1 FOR every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:
2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

1For euery high Priest taken from among men, is ordeined for men in things pertaining to God, that hee may offer both giftes & sacrifices for sins.

2Who can haue compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way, for that he himselfe also is compassed with infirmitie.

3And by reason heereof hee ought as for the people, so also for himselfe, to offer for sinnes.

4And no man taketh this honour vnto himselfe, but hee that is called of God, as was Aaron.

5So also, Christ glorified not himselfe, to bee made an High Priest: but hee that saide vnto him, Thou art my Sonne, to day haue I begotten thee.

6As he saith also in another place, Thou art a Priest for euer after the order of Melchisedec.

7Who in the dayes of his flesh, when hee had offered vp prayers and supplications, with strong crying and teares, vnto him that was able to saue him from death, and was heard, in that he feared.

8Though hee were a Sonne, yet learned hee obedience, by the things which he suffered:

9And being made perfect, he became the authour of eternall saluation vnto all them that obey him,

10Called of God an high Priest after the order of Melchisedec:

11Of whom we haue many things to say, and hard to be vttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.

12For when for the time yee ought to bee teachers, yee haue neede that one teach you againe which be the first principles of the Oracles of God, and are become such as haue need of milke, and not of strong meat.

13For euery one that vseth milke, is vnskilful in the word of righteousnes: for he is a babe.

14But strong meate belongeth to them that are of full age, euen those who by reason of vse haue their senses exercised to discerne both good and euil.

 

1 Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness 3 and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. 4 No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: "You are my son; this day I have begotten you"; 6 just as he says in another place: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." 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, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; 9 and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10 declared by God high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. 11 About this we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, for you have become sluggish in hearing. 12 Although you should be teachers by this time, you need to have someone teach you again the basic elements of the utterances of God. You need milk, (and) not solid food. 13 Everyone who lives on milk lacks experience of the word of righteousness, for he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties are trained by practice to discern good and evil.

v 1-3. God appointed men, not angels to be high priests. Angels have not experienced what men have, and would not have the compassion and understanding. The high priest even had to offer a sacrifice for his own sin. Those “ignorant” are not stupid, they just don’t know and understand. We are “kings and priests”, 1 Pet. 2:9 and Rev. 1:6, so we must have compassion and tell them. As the High Priest had to confess his own sins before ministering to the people, so must we, 1 Jn 1:8,9.
v 4,5. Aaron was high priest by God’s appointment, not because of his own decision. Christ also was chosen by God and qualified by becoming a man.
v 6. Not  Melchizedek, but “after the order of”, details will be given in 7:1-3.
v 7. Christ would have known the horrors of crucifixtion, and in the flesh feared it. He also knew of the unfairness, the tauntings and the pain of scourging, and had good reason to weep in the garden. But perhaps a greater fear was what no other had experienced, the separation when God turned His back on Him.
v 8. We learn progressive obedience by failures and corrections. Christ had never sinned, so His  was active obedience by submission to suffering. He knew the suffering of weakness, but never yielded. His trust was in the Father and His will.
v 9. His sufferings as a man proved Him “perfect”, complete, ready and qualified to be the Source of eternal salvation to those who would heed and obey Him.
v 10. The call, appointment or order for Christ’s high priestly ministry was from God. See v 6 and 7:1-3 and Ps. 110:4.
v 11. He had more to say about that ministry, but it was difficult to explain since these people had become spiritually sluggish and lacked spiritual insight.
v 12. Ye is personal to believers. They had been saved long enough to have been teachers, but had grown so lax and undeveloped that they needed teaching on the basic things  themselves, or at least taught to discern what were essential truths. Need spiritual growth.
v 13. Here is a figure of speech. Those continuing to partake of just milk of the Word were obviously unskilled in doctrinal truths because they were spiritual infants.
v 14. These Jews had become Christians and believed in Christ for salvation, but they didn’t understand what it means to have a Savior to direct our lives and stand by to aid. Many today have been saved, but that is the only thing they have been taught, and they are hardly recognizable as Christians. They may still be content in their old modernistic or cultish ways. Others have been saved and believe the doctrines because some one has taught them that they are right, but they don’t understand them at all. When a false teacher comes along they are easily led into error.