HebrewsChapter 7

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¹This Melchizedek was king of Salem. He was also a priest of God Most High. Abraham was coming home after defeating the kings in battle. Melchizedek met him and blessed him. ²And Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. The name Melchizedek first of all means "king of what is right." Also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace." ³He had no father or mother or family history. His days had no beginning and his life has no end. He is like the Son of God. He stays a priest for all time. ⁴Think about how great Melchizedek was! Even Abraham, our great father, gave him a tenth of what he took in battle. ⁵The law tells the sons of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people. That means from their own brothers, even though they also come from Abraham. ⁶But Melchizedek was not from Levi's family line. Yet he collected a tenth from Abraham. And he blessed Abraham, the one who had God's promises. ⁷And no one can argue with this: the less important person is blessed by the greater one. ⁸The Levites who collect the tenth are men who die. But in the case of Melchizedek, Scripture says that he lives on. ⁹You could even say that Levi paid the tenth through Abraham. And Levi is the one who collects the tenth! ¹⁰That's because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor. ¹¹The people were given the law on the basis of the priests from Levi. Now suppose those priests could have made people perfect. Then why was another priest still needed? Why was there a need for a priest in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? ¹²When the priests are changed, the law must be changed too. ¹³The one we are talking about came from a different tribe. No one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴It is clear that our Lord came from the tribe of Judah. Moses never said anything about priests coming from that tribe. ¹⁵And this point is even clearer if another priest like Melchizedek appears. ¹⁶He did not become a priest by a rule about his family line. He became a priest by the power of a life that can never be destroyed. ¹⁷Scripture says about him, "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." ¹⁸So the old command is set aside. It was weak and useless. ¹⁹The law never made anything perfect. But now a better hope has come. Through it we come near to God. ²⁰And this was done with an oath. The other priests became priests without any oath. ²¹But Jesus became a priest with an oath. God said to him, "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever.'" ²²Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. ²³There have been many other priests. That's because death kept each of them from going on serving. ²⁴But Jesus lives forever. So he is a priest forever, and no one takes his place. ²⁵So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him. That's because he always lives to speak to God for them. ²⁶This is the kind of high priest we truly need. He is holy and has no guilt. He is pure and set apart from sinners. He has been raised higher than the heavens. ²⁷He is not like the other high priests. They had to offer sacrifices every day. First they offered for their own sins, then for the sins of the people. But Jesus made a sacrifice for sin once for all. He did it when he offered himself. ²⁸The law makes weak men high priests. But God's oath came after the law. It made the Son high priest, and he has been made perfect forever.