1 For every high priest is taken from among the peopletn Grk “from among men,” but since the point in context is shared humanity (rather than shared maleness), the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated “people.” and appointedtn Grk “who is taken from among people is appointed.” to represent them before God,tn Grk “appointed on behalf of people in reference to things relating to God.” to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.
2 He is able to deal compassionately with those who are ignorant and erring, since he also is subject to weakness,
3 and for this reason he is obligated to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.
4 And no one assumes this honorsn Honor refers here to the honor of the high priesthood. on his own initiative,tn Grk “by himself, on his own.” but only when called to it by God,tn Grk “being called by God.” as in fact Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming high priest, but the one who glorified him was God,tn Grk “the one”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity. who said to him, “You are my Son! Today I have fathered you,”tn Grk “I have begotten you”; see Heb 1:5.sn A quotation from Ps 2:7.
6 as also in another place Godtn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity. says, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”sn A quotation from Ps 110:4.
7 During his earthly lifetn Grk “in the days of his flesh.” Christtn Grk “he”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity. offeredtn Grk “who…having offered,” continuing the description of Christ from Heb 5:5-6. both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion.
8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered.sn There is a wordplay in the Greek text between the verbs “learned” (ἔμαθεν, emaqen) and “suffered” (ἔπαθεν, epaqen).
9 And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,
10 and he was designatedtn Grk “having been designated,” continuing the thought of Heb 5:9. by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.sn The phrase in the order of Melchizedek picks up the quotation from Ps 110:4 in Heb 5:6.
The Need to Move on to Maturity
11 On this topic we have much to saytn Grk “concerning which the message for us is great.” and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggishtn Or “dull.” in hearing.
12 For though you should in fact be teachers by this time,tn Grk “because of the time.” you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances.tn Grk “the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God.” You have gone back to needingtn Grk “you have come to have a need for.” milk, nottc ‡ Most texts, including some early and important ones (א2 A B* D Ψ 0122 0278 1881 Ï sy Cl), have καί (kai, “and”) immediately preceding οὐ (ou, “not”), but other equally significant witnesses (Ì46 א* B2 C 33 81 1739 lat Or Did) lack the conjunction. As it was a natural tendency for scribes to add a coordinating conjunction, the καί appears to be a motivated reading. On balance, it is probably best to regard the shorter reading as authentic. NA27 has καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity. solid food.
13 For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant.
14 But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.
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