Hebrews 5
J.B. Phillips New Testament
A High Priest must be duly qualified and divinely appointed
5 1-3 Note that when a man is chosen as High Priest he is appointed on men’s behalf as their representative in the things of God—he offers gifts to God and makes the necessary sacrifices for sins on behalf of his fellow-men. He must be able to deal sympathetically with the ignorant and foolish because he realises that he is himself prone to human weakness. This naturally means that the offering which he makes for sin is made on his own personal behalf as well as on behalf of those whom he represents.
4 Note also that nobody chooses for himself the honour of being a High Priest, but he is called by God to the work, as was Aaron, the first High Priest in ancient times.
5 Thus we see that the Christ did not choose for himself the glory of being High Priest, but he was honoured by the one who said: ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’.
6 And he says in another passage: ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’.
Christ, the perfect High Priest, was the perfect Son
7-10 Christ, in the days when he was a man on earth, appealed to the one who could save him from death in desperate prayer and the agony of tears. His prayers were heard; he was freed from his shrinking from death but, Son though he was, he had to prove the meaning of obedience through all that he suffered. Then, when he had been proved the perfect Son, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who should obey him, being now recognised by God himself as High Priest “after the order of Melchizedek.
There is much food for thought here—but only for the mature Christian
11-14 There is a great deal that we should like to say about this high priesthood, but it is not easy to explain to you since you seem so slow to grasp spiritual truth. At a time when you should be teaching others, you need teachers yourselves to repeat to you the ABC of God’s Revelation to men. You have become people who need a milk diet and cannot face solid food! For anyone who continues to live on “milk” is obviously immature—he simply has not grown up. “Solid food” is only for the adult, that is, for the man who has developed by experience his power to discriminate between what is good and bad for him.
Hebrews 5
EasyEnglish Bible
5 Every leader of God's priests comes from among the people. That special priest's work is to serve God on behalf of God's people. He offers gifts and sacrifices to God, so that God will forgive the people's sins. 2 That priest himself may often do wrong things, because he is weak and human. As a result, he understands other people who make mistakes. He can be kind to people who do wrong things. 3 But, because he himself does wrong things, he must offer sacrifices to God on behalf of himself, as well as on behalf of the people.
4 Nobody decides for himself to become a leader of the priests. God himself must choose him. That is how Aaron became a priest.[a]
5 It is the same with Christ. He did not choose himself to be God's special priest. He did not choose to make himself important like that. God chose him. God showed that Christ was very important. God said to him:
‘You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.’[b]
6 And in another place in the Bible God says this:
‘You will be a priest for ever,
in the same way that Melchizedek was a priest long ago.’[c]
7 When Jesus Christ lived on earth as a man, he often prayed to God. He asked God to help him. He prayed strongly and he cried loudly with many tears. He knew that God could save him from death. And God listened to Jesus when he prayed, because Jesus served God.[d]
8 Jesus is God's Son. But he still had trouble and pain. In that way, he learned to obey God completely. 9 As a result, Jesus became the person who can save everyone who obeys him. Because of Jesus, God forgives their sins for ever. 10 God has chosen Jesus to be his special priest in the same way that Melchizedek was.
We must be careful that we do not go away from Christ
11 We have a lot more to say to you about these things. But you are slow to understand things. As a result, it is difficult to explain any more to you now. 12 After all this time as believers in Jesus, you ought to be teachers. Instead of that, you still need someone to teach you the first lessons about God's message. You have become like babies, who need milk instead of proper food. 13 Anyone who still thinks like a baby does not yet understand God's message about what is right. It is as if they are still drinking only milk. 14 People who have grown up eat proper food. In the same way, people who have been believers for a long time should understand more about God's message. They should have learned about what is good and about what is bad. They should know the difference between those.
Footnotes
- 5:4 Aaron was Moses' brother. He lived many years before Jesus was born. He was the first priest for Israel's people. After that, everyone who became a priest needed to be from Aaron's family. See Exodus 28:1; 1 Chronicles 23:13.
- 5:5 See Psalms 2:7.
- 5:6 Long ago, Melchizedek was a priest and a king. Abraham met him and gave gifts to him. See Genesis 14:18-20. Also see Hebrews 7:1-17.
- 5:7 In this verse the writer remembers when Jesus prayed in the garden. Jesus knew that he would die soon. He was very sad. He asked his Father to make him strong. And God did what Jesus asked. See Luke 22:41-44.
Hebrews 5
New King James Version
Qualifications for High Priesthood
5 For every high priest taken from among men (A)is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can [a]have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to (B)weakness. 3 Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for (C)himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. 4 And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as (D)Aaron was.
A Priest Forever
5 (E)So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:
(F)“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.”
6 As He also says in another place:
(G)“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek”;
7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had (H)offered up prayers and supplications, (I)with vehement cries and tears to Him (J)who was able to save Him from death, and was heard (K)because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned (L)obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And (M)having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by God as High Priest (N)“according to the order of Melchizedek,” 11 of whom (O)we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become (P)dull of hearing.
Spiritual Immaturity
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the [b]oracles of God; and you have come to need (Q)milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is (R)a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are [c]of full age, that is, those who by reason of [d]use have their senses exercised (S)to discern both good and evil.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 5:2 deal gently with
- Hebrews 5:12 sayings, Scriptures
- Hebrews 5:14 mature
- Hebrews 5:14 practice
The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
