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New Testament · Hebrews §5.1-5.14

Christ's High Priesthood in the Order of Melchizedek

Passage 5 of 13 · Greek

Summary

The text discusses the qualifications of a high priest and Christ's divine appointment according to the order of Melchizedek, while rebuking the audience for their spiritual immaturity.

§5.1Πᾶς γὰρ ἀρχιερεὺς ἐξ ἀνθρώπων λαμβανόμενος ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπων καθίσταται τὰ πρὸς τὸν θεόν, ἵνα προσφέρῃ δῶρά [τε] καὶ θυσίας ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν,
For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
§5.2μετριοπαθεῖν δυνάμενος τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι καὶ πλανωμένοις, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὸς περίκειται ἀσθένειαν,
He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.
§5.3καὶ διʼ αὐτὴν ὀφείλει, καθὼς περὶ τοῦ λαοῦ, οὕτως καὶ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ προσφέρειν περὶ ἁμαρτιῶν.
Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.
§5.4καὶ οὐχ ἑαυτῷ τις λαμβάνει τὴν τιμήν, ἀλλὰ καλούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, καθώσπερ καὶ Ἀαρών.
And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
§5.5Οὕτως καὶ ὁ χριστὸς οὐχ ἑαυτὸν ἐδόξασεν γενηθῆναι ἀρχιερέα, ἀλλʼ ὁ λαλήσας πρὸς αὐτόν " Υἱός μου εἶ σύ, ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε· " §5.6καθὼς καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ λέγει " Σὺ ἱερεὺς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Μελχισεδέκ. " §5.7ὃς ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ, δεήσεις τε καὶ ἱκετηρίας πρὸς τὸν δυνάμενον σώζειν αὐτὸν ἐκ θανάτου μετὰ κραυγῆς ἰσχυρᾶς καὶ δακρύων προσενέγκας καὶ εἰσακουσθεὶς ἀπὸ τῆς εὐλαβείας,
So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.
§5.8καίπερ ὢν υἱός, ἔμαθεν ἀφʼ ὧν ἔπαθεν τὴν ὑπακοήν,
Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.
§5.9καὶ τελειωθεὶς ἐγένετο πᾶσιν τοῖς ὑπακούουσιν αὐτῷ αἴτιος σωτηρίας αἰωνίου, §5.10προσαγορευθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀρχιερεὺς "κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Μελχισεδέκ. " §5.11Περὶ οὗ πολὺς ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος καὶ δυσερμήνευτος ἐπεὶ νωθροὶ γεγόνατε ταῖς ἀκοαῖς·
And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest "after the order of Melchizedek." About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
λέγειν, §5.12καὶ γὰρ ὀφείλοντες εἶναι διδάσκαλοι διὰ τὸν χρόνον, πάλιν χρείαν ἔχετε τοῦ διδάσκειν ὑμᾶς τινὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν λογίων τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ γεγόνατε χρείαν ἔχοντες γάλακτος, οὐ στερεᾶς τροφῆς. §5.13πᾶς γὰρ ὁ μετέχων γάλακτος ἄπειρος λόγου δικαιοσύνης, νήπιος γάρ ἐστιν·
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.
§5.14τελείων δέ ἐστιν ἡ στερεὰ τροφή, τῶν διὰ τὴν ἕξιν τὰ αἰσθητήρια γεγυμνασμένα ἐχόντων πρὸς διάκρισιν καλοῦ τε καὶ κακοῦ.
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Notes

  1. §5.2περίκειται ἀσθένειαν — The verb περίκειμαι ('to wear, be surrounded by') functions transitively here, directly governing the accusative noun ἀσθένειαν, representing a construct where a passive-leaning verb retains or takes an accusative of respect/object.
  2. §5.5γενηθῆναι ἀρχιερέα — The infinitive γενηθῆναι acts as an object complement or appositive to the action of ἐδόξασεν, clarifying the content of the glory ('to be made a high priest') that Christ did not grasp for himself.
  3. §5.7ὃς ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις... — A long relative clause starting with the relative pronoun ὃς (referring to Christ), where the main verb is ἔμαθεν in §5.8. The structure is heavily suspended by several participial phrases (προσενέγκας, εἰσακουσθεὶς, and ὢν), resulting in a wide hyperbaton between the subject and the main verb.
  4. §5.12τοῦ διδάσκειν ὑμᾶς τινὰ — The genitive infinitive phrase τοῦ διδάσκειν modifies the noun χρείαν ('need'). The word τινά is best understood as the subject accusative of the infinitive ('for someone to teach you'), rather than a neuter plural object ('certain elements'), given the contrast with them being expected to be teachers.

Cite this passage

New Testament, Hebrews §5.1-5.14. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0031.tlg019.humanitext-grc2:5.1-5.14

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