Hebrews 7

¹⁸Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine—since he was priest of God Most High—

¹⁹and he blessed Abram and said: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

²I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me.

²⁰where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

⁶With what shall I come before the Lord when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?

¹⁸As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.

²His tent is in Salem, His dwelling place in Zion.

²¹Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.

¹⁵He will take a tenth of your grain and grape harvest and give it to his officials and servants.

¹⁷He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.

³The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, ‘He who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God,

¹⁰Loving devotion and faithfulness have joined together; righteousness and peace have kissed.

¹¹Faithfulness sprouts from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.

¹⁵Thus David reigned over all Israel and administered justice and righteousness for all his people:

¹⁷For it is testified: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

²⁰And Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.

²¹The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

²³Now there have been many other priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office.

²⁴But because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood.

⁶But Melchizedek, who did not trace his descent from Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.

³The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

¹⁸The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.

²⁰and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.

²⁹Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

⁵No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

⁶I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.

²I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

⁸Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

⁹Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him

²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

³⁰Thus any tithe from the land, whether from the seed of the land or the fruit of the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.

³¹If a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he must add a fifth to its value.

⁴Moreover, he commanded the people living in Jerusalem to make a contribution for the priests and Levites so that they could devote themselves to the Law of the Lord.

⁵As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously provided the firstfruits of the grain, new wine, oil, and honey, and of all the produce of the field, and they brought in an abundance—a tithe of everything.

¹⁰He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.

¹¹Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the Lord! As for Aaron, who is he that you should grumble against him?”

²¹Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.

²²No longer may the Israelites come near to the Tent of Meeting, or they will incur guilt and die.

³and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi, because there must be one staff for the head of each tribe.

⁴Place the staffs in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you.

¹⁹Nevertheless, you are not the one to build it; but your son, your own offspring, will build the house for My Name.’

¹³For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

³Without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest for all time.

⁴Consider how great Melchizedek was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder.

¹⁴After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, “Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are, and look to the north and south and east and west,

¹⁵for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.

⁴“As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.

⁵No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

¹⁷By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,

⁴the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.

²⁷Then the priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard their voice, and their prayer came into His holy dwelling place in heaven.

¹⁵Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

¹⁶the angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.”

²⁰But Isaac asked his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” he replied.

²¹Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau, or not?”

¹⁴The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

⁵⁵And he stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:

¹⁶By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.

²⁰where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

⁶And in another passage God says: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.

²³Now there have been many other priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office.

¹⁹In a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live.

²⁴For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.

²⁵Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.

¹²Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.

²⁰and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.

⁴Consider how great Melchizedek was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder.

⁵Now the law commands the sons of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their brothers—though they too are descended from Abraham.

²⁶All those belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt—his direct descendants, besides the wives of Jacob’s sons—numbered sixty-six persons.

¹¹And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation—even a company of nations—shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you.

⁷For if that first covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second.

²¹I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

⁹But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

¹⁷For it is testified: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸So the former commandment is set aside because it was weak and useless

¹⁰For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.

¹¹No longer will each one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest.

⁶And in another passage God says: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

³¹Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

³²It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

²¹“And I will select some of them as priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

¹³where they presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.

¹⁴For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”

⁶¹Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of My covenant with you.

¹¹Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on this basis the people received the law), why was there still need for another priest to appear—one in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron?

¹⁴For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe as to which Moses said nothing about priests.

⁵The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid Myself of the constant grumbling of the Israelites against you.”

¹⁶But when Uzziah became powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

¹⁷Then Azariah the priest, along with eighty brave priests of the Lord, went in after him.

⁴⁰just as the Lord commanded him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the Lord, lest he become like Korah and his followers.

²But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.

¹Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

⁵Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

³³the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

¹⁰The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.

³regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh,

⁴The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁷For it is testified: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸So the former commandment is set aside because it was weak and useless

³Without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest for all time.

¹¹Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on this basis the people received the law), why was there still need for another priest to appear—one in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron?

¹⁸the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.

⁹But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

³So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.

²⁰If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations:

¹For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.

¹⁴having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!

⁴The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

⁶And in another passage God says: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁵And this point is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears,

²¹but Jesus became a priest with an oath by the One who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’”

¹⁰and was designated by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

²⁰where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

³For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,

³⁹Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

¹¹Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on this basis the people received the law), why was there still need for another priest to appear—one in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron?

¹²For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed as well.

⁹But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

⁷For if that first covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second.

⁸But God found fault with the people and said: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

¹⁹(for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

³⁹Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

¹⁶Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

⁹It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper.

³For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,

¹⁸Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.

²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

⁷But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”

⁶And in another passage God says: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

⁴The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

⁴The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁷For it is testified: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁶Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and their oath serves as a confirmation to end all argument.

¹⁷So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath.

²⁹Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”

²⁵In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

⁶Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises.

⁷For if that first covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second.

²⁰Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,

²⁰In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.

²⁴to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

¹⁵Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

¹⁶In the case of a will, it is necessary to establish the death of the one who made it,

¹⁰Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim was the father of Eliashib, Eliashib was the father of Joiada,

¹¹Joiada was the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua.

⁸In the case of the Levites, mortal men collect the tenth; but in the case of Melchizedek, it is affirmed that he lives on.

³The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

⁴Eleazar was the father of Phinehas, Phinehas was the father of Abishua,

³⁴The crowd replied, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever. So how can You say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”

²⁸For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.

¹⁸the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.

⁸In the case of the Levites, mortal men collect the tenth; but in the case of Melchizedek, it is affirmed that he lives on.

⁹And so to speak, Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham.

⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

³⁴Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.

¹My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

²He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

⁵For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

²⁴Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—

⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

¹⁸For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

²¹God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

²²“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”

¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.

¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.

²He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

¹The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,

³The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

¹²He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.

²⁸so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.

¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!

²and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.

⁶In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight.

⁷Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about Me in the scroll: I have come to do Your will, O God.’”

¹⁴He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

¹⁰In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

²But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.

²¹but Jesus became a priest with an oath by the One who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’”

¹Every high priest is appointed from among men to represent them in matters relating to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

²He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and misguided, since he himself is subject to weakness.

³²But Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I will keep driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach My goal.’

⁴The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”