Therefore He had to be made like His brothers, so that He could be a sympathetic High Priest, as well as a faithful one, in things relating to God, in order to atone for the people's sins.

Therefore, my Christian brothers, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the Messenger and High Priest whom we profess to follow,

Since then we have in Jesus, the Son of God, a great High Priest who has gone right up to heaven itself, let us continue to keep a firm hold on our profession of faith in Him.

For we do not have a High Priest who is incapable of sympathizing with us in our weaknesses, but we have One who was tempted in every respect as we are, and yet without committing any sin.

For every high priest who is taken from men is appointed to officiate on behalf of men in matters relating to God, that is, to offer gifts and sin-offerings.

So Christ too did not take upon Himself the glory of being appointed High Priest, but it was God who said: "You are my Son; I have today become your Father,"

as also in another passage He says: "You are a priest forever, belonging to the rank of Melchizedek."

since He had received from God the title of a High Priest with the rank of Melchizedek.

(6:19) where Jesus has blazed the way for us and became a High Priest with the rank of Melchizedek.

For this man Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was coming back from the defeat of the kings, and put his blessing on him,

with no father, no mother, no ancestry; no beginning to his days, no end to his life, but, like the Son of God, as priest continues on and on with no successor.

Now if perfection had been reached through the Levitical priesthood -- for on it as a basis even the law was enacted for the people-- what further need would there have been of appointing a different priest, with the rank of Melchizedek, instead of designating one with the rank of Aaron?

And it is still more overwhelmingly clear, since a different priest in the likeness of Melchizedek is appointed,

For the Scripture bears witness: "You are a priest forever, with the rank of Melchizedek."

for the Levitical priests were appointed without His taking an oath, but He with His oath, when He said to Him: "The Lord took oath and will not change, You are a priest forever" --

For we needed such a High Priest, holy, innocent, unstained, far removed from sinful men, and elevated far above the very heavens,

For the law appoints imperfect men as high priests, but the assertion about the taking of an oath, which was spoken after the time of the law, appoints a Son who is perfectly qualified to be High Priest forever.

Now the main point in what I am saying is this: We have such a High Priest as this, one who has taken His seat at the right hand of God's majestic throne in heaven

as officiating Priest in that sanctuary, which is also the true tent of worship, which the Lord and not man set up.

For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; so this High Priest too must have some sacrifice to offer,

However, if He were still on earth, He would not be a priest at all, because there are those who officiate in accordance with the law in offering the gifts;

but into the second or inner part nobody but the high priest may go, and he only once a year, and never without blood which he offers for himself and for the sins committed in ignorance by the people.

But when Christ came as the High Priest of good things that have already taken place, He went by way of that greater and more perfect tent of worship, not made by human hands, that is, not belonging to this material creation,

And He does not enter to offer Himself over and over again, as the high priest enters the sanctuary year after year with blood that is not his own;

Every other priest stands officiating day after day and over and over again offering the same sacrifices, although they are unable to take away our sins.

and since in Him we have a Great Priest over the house of God,

For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is taken into the sanctuary by the priest as a sin-offering, are burned outside the camp.