HEB 5:6 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:1–10: God appointed Jesus Christ to be our high priest

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

Paragraph 5:5–10

After the author described the call and duties of a high priest of Israel in 5:1–4, he applied this description to Jesus Christ in 5:5–10.

5:6a

And in another passage God says:

And he said in another Scripture,
And in another part/verse of God’s Book/Word God said,

And in another passage God says: The clause And in another passage God says introduces another quotation from the OT. It refers to another verse of scripture that tells something that God said. It does not refer to a location. Some other ways to translate the clause are:

And in another verse God also saidUma back translation on TW.

And there is another word written in the Holy Book which says:Otomi back translation on TW.

Use the normal way in your language to refer to a specific verse or part of the Scriptures.

5:6b

“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

“You^(sing) are a priest forever in Melchizedek’s way/order.”
“I declare that there will be no end to your^(sing) being a priest. Your priesthood is the type of priesthood that Melchizedek had.”

This part of the verse is a quotation from Psalm 110:4. In Psalm 110 its author speaks about the Messiah (Christ), so the psalm is called a “Messianic psalm.” It indicates that the Messiah is a priest and also a king. Psalm 2 (quoted in 1:8) is also a messianic psalm. It speaks of the Messiah as king. The book of Hebrews indicates that Jesus our Messiah is both king and priest.

You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek: Here the author quotes from the Old Testament. This quotation tells what God spoke to Christ. God spoke to Christ and announced that Christ is a priest forever with the type of priesthood that Melchizedek also had.

Some other ways to translate this statement are:

You are a priest forever, in the way that Melchizedek was a priest.

You will be a priest forever, and your priesthood will be the type of priesthood that Melchizedek had.

priest: The word priest refers to a person who speaks to God for people and makes sacrifices on their behalf so that God will forgive their sins. The author of Hebrews often uses the terms priest and “high priest” to refer to Jesus, as well as to other priests. The word priest is a general word, and it can refer to both ordinary priests and to the high priest.

Some ways to translate priest are:

Use a descriptive term that focuses on the function of a priest. For example:
sacrificer
man/person who offers sacrifices to God
one who represents people to God
Use a local word for priest. This option fits best if the local word can be used in a general way to refer to any priest. Test the word carefully throughout Hebrews to be sure that it does not imply a wrong meaning. The word is more likely to fit if the duties of a local priest are similar to the duties of a priest of Israel.

The author used the term priest in this verse for the first time in Hebrews. However, he uses the term often in chapter 7 and a few times in chapters 8–10. The term you use for priest here should be the same as the one that you use in the gospels, for example, in Luke 1:5. If possible, choose a term that can be used in both Old Testament and New Testament contexts.

forever: The word forever refers to a time that continues and never ends throughout eternity. Here it refers to Jesus’ priesthood that will continue forever. He will always be a priest, so he is very different from other priests who lived and died. The word forever is similar to the word “eternal,” which is a key word in the book of Hebrews.

Some other ways to translate “You are a priest forever” are:

you will be a priest for eternity

As for you, you will be priest without endingTagbanwa back translation on TW.

there is no end to your being a priestWestern Bukidnon Manobo back translation on TW.

in the order of Melchizedek: The phrase in the order of Melchizedek indicates that the priesthood of Jesus was of the same type as the priesthood of Melchizedek. It cannot refer here to a sequence of priests, because Melchizedek was the only priest of that type except for Jesus.

Some other ways to translate in the order of Melchizedek are:

like the priesthood that Melchizedek had

in the tradition of Melchizedek’s priesthood

of Melchizedek’s type

Melchizedek: This is the first time that the author mentions Melchizedek. Hebrews is the only NT book that refers to Melchizedek, but Genesis describes him as the King of Salem, and “the priest of the Most High God.” For more information about him, see Genesis 14:18–20. The author will compare Melchizedek and Christ in greater detail in chapter 7.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-quotations

καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ λέγει

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καθώς καί ἐν ἑτέρῳ λέγει Σύ ἱερεύς εἰς τόν αἰῶνα κατά τήν τάξιν Μελχισέδεκ)

The author quotes from the Old Testament Scriptures. He does not introduce the words as a quotation but instead introduces them as words that God has spoken to Christ. However, the audience would have understood that these were quotations from the Old Testament, specifically from [Psalm 110:4](../../psa/110/04.md). Since the author introduces the quotation as words that God has said to Christ, you should introduce the quotation as words that someone has said. If your readers would not know that the quotation is from the Old Testament, you could include a footnote or use some other form to identify it. The phrase in another place shows that the words come from a different part of the Old Testament, here a different psalm. Alternate translation: [he also declared, as it is recorded in another place in the Scriptures,]

Note 2 topic: writing-pronouns

καὶ & λέγει

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καθώς καί ἐν ἑτέρῳ λέγει Σύ ἱερεύς εἰς τόν αἰῶνα κατά τήν τάξιν Μελχισέδεκ)

The word he refers to God the Father, who speaks these words to his Son. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make explicit that he refers to God. Alternate translation: [God also says]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular

σὺ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καθώς καί ἐν ἑτέρῳ λέγει Σύ ἱερεύς εἰς τόν αἰῶνα κατά τήν τάξιν Μελχισέδεκ)

Because the quotation is referring to one person (Christ), you is singular here.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Μελχισέδεκ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καθώς καί ἐν ἑτέρῳ λέγει Σύ ἱερεύς εἰς τόν αἰῶνα κατά τήν τάξιν Μελχισέδεκ)

The word order refers to requirements and duties that go along with a specific office or position. If someone serves according to the order of someone else, that means that he or she meets the same requirements and performs the same duties which that person did. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase. Alternate translation: [in the same way that Melchizedek was a priest] or [with a priesthood just like Melchizedek’s priesthood]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

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.

OET interlinear HEB 5:6

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 5:1–10: God appointed Jesus Christ to be our high priest

Paragraph 5:5–10

5:6a

5:6b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)