Hebrews 7:16

Hebrews 7:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
• New International Version (NIV)one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.
• English Standard Version (ESV)who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.
• New King James Version (NKJV)who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life.

Context of Hebrews 7:16

14For it is evident that our Lord descended from [the tribe of] Judah, and Moses mentioned nothing about priests in connection with that tribe. 15And this becomes even more evident if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a physical and legal requirement in the Law [concerning his ancestry as a descendant of Levi], but on the basis of the power of an indestructible and endless life. 17For it is attested [by God] of Him, “You (Christ) are a Priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” 18For, on the one hand, a former commandment is cancelled because of its weakness and uselessness [because of its inability to justify the sinner before God]

Hebrews 7:16 word by word

ὃς οὐ κατὰ νόμον ἐντολῆς σαρκίνης γέγονεν ἀλλὰ κατὰ δύναμιν ζωῆς ἀκαταλύτου·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whoὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• is madeγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• notοὐou · noG3756
• afterκατάkata · according toG2596
• the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• of aἐντολήentolē · commandmentG1785
• carnalσαρκικόςsarkikos · fleshlyG4559
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• the powerδύναμιςdunamis · powerG1411
• of anζωήzōē · lifeG2222
• endlessἀκατάλυτοςakatalutos · indestructibleG179

Cross-references for Hebrews 7:16

• Hebrews 9:9for this [first or outer tabernacle] is a symbol [that is, an archetype or paradigm] for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which are incapable of perfecting the conscience and renewing the [inner self of the] worshiper.
• Hebrews 10:1For since the Law has only a shadow [just a pale representation] of the good things to come—not the very image of those things—it can never, by offering the same sacrifices continually year after year, make perfect those who approach [its altars].
• Galatians 4:3So also we [whether Jews or Gentiles], when we were children (spiritually immature), were kept like slaves under the elementary [man-made religious or philosophical] teachings of the world.
• Colossians 2:14having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of legal demands [which were in force] against us and which were hostile to us. And this certificate He has set aside and completely removed by nailing it to the cross.
• Hebrews 7:3Without [any record of] father or mother, nor ancestral line, without [any record of] beginning of days (birth) nor ending of life (death), but having been made like the Son of God, he remains a priest without interruption and without successor.
• Revelation 1:18and the Ever-living One [living in and beyond all time and space]. I died, but see, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of [absolute control and victory over] death and of Hades (the realm of the dead).

Commentaries on Hebrews 7:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Who is made - Appointed to this high office by God himself, not succeeding one that was disabled or dead, according to that law or ordinance directed to weak and perishing men, who could not continue by reason of death. This is probably all that the apostle intends by the words carnal commandment, · for carnal does not always mean sinful or corrupt, but feeble, frail, or what may be said of or concerning man in his present dying condition. But after the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Who is made - That is, the other priest is made, to wit, the Messiah. He was made a priest by a special law. Not after the law of a carnal commandment - Not according to the Law of a commandment pertaining to the flesh. The word “carnal” means “fleshly;” and the idea is, that the Law under which the priests of the old dispensation were made was external, rather than spiritual; it related more to outward observances than to the keeping of the heart. That…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-25Verses 11-25 The priesthood and law by which perfection could not come, are done away; a Priest is risen, and a dispensation now set up, by which true believers may be made perfect. That there is such a change is plain. The law which made the Levitical priesthood, showed that the priests were frail, dying creatures, not able to save their own lives, much less could they save the souls of those who came to them. But the High Priest of our profession holds…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-17This change in how God appoints priests (Hebrews 7:11–14) is clear through Jesus being appointed as a different kind of priest. Like Melchizedek, Jesus is a priest forever. His resurrection from the dead shows he has the power of an indestructible life. Since his priesthood, in the order of Melchizedek, is superior to the Levites' (7:1–10), he replaces them as priest.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. carnal ... endless--mutually contrasted. As "form" and "power" are opposed, 2Ti 3:5; so here "the law" and "power," compare Ro 8:3, "The law was weak through the flesh"; and He 7:18, "weakness." "The law" is here not the law in general, but the statute as to the priesthood. "Carnal," as being only outward and temporary, is contrasted with "endless," or, as Greek, "indissoluble." Commandments is contrasted with "life." The law can give a commandment…Read the comment

Topics related to Hebrews 7:16

• Jesus Continued
• Melchizedek
• Priest
• Succession
• Types

In the dictionaries

• Attendance
• Carnal
• Harmless
• Life
• Melchizedek
• Separate
• Adam in the New Testament
• Christ, Offices of
• Congregation
• Endless

Commentaries on Hebrews 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings