Hebrews 5

5:1 All chief priests are human. They act as agents between other humans and God. The chief priest has to give gifts and sacrifices to God for all the sins that they have done. 5:2 Such a chief priest can be kind and understanding to people who do not know what is right or wrong. He knows how to help them when they go wrong, for he is weak just like them. 5:3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for both his own sins and for their sins. 5:4 No man can decide to be a chief priest. God must appoint him, just as he appointed Aaron.

5:5 So Jesus also did not decide to be the chief priest. God, who said, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father’ (Psalm 2:7), made him the chief priest. 5:6 God says, in another part of the Bible, ‘You are always to be a priest like Melchizedek’ (Psalm 110:4).

5:7 When Jesus lived on earth, he prayed to God who was able to save him from death. He cried aloud to God with many tears. God heard him because he gave honour to God. 5:8 Although he was God’s Son, Jesus came to know through pain what it was to obey God. 5:9 This made him perfect for his work. He is now the source of the salvation that will never end for all who obey him. 5:10 God called him a chief priest after the type of Melchizedek.

5:11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.

5:12 By this time, you ought to be teachers, but you are not able. You need someone to teach you again the basic truths of God’s word. Like babies, you still need milk instead of solid food. 5:13 Christians who still live on milk have not understood the teaching about right living. They are like babies. 5:14 Solid food is for those who have grown up. They have learned to tell the difference between good and bad.