¹For this  ²Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,

To whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all; first being interpreted  ¹king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is  ¹king of peace;

Being  ¹without father, without mother, without genealogy; having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but likened to the Son of God, abides a priest perpetually.

And consider how  ¹great this one was, to whom the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the choice spoils.

And they of the sons of Levi, who received the priestly service, have a commandment to take tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brothers, though they have come forth from the loins of Abraham.

But he whose genealogy is not counted from them has taken tithes from Abraham and has  ¹blessed him who has the promises.

But without any dispute the  ¹lesser is blessed by the  ²greater.

And here men, who die, receive tithes; but there, one of whom it is testified that he lives.

And, so to speak, through Abraham,  ¹Levi also, he who receives tithes, has been made to pay tithes,

For he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

If indeed then perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people have received the law), what need was there still that a different  ¹Priest should arise according to the order of Melchizedek and that He should not be said to be according to the order of Aaron?

For since the priesthood is  ¹transferred, of necessity there comes into being a  ²transfer of law also.

For He of whom these things are said  ¹belongs to a different tribe, from which no one has attended to the altar.

For it is evident that our Lord has  ¹risen out of  ²Judah, concerning which tribe Moses spoke nothing about priests.

And it is still more abundantly evident since it is according to the likeness of Melchizedek that a different Priest arises,

Who has been appointed not according to the law of a fleshy commandment but according to the power of an  ¹indestructible life.

For it is testified, “You are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

For there is, on the one hand, the  ¹setting aside of the preceding commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness

(For the law  ¹perfected nothing), and, on the other hand, the bringing in  ²thereupon of a  ³better hope, through which we draw near to God.

And inasmuch as He was not made a Priest without the taking of an oath

(For they are appointed priests without the taking of an oath, but He, with the taking of an oath by Him who said to Him, “The Lord has sworn and will not regret it, You are a Priest forever”),

By so much Jesus has also become the  ¹surety of a better covenant.

And they are appointed priests many in number because death prevents them from continuing;

But He, because He abides forever, has His priesthood unalterable.

Hence also He is able to save  ¹to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, since He lives always to  ²intercede for them.

For such a High Priest was also fitting to us, holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners and having become  ¹higher than the heavens,

Who does not have daily need, as the high priests do, to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins and then for those of the people; for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

For the law establishes men as high priests who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which was after the law, establishes the Son,  ¹perfected forever.

Concerning  ¹Edom:
Thus says Jehovah of hosts,
Is there no more wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel perished from those who understand?
Is their wisdom spent?

Flee, turn back, dwell in hidden places,
O inhabitants of Dedan,
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him
At the time I punish him.

If the grape gatherers came to you,
Would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came by night,
Would they not destroy only enough for themselves?

But I have stripped Esau bare;
I have exposed his secret places,
And he is not able to conceal himself.
His seed and his brothers are destroyed,
And his neighbors and he are no more.

Leave your  ¹orphans behind; I will preserve them alive,
And let your  ¹widows trust in Me.

For thus says Jehovah, Those whose judgment was not to drink the cup will certainly drink it. And will you by any means be left unpunished? You will not be left unpunished, for you will certainly drink it.

For I have sworn by Myself, declares Jehovah, that Bozrah will become a waste, a reproach, a ruin and a curse; and all her cities will become eternal desolations.

I have heard a report from Jehovah,
And an envoy is sent among the nations, saying,
Gather yourselves together, and come against her,
And arise for war.

For, indeed, I have made you small among the nations,
Despised among men.

Your terribleness, the pride of your heart,
Has beguiled you,
O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Who grasp the height of the hill.
Though you make your nest as high as an eagle's,
I will bring you down from there, declares Jehovah.

And Edom will become an astonishment; everyone who passes by her will be astonished and will hiss at all her wounds.

As when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown with its neighbors, says Jehovah, no one will dwell there, nor will a son of man sojourn in her.

Indeed, one will come up like a lion from the majesty of the Jordan against a secure habitation, for I will suddenly make them run away from her; and whoever is chosen I will appoint over her. For who is like Me? And who can appoint Me a time? And who is that shepherd who can stand before Me?

Therefore hear the counsel of Jehovah, which He purposed against Edom, and His thoughts, which He has thought against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they will drag them off, the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their habitation a desolation because of them.

The earth quaked at the sound of their fall. There is a cry; the sound of it has been heard in the Red Sea.

Indeed, He will mount up and swoop down like an eagle, and spread out His wings over  ¹Bozrah; and the heart of the mighty men of Edom in that day will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

Concerning  ¹Damascus:
Hamath and Arpad are put to shame
Because they have heard an evil report.
They melt; anxiety is on the sea;
It cannot be quiet.

Damascus has become feeble;
She has turned to flee,
And panic has taken hold of her;
Pain and anguish seize her,
Like a woman giving birth.

How the city of praise is not forsaken,
The town of My joy.

Therefore her young men will fall in her open squares,
And all the men of war will be silenced in that day, declares Jehovah of hosts.

And I will set fire to the wall of Damascus,
And it will consume the palaces of Ben-hadad.

Concerning  ¹Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon struck down:
Arise, go up against Kedar,
And destroy the children of the east.

And they will take away their tents and their flocks;
Their curtains and all their vessels
And their camels they will carry away for themselves,
And they will call out to one another, Terror is on every side!

Flee, wander far away, dwell in hidden places,
O inhabitants of Hazor, declares Jehovah;
For Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon
Has taken counsel against you
And has devised a plan against you.

Arise, go up against a nation without care,
One that dwells securely, declares Jehovah.
It has no gates and bars;
They dwell alone.

And their camels will become plunder,
And the multitude of their livestock spoil;
And I will scatter those who cut the corners of their beards into every wind,
And I will bring their calamity from every side of them,
Declares Jehovah.

And Hazor will become a habitation of jackals,
An eternal desolation;
No one will dwell there;
Neither will a son of man sojourn in it.

The word of Jehovah which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning  ¹Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the king of Judah, saying,

Thus says Jehovah of hosts,
I am about to break the bow of Elam,
The chief part of their might.

And I will bring against Elam four winds
From the four ends of the heavens,
And I will scatter them into all these winds,
And there will not be a nation
To which those who are driven out from Elam will not go.

And I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies
And before those who seek their life;
And I will bring evil upon them,
Even My burning anger, declares Jehovah.
And I will send the sword after them,
Until I make an end of them.

And I will set My throne in Elam,
And I will destroy king and princes from there,
Declares Jehovah.

 ¹But in the last days,
I will turn again the captivity of Elam,
Declares Jehovah.