⁴ Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. ⁵ Surely the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a command to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, from their brothers, though they also come from the seed of Abraham. ⁶ But this man, whose descent is not numbered among them, received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷ Without question, the inferior is blessed by the superior. ⁸ In the one case mortal men receive tithes, but in the other he of whom it is witnessed that he is alive receives them. ⁹ One might say that Levi also, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met Abraham.