Now think how great this priest-king must have been to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth part of the best of the spoil.

For Melchizedek, the king of Salem, a priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham on his return from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him ??2 who had a tenth part of everything assigned him by Abraham ??this Melchizedek is primarily a king of righteousness (that is the meaning of his name); then, besides that, king of Salem (which means, king of peace).

to whom Abraham apportioned one tenth of all the spoil, who is first, as his name shows, king of righteousness and then king of Salem, which means king of peace??3 with no father or mother or ancestry, and with no beginning to his days nor end to his life, but like no one but the Son of God, continues as priest forever.

In the days of Herod, king of Judaea, there was a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the order of Abijah; and he had a wife of the family of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

Meanwhile, the head priest asked Jesus about His disciples and His teaching. [Note: This was probably Annas, the former "head priest" who later sent Jesus to the current head priest, Caiaphas. See verse 24].

(For those were made priests without an oath, but this one was made a priest with an oath by him who says of him, The Lord gave his oath, which he will not take back, that you are a priest for ever);

and they cried out, 'Take away, take away, crucify him;' Pilate saith to them, 'Your king shall I crucify?' the chief priests answered, 'We have no king except Caesar.'

The chief priests of the Jews said, therefore, to Pilate, 'Write not -- The king of the Jews, but that one said, I am king of the Jews;'

And following Jesus was Simon Peter, and the other disciple, and that disciple was known to the chief priest, and he entered with Jesus to the hall of the chief priest,

And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

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

to perform his customary duties as a priest before God, he drew the responsibility [that day] of entering the Temple of the Lord to burn the incense offering. [Note: This was done on a golden Altar in the Temple by a priest twice a day].

Then they arrested Jesus and led Him away to the head priest's house [i.e., Caiaphas. See Matt. 26:57]. But Peter followed Him from a distance [i.e., as they went to the head priest's courtyard].

They led Him to Annas first [Note: This man was a former head priest. See Luke 3:2], for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was head priest that year.

& 25] Simon Peter followed Jesus along with another disciple; and as this disciple was an acquaintance of the high priest, he passed into the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus,

When Jesus had said this, one of the high priest's officers who stood nearby struck him on the face and said, "Is that the way you answer the high priest?"

And He says in another place [Psa. 110:4], "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." [Note: This is the first mention of this mysterious Old Testament priest who, throughout this book, is represented as a type of Christ].

How he entered into the house of God, in the days of Abiathar, the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priest, and he gave it to those being with him?