Hebrews 7:2-6
7:2 To him 1 also Abraham apportioned a tithe 2 of everything. 3 His name first means 4 king of righteousness, then king of Salem, that is, king of peace.
7:3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life but is like the son of God, and he remains a priest for all time.
7:4 But see how great he must be, if 5 Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe 6 of his plunder.
7:5 And those of the sons of Levi who receive the priestly office 7 have authorization according to the law to collect a tithe from the people, that is, from their fellow countrymen, 8 although they too are descendants of Abraham. 9
7:6 But Melchizedek 10 who does not share their ancestry 11 collected a tithe 12 from Abraham and blessed 13 the one who possessed the promise.
1 tn Grk “to whom,” continuing the description of Melchizedek. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
2 tn Or “a tenth part.”
3 sn A quotation from Gen 14:20.
4 tn Grk “first being interpreted,” describing Melchizedek.
5 tn Grk “to whom.”
6 tn Or “a tenth part.”
7 tn Or “the priesthood.”
8 tn Grk “from their brothers.” See BDAG 18-19 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.b.
9 tn Grk “have come from the loins of Abraham.”
10 tn Grk “the one”; in the translation the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified for clarity.
11 tn Grk “is not descended from them.”
12 tn Or “a tenth part.”
13 sn The verbs “collected…and blessed” emphasize the continuing effect of the past actions, i.e., Melchizedek’s importance.