Hebrews 5 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Heb 5:1

Heb 5:1Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins.

Heb 5:2

Heb 5:2And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses.

Heb 5:3

Heb 5:3That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs.

Heb 5:4

Heb 5:4And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was.

Heb 5:5

Heb 5:5That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.[fn]”

Heb 5:6

Heb 5:6And in another passage God said to him,
“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”[fn]

Heb 5:7

Heb 5:7While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.

Heb 5:8

Heb 5:8Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.

Heb 5:9

Heb 5:9In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.

Heb 5:10

Heb 5:10And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

A Call to Spiritual Growth

Heb 5:11

Heb 5:11There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.

Heb 5:12

Heb 5:12You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.[fn] You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.

Heb 5:13

Heb 5:13For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.

Heb 5:14

Heb 5:14Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.