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OET (OET-LV) And not on_himself anyone is_taking the honour, but being_called by the god, just_as also Aʼarōn/(ʼAhₐron).
The term “high priest” connects Section 4:14–16 with this section (5:1–10). In this section the author gives more information about the high priests of Israel and the work that they did. Then he compares the work of those high priests to the work of Christ as our high priest. The main point of this section is that Christ is the high priest because God said that he is.
The author mentions three facts about a high priest’s role and applies them to Christ:
A high priest is appointed by God. The Scriptures show that Jesus Christ was appointed by God. In Hebrews 5:5–6, the author quotes Psalm 2:7 and 110:4 as evidence that God appointed him.Lane (page 118) says, “The writer correctly interprets Ps 2:7 as a declaration of appointment…. The same emphasis is evident in the quotation of Ps 110:4.”
A high priest should understand and sympathize with the weaknesses of his people. In 5:7–8 the author talked about how Christ suffered and prayed to God with tears.
A high priest must offer a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the people. In 5:8–9 the author indicated that when Christ suffered and offered himself as a perfect sacrifice, he obtained eternal salvation for his people. This implies that he atoned for their sins.
In the Greek text for this section, the author usually used a pronoun (“he” or “him”) to refer to Christ. He referred to him as “Christ” only once (5:5), and he did not use the term “Jesus” in this section. However, in the previous section (4:14) the author used the term “Jesus, the Son of God.” Consider carefully how to refer to Christ in the verses where only a pronoun is used in Greek or English. You should use the term “Christ” instead of a pronoun in places where you think that the reader will be confused about who the pronoun refers to.
Remember to read the section carefully before deciding on a heading for it. Some other examples of headings for this section are:
Jesus Christ is the perfect high priest
God made his Son the high priest for his people
God declares that Jesus is a priest
This paragraph explains the duties of a high priest. He must offer the people’s gifts to God, and he must offer sacrifices for their sins. He must also offer sacrifices for his own sins, since he, too, is sinful. He is a weak human being, so he is able to sympathize with his fellow human beings.
No one takes this honor upon himself;
No one can take the honor of being the high priest for/upon himself.
A person cannot choose himself for the privilege of being the high priest.
No one takes this honor upon himself: In Greek this clause is more literally “and not to/for himself does anyone take the honor.” It indicates that no one must claim the honor of being high priest for himself. The BSB uses the phrase No one takes…upon himself to emphasize that no person has the right to make himself a high priest. It is God who must choose the high priest.This implies that if a person tries to claim the honor of high priest for himself without God’s choosing him, that person is daring to challenge God.
Some other ways to translate the clause are:
No one chooses for himself the honor of being a high priest. (GNT)
To be a high priest is an honor, but no one chooses himself for this work. (NCV)
And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. (NLT)
this honor: The phrase this honor refers to the important role and work of being a high priest.See τιμή, meaning 2d. BDAG, page 1005. It indicates that being the high priest is a privilege. God has honored the person whom he chooses as high priest. Some other ways to translate the phrase are:
the important position of highest priest
this great respect that the high priest receives
he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.
He can take that honor only if God appoints him, as he appointed Aaron.
God is the one who must call/choose him to be the high priest, as he called/chose Aaron.
he must be called by God: This clause tells how a person can become the high priest. He can have that role only if he is called by God. Notice that the verb called is passive here, though the text indicates that the subject is God. In some languages it is more natural to use an active verb. For example:
but rather it is necessary that God call himKankanaey back translation on TW.
he can take that work/role only if God chooses him to do it
he receives it when called by God (NIV)
called by God: The Greek word that the BSB translates as called means “to choose (a person) to receive a special benefit or experience.”Adopted from the entry on καλέω, meaning 4, BDAG, page 503. God chooses the person whom he wants to be the high priest and to do that special work.
Some other ways to translate the phrase called by God are:
when God chooses him and tells him to do that work
God must appoint him.
It is God who chooses him.
just as Aaron was: The clause just as Aaron was is a short way to say “in the same way that Aaron was called (chosen)” or “like God chose Aaron.” Aaron was the older brother of Moses (see Exodus 7:7), and he was the first high priest. God chose him and his sons to be consecrated as priests after the people of Israel left Egypt.
Some ways to translate this clause are:
like God/he chose Aaron long ago
as Aaron was chosen by God in the past
See Exodus 28–29 and Leviticus 8–9 for more information about God choosing Aaron as the high priest.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
λαμβάνει τὴν τιμήν
˓is˒_taking (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί οὐχ ἑαυτῷ τὶς λαμβάνει τήν τιμήν ἀλλά καλούμενος ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ καθώσπερ καί Ἀαρών)
The word honor refers to the position that gives the person honor. This position is that of high priest. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea by referring to the position of high priest, if possible including the idea that this is an “honored” position. Alternate translation: [takes the honor of being a high priest]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
τὴν τιμήν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί οὐχ ἑαυτῷ τὶς λαμβάνει τήν τιμήν ἀλλά καλούμενος ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ καθώσπερ καί Ἀαρών)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of honor, you could express the idea by using an adjective such as “honorable.” Alternate translation: [becoming honorable in this way]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
ἀλλὰ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί οὐχ ἑαυτῷ τὶς λαμβάνει τήν τιμήν ἀλλά καλούμενος ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ καθώσπερ καί Ἀαρών)
The author is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply these words from the first half of the sentence. Alternate translation: [but he receives this honor only by]
Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
καλούμενος
˓being˒_called
The phrase being called introduces something that could: (1) give the real reason why a person becomes a high priest. Alternate translation: [because he is called] (2) give the situation in which a person actually becomes a high priest. Alternate translation: [when he is called]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἀλλὰ καλούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καθώσπερ καὶ Ἀαρών
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί οὐχ ἑαυτῷ τὶς λαμβάνει τήν τιμήν ἀλλά καλούμενος ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ καθώσπερ καί Ἀαρών)
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. The author uses the passive form here to focus on those who are called rather than on the person doing the calling. Alternate translation: [but only those whom God calls, just as he called Aaron]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
καθώσπερ καὶ Ἀαρών
just_as (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί οὐχ ἑαυτῷ τὶς λαμβάνει τήν τιμήν ἀλλά καλούμενος ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ καθώσπερ καί Ἀαρών)
The author is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply these words from the first half of the sentence. Alternate translation: [just as also Aaron was called by God]
5:4 The role of high priest is by God’s appointment rather than human enlistment (see Exod 28:1; Lev 8:1-12; Num 16:1-26).
OET (OET-LV) And not on_himself anyone is_taking the honour, but being_called by the god, just_as also Aʼarōn/(ʼAhₐron).
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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