The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh has sworn, and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
- KJV The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
- NKJV The Lord has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
- NASB ¶The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
- NLT The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
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
God swears an unchangeable oath that the Messiah is a priest forever in Melchizedek's order. The King is also an eternal priest, a role Hebrews applies fully to Christ.
Overview
Uniquely, this King is also a perpetual priest, not from Aaron's line but after the order of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18). Hebrews 5-7 expounds this: because Christ's priesthood rests on an irrevocable divine oath and on indestructible life, it is superior and permanent, able to save completely. Jesus alone unites the offices of King and Priest forever.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Heb 7:17For it is testified: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
- Heb 5:6And in another passage God says: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
- Heb 7:21but Jesus became a priest with an oath by the One who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’”
- Gen 14:18Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine—since he was priest of God Most High—
- Heb 6:20where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
- Heb 7:28For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.
- Heb 7:11Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on this basis the people received the law), why was there still need for another priest to appear—one in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron?
- Num 23:19God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- Rev 1:6who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
- Zech 6:13Yes, He will build the temple of the LORD; He will be clothed in splendor and will sit on His throne and rule. And He will be a priest on His throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two.’
- Heb 6:13–18When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself,
- Ps 89:34–36I will not violate My covenant or alter the utterance of My lips.
- Ps 132:11The LORD swore an oath to David, a promise He will not revoke: “One of your descendants I will place on your throne.
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 110:4 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 Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.