Hebrews 7
7
Melchizedek, the Priest of the Most High God
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God—who met Abraham when he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him— 2 to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth of everything—first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace— 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but bearing a resemblance to the Son of God*—remains a priest perpetually.
4 Now consider how great this one was, to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And indeed, those of the sons of Levi, who receive the priestly office have a commandment to take a tenth from the people according to the Law, that is, from their brothers, although they are descended from Abraham.* 6 But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them took a tenth from Abraham and pronounced a blessing on the one who had the promises. 7 And without any dispute, the lesser is blessed by the greater. 8 And in this instance, men* who die receive tithes, but in that instance, it is attested that he lives on. 9 And, so to speak, through Abraham, even Levi, who received tithes, has paid tithes, 10 for he was still in the loins* of his father when Melchizedek met him.
The Priesthood of Jesus According to the Order of Melchizedek
11 Now if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood—for on the basis of it the people received the Law—what further need would there have been* for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not said to be according to the order of Aaron? 12 For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity, a change of Law also takes place. 13 For the One of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord* arose from Judah, a tribe as to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. 15 And it is even more evident, if another priest according to the likeness of Melchizedek arises, 16 who has become such,* not according to a legal requirement based on bodily descent,* but according to the power of an indestructible* life. 17 For it is attested,
“You are a priest forever,*
according to the order of Melchizedek.”*
18 For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a preceding commandment because of its weakness and uselessness* 19 (for the Law made nothing perfect), but on the other hand, there is* a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. 20 And inasmuch as it was not without an oath—for those indeed became priests without an oath, 21 but He with an oath through the One who said to Him,
“The Lord has sworn,
and will not change His mind:
‘You are a priest forever.’ ”***
22 By so much more, then,* Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
23 Now those priests existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, 24 but because He abides forever,* He holds a perpetual priesthood. 25 Therefore, He is able also to save completely* those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.*
26 For such a high priest was indeed fitting for us—holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens*— 27 who has no need every day, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for those of the people, for He did this once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the Law appoints men as high priests who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came into existence after the Law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.*
Notes
3 Or but bearing an analogy to the Son of God , or but typifying the Son of God
5 Greek although they come from the loins of Abraham
8 Or people, as the term is understood in a generic sense
10 Or body
11 The conditional perfect construction would there have been is supplied to the text on contextual considerations for the sake of clarity
14 Two Greek manuscripts read our Lord Jesus
16 The pronoun such is supplied to the text on contextual considerations for the sake of clarity
16 Greek according to a law of a freshly commandment
16 Or endless
17 Greek to the age
17 Quoted from Ps. 110:4
18 Or unprofitability
21 Greek to the age
21 Some ancient manuscripts insert according to the order of Melchizedek after the verse, in alignment with v. 17
21 Quoted from Ps. 110:4
22 Some ancient manuscripts omit then
24 Greek to the age
25 Greek save to the complete
25 Greek since He always lives in order to intercede for them
26 Greek having become exalted above the heavens
28 Greek to the age
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Hebrews 7: AFINTLIT
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
