But one has [solemnly] testified somewhere [in Scripture], saying,

“What is man, that You are mindful of him,
Or the son of man, that You graciously care for him?

He again sets a definite day, [a new] “Today,” [providing another opportunity to enter that rest by] saying through David after so long a time, just as has been said before [in the words already quoted],

“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”

just as He also says in another place,

“You are a priest [appointed] forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”

being designated by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

where Jesus has entered [in advance] as a forerunner for us, having become a High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Now if perfection [a perfect fellowship between God and the worshiper] had been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people were given the Law) what further need was there for another and different kind of priest to arise, one in the manner of Melchizedek, rather than one appointed to the order of Aaron?

For it is attested [by God] of Him,

“You (Christ) are a Priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”

For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak [frail, sinful, dying men], but the word of the oath [of God], which came after [the institution of] the Law, permanently appoints [as priest] a Son who has been made perfect forever.

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, says the Lord:
I will imprint My laws upon their minds [even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding],
And engrave them upon their hearts [effecting their regeneration].
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.

And just as it is appointed and destined for all men to die once and after this [comes certain] judgment,

For since the Law has only a shadow [just a pale representation] of the good things to come—not the very image of those things—it can never, by offering the same sacrifices continually year after year, make perfect those who approach [its altars].

whereas Christ, having offered the one sacrifice [the all-sufficient sacrifice of Himself] for sins for all time, sat down [signifying the completion of atonement for sin] at the right hand of God [the position of honor],

“This is the covenant that I will make with them
After those days, says the Lord:
I will imprint My laws upon their heart,
And on their mind I will inscribe them [producing an inward change],”

He then says,

For if we go on willfully and deliberately sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice [to atone] for our sins [that is, no further offering to anticipate],

But remember the earlier days, when, after being [spiritually] enlightened, you [patiently] endured a great conflict of sufferings,

By faith Moses, after his birth, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful and divinely favored child; and they were not afraid of the king’s (Pharaoh’s) decree.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days [by Joshua and the sons of Israel].

See to it that no one falls short of God’s grace; that no root of resentment springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;