5:6a

And in another passage God says: The clause And in another passage God says introduces another quotation from the OT. It refers to another verse of scripture that tells something that God said. It does not refer to a location. Some other ways to translate the clause are:

And in another verse God also said
-or-
And there is another word written in the Holy Book which says:

Use the normal way in your language to refer to a specific verse or part of the Scriptures.

5:6b

This part of the verse is a quotation from Psalm 110:4. In Psalm 110 its author speaks about the Messiah (Christ), so the psalm is called a “Messianic psalm.” It indicates that the Messiah is a priest and also a king. Psalm 2 (quoted in 1:8) is also a messianic psalm. It speaks of the Messiah as king. The book of Hebrews indicates that Jesus our Messiah is both king and priest.

You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek: Here the author quotes from the Old Testament. This quotation tells what God spoke to Christ. God spoke to Christ and announced that Christ is a priest forever with the type of priesthood that Melchizedek also had.

Some other ways to translate this statement are:

You are a priest forever, in the way that Melchizedek was a priest.
-or-
You will be a priest forever, and your priesthood will be the type of priesthood that Melchizedek had.

priest: The word priest refers to a person who speaks to God for people and makes sacrifices on their behalf so that God will forgive their sins. The author of Hebrews often uses the terms priest and “high priest” to refer to Jesus, as well as to other priests. The word priest is a general word, and it can refer to both ordinary priests and to the high priest.

Some ways to translate priest are:

• Use a descriptive term that focuses on the function of a priest. For example:

sacrificer
-or-
man/person who offers sacrifices to God
-or-
one who represents people to God

• Use a local word for priest. This option fits best if the local word can be used in a general way to refer to any priest. Test the word carefully throughout Hebrews to be sure that it does not imply a wrong meaning. The word is more likely to fit if the duties of a local priest are similar to the duties of a priest of Israel.

The author used the term priest in this verse for the first time in Hebrews. However, he uses the term often in chapter 7 and a few times in chapters 8–10. The term you use for priest here should be the same as the one that you use in the gospels, for example, in Luke 1:5. If possible, choose a term that can be used in both Old Testament and New Testament contexts.

forever: The word forever refers to a time that continues and never ends throughout eternity. Here it refers to Jesus’ priesthood that will continue forever. He will always be a priest, so he is very different from other priests who lived and died. The word forever is similar to the word “eternal,” which is a key word in the book of Hebrews.

Some other ways to translate “You are a priest forever” are:

you will be a priest for eternity
-or-
As for you, you will be priest without ending
-or-
there is no end to your being a priest

in the order of Melchizedek: The phrase in the order of Melchizedek indicates that the priesthood of Jesus was of the same type as the priesthood of Melchizedek. It cannot refer here to a sequence of priests, because Melchizedek was the only priest of that type except for Jesus.

Some other ways to translate in the order of Melchizedek are:

like the priesthood that Melchizedek had
-or-
in the tradition of Melchizedek’s priesthood
-or-
of Melchizedek’s type

Melchizedek: This is the first time that the author mentions Melchizedek. Hebrews is the only NT book that refers to Melchizedek, but Genesis describes him as the King of Salem, and “the priest of the Most High God.” For more information about him, see Genesis 14:18–20. The author will compare Melchizedek and Christ in greater detail in chapter 7.

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