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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.

Context of Hebrews 7:16

14For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 15And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 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. 17For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” 18The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless

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 9:9This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.
• Hebrews 10:1The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
• Galatians 4:3So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world.
• Colossians 2:14having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
• Hebrews 7:3Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
• Revelation 1:18I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and 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

• 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