That is why he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
Parallel translations
- WEB Because of this, he must offer sacrifices for sins for the people, as well as for himself.
- KJV And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
- NKJV Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins.
- NASB and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins for himself, as well as for the people.
- NLT That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Because of his own weakness, the human high priest must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as the people's. His sinfulness limits him in a way Christ's does not.
Overview
The ordinary high priest, being sinful himself, had to make atonement for his own sins before he could serve others. This marks a key limitation of the old priesthood. By contrast, the sinless Christ needed no sacrifice for Himself, which the author will later show makes His priesthood far superior.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Lev 9:7Then Moses said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to make atonement for yourself and for the people. And sacrifice the people’s offering to make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded.”
- Lev 16:6Aaron is to present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household.
- Heb 9:7But only the high priest entered the second room, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
- Heb 7:27Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people; He sacrificed for sin once for all when He offered up Himself.
- Lev 16:15Aaron shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and bring its blood behind the veil, and with its blood he must do as he did with the bull’s blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it.
- Lev 4:3–12If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.
- Lev 8:14–21Moses then brought the bull near for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.
- Exod 29:12–19Take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; then pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Hebrews is sustained worship of Christ: better than angels, Moses, and the priests; the great High Priest after Melchizedek who by one sacrifice perfects forever those he saves.
How Hebrews 5:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.