New King James Version

New Living Translation

The King of Righteousness

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,

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Melchizedek Is Greater Than Abraham

This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him.

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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,”

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Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.”

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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.

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There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors — no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.

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Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the [a]spoils.

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Consider then how great this Melchizedek was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle.

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And indeed 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;

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Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel,a who are also descendants of Abraham.

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but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.

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But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God.

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Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.

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And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.

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Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.

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The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on.

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Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,

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In addition, we might even say that these Levites — the ones who collect the tithe — paid a tithe to Melchizedek when their ancestor Abraham paid a tithe to him.

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for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

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For although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected the tithe from him.

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Need for a New Priesthood

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?

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So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?b

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For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.

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And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit it.

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For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has [b]officiated at the altar.

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For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests.

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For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning [c]priesthood.

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What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe.

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And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest

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Jesus Is like Melchizedek

This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared.

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who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life.

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Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.

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For [d]He testifies:
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”

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And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied,
“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”c

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For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness,

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Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless.

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for the law made nothing [e]perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

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For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

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Greatness of the New Priest

And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath

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This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath,

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(for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:
“The Lord has sworn
And will not relent,
‘You are a priest [f]forever
According to the order of Melchizedek’ ”),

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but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to him,
“The LORD has taken an oath and will not break his vow:
‘You are a priest forever.’”d

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by so much more Jesus has become a [g]surety of a better covenant.

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Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.

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Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing.

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There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office.

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But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.

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But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever.

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Therefore He is also able to save [h]to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

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Therefore he is able, once and forever, to savee those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.

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For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, [i]harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;

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He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.f

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who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

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Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.

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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.

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The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.

Parallel

New King James Version

New Living Translation

Hebrews 7

Hebrews 7