’s promises [Gen. 12:1–3]. 7 Now ·everyone knows [it is indisputable] that the ·more important person blesses the less important person [L lesser/inferior is blessed by the greater/superior]. 8 ·Priests receive a tenth, even though they are only men who live and then die [L In the one case, mortal men receive a tithe,…]. ·But Melchizedek, who received a tenth from Abraham, continues living, as the Scripture says [L …but in the other case, the one (receives the tithe) who is declared (by Scripture) to be alive]. 9 We might even say that Levi, who receives a ·tenth [tithe], also paid it when Abraham paid Melchizedek a tenth. 10 Levi was not yet born, but he was in the ·body [loins] of his ancestor when Melchizedek met Abraham [C the Levitical priesthood is considered inferior to Melchizedek’s (and Christ’s) priesthood, since Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek through his ancestor Abraham].
11 ·The people were given the law concerning the system of priests from the tribe of Levi, but they could not be made perfect through that system [L If perfection could be attained through the Levitical priesthood, established for the people in the law…]. ·So there was [L …why was there…?] a need for another priest to come, a priest ·like [L in the priestly order/line of] Melchizedek, not [L in the priestly order/line of] Aaron [C Moses’ brother and Israel’s first high priest (5:4; Ex. 28:1); the existence of Melchizedek’s priestly line implies that the priesthood through Levi and Aaron was inadequate]. 12 And when a different ·kind of priest [priesthood; priestly line] comes, the law must be changed, too. 13 ·We are saying these things about Christ, who [L For the one about whom these things are said] belonged to a different tribe [C Jesus belonged to the tribe of Judah, not Levi]. No one from that tribe [C Judah] ever served as a priest at the altar. 14 It is clear that our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses said nothing about priests belonging to that tribe [C the kings from David’s line (including Jesus) came from the tribe of Judah, but the OT priesthood came through Levi and Aaron].
Jesus Is like Melchizedek
15 And this becomes even more clear ·when we see that [L if] another priest ·comes [arises; appears on the scene] who is like Melchizedek [vv. 1–14]. 16 He was not made a priest by ·human rules and laws [or regulations about physical descent/ancestry] but through the power of his life, which ·continues forever [or is indestructable]. 17 [L For] It is said about him,
“You are a priest forever,
·a priest like [L in the priestly order/line of] Melchizedek [Ps. 110:4; Heb. 5:6, 10].”
18 The ·old [former] ·rule [commandment; regulation] is now ·set aside [nullified; abolished], because it was weak and ·useless [ineffective]. 19 The law [C of Moses] could not make anything perfect. But now a better hope has been given to us, and ·with [by means of; through] this hope we can ·come near to [approach] God. 20 ·It is important that God did this with an oath [L And it was not without an oath]. Others became priests without an oath, 21 but ·Christ [L he] became a priest with an oath, ·when God said [L by the one who said] to him:
“The Lord has ·made a promise [L sworn; C an oath]
and will not change his mind.
‘You are a priest forever [v. 17; Ps. 110:4].’”
22 ·This means that [Because of this oath,] Jesus is the guarantee of a better ·agreement from God to his people [covenant; contract; 8:7–13; Jer. 31:31–34; C the new covenant is greater than the old (the law of Moses) because it provides true forgiveness of sins].
23 When one of the other priests died, he could not continue being a priest. So there were many priests. 24 But because Jesus ·lives [remains; abides] forever, he ·will never stop serving as priest [L has a permanent/eternal priesthood]. 25 So he is able ·always to save [or to save completely/forever] those who come to God through him because he always lives, ·asking God to help [interceding for] them.
26 ·Jesus is the kind of high priest we need [L For such a high priest is indeed suited/fitting for us]. He is holy, ·sinless [innocent; blameless], ·pure [undefiled], ·not influenced by [set apart from] sinners, and he is ·raised above the heavens [or having the highest place in heaven]. 27 He is not like the other priests who had to offer sacrifices every day, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people. Christ offered his sacrifice only once and for all time [9:12; 10:10] when he offered himself. 28 The law ·chooses [designates; appoints] high priests who are people with weaknesses [5:2], but the word of God’s oath came later than the law. It made God’s Son to be the high priest, and that Son has been made perfect forever [2:10; 5:9].
Jesus Is Our High Priest
8 Here is the [main; most important] point of what we are saying: We have a high priest who sits on the right side of ·God’s [L the Majesty’s] throne in heaven. 2 Our high priest ·serves [ministers; performs priestly service] in the ·Most Holy Place [sanctuary; L holy things], the true ·place of worship [Tabernacle; Holy Tent; Ex. 33:7] that was made by the Lord, not by humans.
3 [L For] Every high priest ·has the work of offering [is appointed to offer] gifts and sacrifices to God. So our high priest must also ·offer something to God [L have something to offer]. 4 If our high priest were now living on earth, he would not be a priest, because there are already priests here who follow the law by offering gifts to God. 5 ·The work they do as priests [or The sanctuary in which they serve] is only a ·copy [model; prototype] and a shadow of what is in heaven. This is why God warned Moses when he was ready to build the ·Holy Tent [T Tabernacle]: “Be very careful to make everything by the ·plan [pattern; design] I showed you on the mountain [Ex. 25:40].” 6 But the priestly ·work [service; ministry] that has been given to Jesus is ·much greater than [far superior to] the work that was given to the other priests. In the same way, the new ·agreement [covenant; contract] that Jesus ·brought from God to his people [L mediates] is much ·greater [better] than the old one. And the new ·agreement [covenant; contract] is ·based [founded; legally enacted] on ·promises of better things [L better promises; C all God’s promises are reliable, but these promises bring greater blessings].
7 If there had been ·nothing wrong [no fault] with the first ·agreement [covenant; contract; C given to Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai], there would have been no ·need for [or reason to look for; or occasion for God to establish] a second ·agreement [L one; C the Mosaic covenant was insufficient because it did not provide true forgiveness of sins; 10:1]. 8 But God ·found something wrong with his people and said [or found fault with the covenant, and said to his people]:[a]
“·Look [T Behold], the ·time is [days are] coming, says the Lord,
when I will ·make [complete; establish] a new ·agreement [covenant; contract]
with the ·people [L house] of Israel
and the ·people [L house] of Judah.
9 It will not be like the ·agreement [covenant]
I made with their ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers]
when I took them by the hand
to bring them out of [L the land of] Egypt.
But they ·broke [L did not abide by] that ·agreement [covenant; contract],
and I ·turned away from [abandoned; stopped caring for] them, says the Lord.
10 [For; But] This is the ·agreement [covenant; contract] I will make
with the ·people [L house] of Israel ·at that time [L after those days], says the Lord.
I will put my ·teachings [L laws] in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
11 People will no longer have to teach their ·neighbors [fellow citizens] and ·relatives [L brothers (and sisters)]
·to know the Lord [L saying, “Know the Lord”],
because all people will know me,
from the least to the ·most important [greatest].
12 I will ·forgive them for [be merciful with regard to] ·the wicked things they did [their unrighteousness/wickedness],
and I will not remember their sins anymore [Jer. 31:31–34; Luke 22:20].”
13 God called this a new ·agreement [covenant; contract], so he has made ·the first agreement [L the first one] ·old [obsolete; outdated]. And anything that is ·old [obsolete; outdated] and worn out is ready to disappear.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 8:8 But … said Some Greek copies read “But God found something wrong and said to his people.”
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