New English Translation
Hebrews 7:16
16who has become a priest not by a legal regulation about physical descent but by the power of an indestructible life.
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 clear that our Lord is descended from Judah, yet Moses said nothing about priests in connection with that tribe. 15And this is even clearer if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest not by a legal regulation about physical descent but by the power of an indestructible life. 17For here is the testimony about him: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” 18On the one hand a former command is set aside because it is weak and useless,
Read all of Hebrews 7Hebrews 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 9:9This was a symbol for the time then present, when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper.
- Hebrews 10:1For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship.
- Galatians 4:3So also we, when we were minors, were enslaved under the basic forces of the world.
- Colossians 2:14He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.
- Hebrews 7:3Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life but is like the son of God, and he remains a priest for all time.
- Revelation 1:18and the one who lives! I was dead, but look, now I am alive – forever and ever – and I hold the keys of death and of Hades!
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
In the dictionaries
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
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