Hebrews 5
1 Every high priest, since they are selected from humanity, is appointed to represent humanity to God in everything, so they may present both gifts and sacrificial offerings for deviations, 2 and are able to respond thoughtfully to those who don’t understand and wander from the patha since they are also clothedb with vulnerability,c 3 and because of this they owe it—they owe it regarding themselves as well as regarding the people—to present the gifts and sacrificial offeringsd for deviations. 4 No one takes this honor for themselves, but rather they are called by God just like Aaron was.
5 Likewise, the Messiah did not presume to become high priest himself; instead, it was the one who said to him, “You are my son. Today I have birthed you.”e 6 Similarly, itf says in another place, “You are a priest throughout the Age based on the order of Melchizedek.”g 7 During his bodily days, the Messiah presented both requests and appeals with loud cries and tears to one who is able to liberate him from death, and he was listened to because of conscientious respectfulness. 8 Even though he was a son, he learned to listen from the things he suffered. 9 After he was brought to maturity, he became the cause of agelong liberation for everyone who listens to him, 10 since he was publicly appointed by God as high priest based on the order of Melchizedek.
11 There is much to say about this message, and it is difficult to explain since you have become reluctant to listen. 12 Although you’re due to be teachers by this time, you again need someone to teach you the basic principles from the beginning of the discussionsh of God and have come to be in need of milk, not solid food. 13 Everyone who partakesi of milk isn’t experienced in the discussion of justnessj because they are infants. 14 But, the solid food is for those who are mature, those who have insightsk that have been trained through dedicated exercise for discerning between what’s helpfull and what’s harmful.m
FOOTNOTES:
a Traditionally, ‘wander’ or ‘stray.’ It carries the sense of going off course.
b Or ‘wrapped in’
c Or ‘weakness’ or ‘illness,’ literally a physical weakness due to poor health
d Literally ‘them’
e Quotation of Psalm 2:7. Parallel to Hebrews 1:5.
f Or ‘he/she.’ There is no pronoun or subject explicitly included here. It is implied by the form of the verb, but the gender must be determined from context.
g Quotation of Psalm 110:4. Also, the name Melchizedek is Hebrew for ‘King of Righteousness’ or ‘King of Justice’ or ‘King of All Things Being Well.’
h Or ‘messages’ or ‘conversations’
i Or ‘shares in’ or ‘participates in’
j Traditionally, ‘righteousness.’ The word means literally ‘alignment’ with the path traced out by Torah and by Jesus, living the way that leads toward New Creation/Jubilee/Sabbath-Rest.
k Or ‘understandings’ or ‘perceptions’
l Or ‘desirable’ or ‘constructive’ or ‘healthy.’ Traditionally, ‘good.’
m Or ‘adverse’ or ‘destructive’ or ‘unhealthy.’ Traditionally, ‘bad’ or ‘evil.’