Hebrews 5:6-8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
6 just as he says in another place:[a]
“You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.”(A)
7 In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death,[b] and he was heard because of his reverence.(B) 8 Son though he was,[c] he learned obedience from what he suffered;(C)
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- 5:6–8 The author of Hebrews is the only New Testament writer to cite Ps 110:4, here and in Hb 7:17, 21, to show that Jesus has been called by God to his role as priest. Hb 5:7–8 deal with his ability to sympathize with sinners, because of his own experience of the trials and weakness of human nature, especially fear of death. In his present exalted state, weakness is foreign to him, but he understands what we suffer because of his previous earthly experience.
- 5:7 He offered prayers…to the one who was able to save him from death: at Gethsemane (cf. Mk 14:35), though some see a broader reference (see note on Jn 12:27).
- 5:8 Son though he was: two different though not incompatible views of Jesus’ sonship coexist in Hebrews, one associating it with his exaltation, the other with his preexistence. The former view is the older one (cf. Rom 1:4).
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