New King James Version
Hebrews 7:16
16who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless 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 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 evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. 15And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. 17For He testifies: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” 18For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness,
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 9:9It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—
- Hebrews 10:1For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
- Galatians 4:3Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.
- Colossians 2:14having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
- Hebrews 7:3without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
- Revelation 1:18I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries