The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after 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.”
- BSB The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in 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 he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
- Heb 5:6As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
- Heb 7:21(For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)
- Gen 14:18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
- Heb 6:20Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
- Heb 7:28For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.
- Heb 7:11If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
- Num 23:19God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
- Rev 1:6And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
- Zech 6:13Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
- Heb 6:13–18For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
- Ps 89:34–36My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
- Ps 132:11The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.
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
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.