HEB 5:4 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And no one takes this honor for himself, but only being called by God, just as also Aaron was.

UST Now people cannot decide to become honorable ruling priests on their own. Rather, God chooses each person who will be a ruling priest, just like he chose Aaron, the first ruling priest.

BLB And no one takes upon himself the honor, but rather being called by God, just as Aaron also.

AICNT And no one takes this honor for oneself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

OEB Nor does anyone take that high office on themselves, until they have been called to do so by God, as Aaron was.

WEBBE Nobody takes this honour on himself, but he is called by God, just like Aaron was.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET And no one assumes this honor on his own initiative, but only when called to it by God, as in fact Aaron was.

LSV and no one takes the honor to himself, but he who is called by God, as also Aaron.

FBV No one can take the position of high priest for himself; he must be chosen by God, just like Aaron was.

TCNT No one takes this honor for himself, but [fn]receives it when he is called by God, just as Aaron was.

5:4 receives it when he is called by God, just as Aaron was ¦ he who is called by God receives it, just as Aaron did HF TR

T4T Furthermore, it is an honor to be a Supreme Priest so no one honors himself by appointing himself to become a Supreme Priest. Instead, God chose each man to become a Supreme Priest, as he chose Aaron to be the first Supreme Priest.

LEB And someone does not take for himself the honor, but is called by God, just as Aaron also was.

BBE And no man who is not given authority by God, as Aaron was, takes this honour for himself.

Moff Also, it is an office which no one elects to take for himself; he is called to it by God, just as Aaron was.

Wymth And no one takes this honourable office upon himself, but only accepts it when called to it by God, as Aaron was.

ASV And no man taketh the honor unto himself, but when he is called of God, even as was Aaron.

DRA Neither doth any man take the honour to himself, but he that is called by God, as Aaron was.

YLT and no one to himself doth take the honour, but he who is called by God, as also Aaron:

Drby And no one takes the honour to himself but [as] called by [fn]God, even as Aaron also.

5.4 Elohim

RV And no man taketh the honour unto himself, but when he is called of God, even as was Aaron.
(And no man taketh/takes the honour unto himself, but when he is called of God, even as was Aaron. )

SLT And not any takes this honour to himself; but the called of God, as also Aaron.

Wbstr And no man taketh this honor to himself, but he that is called by God, as was Aaron:

KJB-1769 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
(And no man taketh/takes this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. )

KJB-1611 And no man taketh this honour vnto himselfe, but hee that is called of God, as was Aaron.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps And no man taketh the honour vnto hym selfe, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
(And no man taketh/takes the honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.)

Gnva And no man taketh this honor vnto him selfe, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
(And no man taketh/takes this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. )

Cvdl And noma taketh ye honoure vnto himselfe, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
(And noma taketh/takes ye/you_all honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.)

TNT And no man taketh honour vnto him silfe but he that is called of God as was Aaron.
(And no man taketh/takes honour unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron. )

Wycl Nethir ony man taketh to hym onour, but he that is clepid of God, as Aaron was.
(Neither any man taketh/takes to him honour, but he that is called of God, as Aaron was.)

Luth Und niemand nimmt sich selbst die Ehre, sondern der auch berufen sei von GOtt gleichwie Aaron.
(And no_one takes itself/yourself/themselves himself/itself the honour(n), rather the/of_the also appointed be from God same_as Aaron.)

ClVg Nec quisquam sumit sibi honorem, sed qui vocatur a Deo, tamquam Aaron.[fn]
(Neither anyone sumit to_himself honour, but who/which is_called from to_God, as_if Aaron. )

5.4 Nec quisquam, etc. Percutit cupidos, qui non vocantur, sed ingerunt se.

5.4 Neither anyone, etc. Percutit cupidos, who/which not/no are_called, but ingerunt himself.

UGNT καὶ οὐχ ἑαυτῷ τις λαμβάνει τὴν τιμήν, ἀλλὰ καλούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καθώσπερ καὶ Ἀαρών.
(kai ouⱪ heautōi tis lambanei taʸn timaʸn, alla kaloumenos hupo tou Theou, kathōsper kai Aʼarōn.)

SBL-GNT καὶ οὐχ ἑαυτῷ τις λαμβάνει τὴν τιμήν, ἀλλὰ καλούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, ⸀καθώσπερ καὶ Ἀαρών.
(kai ouⱪ heautōi tis lambanei taʸn timaʸn, alla kaloumenos hupo tou theou, ⸀kathōsper kai Aʼarōn.)

RP-GNT Καὶ οὐχ ἑαυτῷ τις λαμβάνει τὴν τιμήν, ἀλλὰ καλούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, καθάπερ καὶ Ἀαρών.
(Kai ouⱪ heautōi tis lambanei taʸn timaʸn, alla kaloumenos hupo tou theou, kathaper kai Aʼarōn.)

TC-GNT Καὶ οὐχ ἑαυτῷ τις λαμβάνει τὴν τιμήν, [fn]ἀλλὰ καλούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, [fn]καθάπερ καὶ [fn]Ἀαρών.
(Kai ouⱪ heautōi tis lambanei taʸn timaʸn, alla kaloumenos hupo tou Theou, kathaper kai Aʼarōn. )

5:4 αλλα ¦ αλλ ο HF ¦ αλλα ο TR

5:4 καθαπερ ¦ καθωσπερ CT

5:4 ααρων ¦ ο ααρων TR

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN 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 5:1–4

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.

5:4a

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

5:4b

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.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

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)

Parallel HEB 5:4

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

Paragraph 5:1–4

5:4a

5:4b