This verse may be read as four lines of poetry, the ends of the lines corresponding to the full stops (periods) and semicolons in Good News Translation.

Most modern translations, including Good News Bible and other common language translations, avoid the most direct translation of the first part of this verse, which Phillips gives as “He has no father or mother and no family tree. He was not born nor did he die.” For ancient Jewish writers, and for the author of Hebrews, there could be deep meaning even in what the Old Testament did not say. The writer therefore does not hesitate to argue from silence where scripture is concerned. If the Old Testament did not give these details about Melchizedek’s ancestry, birth, and death, then for the purposes of the writer’s argument this is as good as a positive statement that he had no ancestors, that he was not born, and that he did not die. The purpose of Good News Bible‘s apparently weaker statement, There is no record…, is to indicate the basis on which the writer claims that Melchizedek had no father or mother. It may be necessary to be more specific and translate “Scripture says nothing about Melchizedek’s father or mother,” especially if there is any danger of the passage being misunderstood to mean that Melchizedek was not a real human person. In any case, the context should make it clear, first, that he is a mysterious figure, and second, that he is less important than Jesus, the Son of God.

There is no record of may be rendered as “Nothing was written in the holy books about” or “There are no written words about.”

It may be important to distinguish clearly between father or mother and any of his ancestors, since all those who are prior to any particular individual are sometimes regarded as ancestors. This would then include father or mother. It is important in the choice of a word for ancestors to avoid what might be regarded as a contradiction.

Verse 3b, the second sentence in Good News Translation, comes back to what is for the writer the point of the story of Melchizedek. Revised Standard Version‘s “but” marks the change from negative to positive statements about Melchizedek. The equivalent in Good News Bible is the fact of beginning a new sentence. The meaning of the sentence is the same as the quotation in 5.10 and 6.20, though different words are used (priest instead of high priest, and a different phrase for forever).

Is like (so also New English Bible) is literally “having been made like” (compare King James Version), which may imply God’s activity. This astonishing statement is neither emphasized nor explained in the text, so Good News Translation‘s translation is quite adequate.

In Greek, as in Revised Standard Version “resembling” is grammatically subordinate to remains, but in meaning, the second phrase is as important as the first, since it defines in what way Melchizedek is like the Son of God (Good News Translation‘s semicolon could be a colon, pointing forward to the second half of the sentence; so Bijbel in Gewone Taal, Bible en français courant.) The relationship between the two parts of verse 3b may be indicated by saying “He is like the Son of God in that remains a priest forever.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .