Melchizedek and Abraham

¹This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High.He met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,

²and Abraham apportioned to him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness.” Then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”

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.

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.

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

⁷And indisputably, the lesser is blessed by the greater.

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.

¹⁰For when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the loin of his ancestor.

A Superior Priesthood

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.

¹³He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar.

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

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

¹⁶one who has become a priest not by a law of succession, but by the power of an indestructible life.

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

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

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

²⁰And none of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without an oath,

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.’”

²²Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

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.

²⁵Therefore He is able to save completelythose who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.

²⁶Such a high priest truly befits us—One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

²⁷Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people; He sacrificed for sin once for all when He offered up Himself.

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.

Christ’s Eternal Priesthood

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,

²and who ministers in the sanctuary and true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.

³And since every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, it was necessary for this One also to have something to offer.

⁴Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are already priests who offer gifts according to the law.

⁵The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

The New Covenant

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.

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

⁹It will not be like the covenantI made with their fatherswhen I took them by the handto lead them out of the land of Egypt,because they did not abide by My covenant,and I disregarded them,declares the Lord.

¹⁰For this is the covenant I will makewith the house of Israelafter those days,declares the Lord.I will put My laws in their mindsand 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.

¹²For I will forgive their iniquitiesand will remember their sins no more.”

¹³By speaking of a new covenant,He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

Christ’s Perfect Sacrifice

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.

²If it could, would not the offerings have ceased? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt the guilt of their sins.

³Instead, those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins,

⁴because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said:“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,but a body You prepared for Me.

⁶In burnt offerings and sin offeringsYou 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.’”

⁸In the passage above He says, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire, nor did You delight in them” (although they are offered according to the law).

⁹Then He adds, “Here I am, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second.

¹⁰And by that will, we have been sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹Day after day every priest stands to minister and to offer again and again the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

¹²But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.

¹³Since that time, He waits for His enemies to be made a footstool for His feet,

¹⁴because by a single offering He has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified.

¹⁵The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First He says:

¹⁶“This is the covenant I will make with themafter those days, declares the Lord.I will put My laws in their heartsand inscribe them on their minds.”

¹⁷Then He adds:“Their sins and lawless actsI will remember no more.”

¹⁸And where these have been forgiven, an offering for sin is no longer needed.

A Call to Persevere

¹⁹Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Placeby the blood of Jesus,

²⁰by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body,

²¹and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

²²let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

²³Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

²⁴And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.

²⁵Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

²⁶If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,

²⁷but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.

²⁸Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

²⁹How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

³⁰For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,”and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”

³¹It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³²Remember the early days that you were in the light.In those days, you endured a great conflict in the face of suffering.

³³Sometimes you were publicly exposed to ridicule and persecution; at other times you were partners with those who were so treated.

³⁴You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession.

³⁵So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.

³⁶You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.

³⁷For,“In just a little while,He who is coming will come and will not delay.

³⁸But My righteous one will live by faith;and if he shrinks back,I will take no pleasure in him.”

³⁹But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

I Waited Patiently for the LORD

¹I waited patiently for the LORD;He inclined to me and heard my cry.

²He lifted me up from the pit of despair,out of the miry clay;He set my feet upon a rock,and made my footsteps firm.

³He put a new song in my mouth,a hymn of praise to our God.Many will see and fearand put their trust in the LORD.

⁴Blessed is the manwho has made the LORD his trust,who has not turned to the proud,nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

⁵Many, O LORD my God,are the wonders You have done,and the plans You have for us—none can compare to You—if I proclaim and declare them,they are more than I can count.

⁶Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,but my ears You have opened.Burnt offerings and sin offeringsYou did not require.

⁷Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll:

⁸I delight to do Your will, O my God;Your law is within my heart.”

⁹I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;behold, I do not seal my lips,as You, O LORD, do know.

¹⁰I have not covered up Your righteousness in my heart;I have declared Your faithfulness and salvation;I have not concealed Your loving devotion and faithfulnessfrom the great assembly.

¹¹O LORD, do not withhold Your mercy from me;Your loving devotion and faithfulness will always guard me.

¹²For evils without number surround me;my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see.They are more than the hairs of my head,and my heart has failed within me.

¹³Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;hurry, O LORD, to help me.

¹⁴May those who seek my lifebe ashamed and confounded;may those who wish me harmbe repelled and humiliated.

¹⁵May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!”be appalled at their own shame.

¹⁶May all who seek Yourejoice and be glad in You;may those who love Your salvationalways say, “The LORD be magnified!”

¹⁷But I am poor and needy;may the Lord think of me.You are my helper and deliverer;O my God, do not delay.