Hebrews - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 1237
The New Testament
for the first object of the Messiah, let us bear forward to its conclusion-—not again laying a foundation of turning from dead, rituals; and of trust upon God; of teaching of baptisms; or of laying on of hands; of resur- rection from death; and of eternal judgment: yet we will do this, if God permits.——For those who have been once enlightened, and tasted of the heavenly gift, and been partakers of holy spirit, and have tasted the noble plan of God, and power of a
6 future age, and have fallen away—·it is useless to renew them into a change of mind ;—-—they having by themselves crucified afresh the Son of God, and
7 openly disgraced Him. For the land that has drunk the rain coming often _upon it, and has yielded crops useful I0 I1 I2 16 to those by whom it has been culti— vated, receives approval from God; but if it produces unexpected and nearly accursed thorns and thistles, their end is for burning. But we are persuaded better of you,
friends, things that bring salvation, although we speak in this way. For God is not so unjust as to be forget— ful of your work, and of the love which has been shown to His Name, by having ministered to the holy, and still ministering. But we wish each of you to show the same earnestness to the end, to perfect your hope ; so that you may not become sluggish, but imi- tators of those who through faith and endurance inherited the promises. For God, promising to Abraham, since He had none greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, WHEN Bnnssmo I w1LL BLESS YOU, AND INCREASING I Wxu. mcxmasn YOU. And then, after long expectation, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and in all disputes the oath is used by them for confirmation-—by which God, wishing to show more certainly the unalterable 1 Genesis xxl!. ry nature of His decision to the inheritors of the promise, intervened with an oath; so that by two unchangeable things, in which it was impossible for God to be false. we might have a stronger hold, when we Hy to seize the settled hope, which we have as a sure and firm anchor of the soul, and carried inside the inner veil; where as a Porerunner jesus has entered for us, becoming a High Priest for ever according to the order of Melchi~ sedek. For this Melchi-sedek, Hug of
Salem, a High Priest of the Highest God, who met Abraham re- turning from the defeat of the kings, and blessed him—to whom the patriarch Abraham set apart a tenth of all-—whose name interpreted is, first, King of Righteousness, and then, King of Salem, which is King of Peace; unfathered, unmothered, unpedigreed, without recorded be- ginning of days or end of life; but, like the Son of God, remainsa Priest uninterruptedly. But see how great he was, to whom
Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the best spoils! And, indeed, those who receive the priesthood from the sons of Levi have a command by the law to tithe the people--that is, their brothers-although they are direct issue of Abraham. But he who was not pedigreed from them tithed Abra- ham, and blessed him who had the promises! But, without any contra- diction, the lesser is blessed by the greater. And here indeed mortal men take tithes; but there, it is witnessed that he lives. And, as one may say, Levi, the receiver of tithes, was tithed through Abraham; for he was as yet in the loins of his father when Melchi·sedek met him. If, therefore,perfection were through
the Levitical priesthood, under which the people were legislated for, then why need another Priest be appointed, of the order of Melchi-sedek, and not nominated from the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is being changed, of necessity comes a change of ritual. But He of Whom this was said partook of another tribe, from which none approached the altar; for it is clear that our Lord arose from the tribe of judah, regarding which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. And it is now very clear if 1237 IS 20 I0 II I2
