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Thursday, August 28th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Read the Bible

Complete Jewish Bible

Hebrews 7:7

and it is beyond all dispute that the one who blesses has higher status than the one who receives the blessing.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Abraham;   Benedictions;   Melchizedek;   Priest;   Succession;   Tithes;   Types;   Scofield Reference Index - Sacrifice;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Types of Christ;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Melchizedek;   Priest;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Blessing;   Tithes;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Blessing;   Fulfillment;   Priest, Christ as;   Worship;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Covenant;   Offices of Christ;   Preaching;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Blessing;   Hebrews, the Epistle to the;   Patriarchs;   Tithes;   Zechariah, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Christ, Christology;   Hebrews;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Hebrews, Epistle to;   Melchizedek;   Quotations;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Hebrews Epistle to the;   Mediator;   Priest (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Blessing;   Melchisedec, Melchizedek ;   Tithes;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Paul;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Contradiction;   Hebrews, Epistle to the;   Priest, High;   Priesthood in the New Testament;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Without a doubt, the inferior is blessed by the superior.
King James Version (1611)
And without all contradiction, the lesse is blessed of the better.
King James Version
And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
English Standard Version
It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.
New American Standard Bible
But without any dispute the lesser person is blessed by the greater.
New Century Version
Now everyone knows that the more important person blesses the less important person.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.
Legacy Standard Bible
But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.
Berean Standard Bible
And indisputably, the lesser is blessed by the greater.
Contemporary English Version
Everyone agrees that a person who gives a blessing is greater than the one who receives the blessing.
Darby Translation
But beyond all gainsaying, the inferior is blessed by the better.
Easy-to-Read Version
And everyone knows that the more important person always blesses the less important person.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And without all contradiction the lesse is blessed of the greater.
George Lamsa Translation
Beyond dispute: he who was less was blessed by him who was greater than himself.
Good News Translation
There is no doubt that the one who blesses is greater than the one who is blessed.
Lexham English Bible
Now without any dispute the inferior is blessed by the more prominent.
Literal Translation
But without contradiction, the lesser is blessed by the better.
Amplified Bible
Yet it is beyond all dispute that the lesser person is always blessed by the greater one.
American Standard Version
But without any dispute the less is blessed of the better.
Bible in Basic English
But there is no doubt that the less gets his blessing from the greater.
Hebrew Names Version
But without any dispute the less is blessed of the better.
International Standard Version
It is beyond dispute that the less important person is blessed by the more important person.
Etheridge Translation
But, without controversy, he who is less is blessed by one who is Greater than himself.
Murdock Translation
But it is beyond controversy, that the inferior is blessed by his superior.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And without all controuersie, the lesse is blessed of the better.
English Revised Version
But without any dispute the less is blessed of the better.
World English Bible
But without any dispute the less is blessed of the better.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the greater.
Weymouth's New Testament
And beyond all dispute it is always the inferior who is blessed by the superior.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
With outen ony ayenseiyng, that that is lesse, is blessid of the betere.
Update Bible Version
But without any dispute the less is blessed of the better.
Webster's Bible Translation
And without all contradiction the less is blessed by the better.
New English Translation
Now without dispute the inferior is blessed by the superior,
New King James Version
Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.
New Living Translation
And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.
New Life Bible
The one who shows respect is always greater than the one who receives it.
New Revised Standard
It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, apart from all gainsaying, the less, by the greater, is blessed.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And without all contradiction, that which is less is blessed by the better.
Revised Standard Version
It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And no man denyeth but that which is lesse receaveth blessinge of yt which is greater.
Young's Literal Translation
and apart from all controversy, the less by the better is blessed --
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Now is it so without all naysayenge, that the lesse receaueth blessynge of ye better.
Mace New Testament (1729)
now 'tis past dispute, he that is blessed is inferior to him that blesses:
Simplified Cowboy Version
So if you're following along, consider this, the one who does the blessing is greater than the one who gets the blessing.

Contextual Overview

1 This Malki-Tzedek, king of Shalem, a cohen of God Ha‘Elyon, met Avraham on his way back from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him ; 2 also Avraham gave him a tenth of everything . Now first of all, by translation of his name, he is "king of righteousness"; and then he is also king of Shalem , which means "king of peace." 3 There is no record of his father, mother, ancestry, birth or death; rather, like the Son of God, he continues as a cohen for all time. 4 Just think how great he was! Even the Patriarch Avraham gave him a tenth of the choicest spoils. 5 Now the descendants of Levi who became cohanim have a commandment in the Torah to take a tenth of the income of the people, that is, from their own brothers, despite the fact that they too are descended from Avraham. 6 But Malki-Tzedek, even though he was not descended from Levi, took a tenth from Avraham. Also, he blessed Avraham, the man who received God's promises; 7 and it is beyond all dispute that the one who blesses has higher status than the one who receives the blessing. 8 Moreover, in the case of the cohanim, the tenth is received by men who die; while in the case of Malki-Tzedek, it is received by someone who is testified to be still alive. 9 One might go even further and say that Levi, who himself receives tenths, paid a tenth through Avraham; 10 inasmuch as he was still in his ancestor Avraham's body when Malki-Tzedek met him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

without: 1 Timothy 3:16

the less: Hebrews 11:20, Hebrews 11:21, Genesis 27:20-40, Genesis 28:1-4, Genesis 47:7-10, Genesis 48:15-20, Genesis 49:28, Numbers 6:23-27, Deuteronomy 32:1, 2 Samuel 6:20, 1 Kings 8:55, 2 Chronicles 30:27, Luke 24:50, Luke 24:51, 2 Corinthians 13:14

Reciprocal: Genesis 14:19 - he blessed Genesis 47:10 - General Exodus 40:15 - everlasting Leviticus 9:22 - his hand Joshua 22:6 - General 1 Chronicles 16:2 - he blessed Isaiah 9:16 - led of them Luke 2:34 - blessed

Cross-References

Genesis 6:18
But I will establish my covenant with you; you will come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife and your sons' wives with you.
Genesis 7:1
(ii) Adonai said to Noach, "Come into the ark, you and all your household; for I have seen that you alone in this generation are righteous before me.
Genesis 7:13
On that same day Noach entered the ark with Shem, Ham and Yefet the sons of Noach, Noach's wife and the three wives of his sons accompanying them;
Genesis 7:15
They went in to Noach in the ark, couples from every kind of living thing that breathes.
Proverbs 22:3
The clever see trouble coming and hide; the simple go on and pay the penalty.
Matthew 24:38
Back then, before the Flood, people went on eating and drinking, taking wives and becoming wives, right up till the day Noach entered the ark;
Luke 17:27
People ate and drank, and men and women married, right up until the day Noach entered the ark; then the flood came and destroyed them all.
Hebrews 6:18
so that through two unchangeable things, in neither of which God could lie, we, who have fled to take a firm hold on the hope set before us, would be strongly encouraged.
Hebrews 11:7
By trusting , Noach, after receiving divine warning about things as yet unseen, was filled with holy fear and built an ark to save his household. Through this trusting , he put the world under condemnation and received the righteousness that comes from trusting .
1 Peter 3:20
to those who were disobedient long ago, in the days of Noach, when God waited patiently during the building of the ark, in which a few people — to be specific, eight — were delivered by means of water.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the greater. This is a self-evident truth, and is undeniable; it admits of no controversy, and cannot be gainsaid, that he that blesseth is greater in that respect than he that is blessed by him; as the priests were greater in their office than the people who were blessed by them; and so Melchizedek, as a priest of the most high God, and as blessing Abraham, was greater than he; and so must be greater than the Levites, who sprung from him; and his priesthood be more excellent than theirs; and consequently Christ, his antitype, and who was of his order, must be greater too; which is the design of the apostle throughout the whole of his reasoning.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And without all contradiction - It is an admitted principle; a point about which there can be no dispute.

The less is blessed of the better - The act of pronouncing a blessing is understood to imply superiority of rank, age, or station. So when a father lays his hand on his children and blesses them, it is understood to be the act of one superior in age, venerableness, and authority; when a prophet pronounced a blessing on the people, the same thing was understood, and the same is true also when a minister of religion pronounces a blessing on a congregation. It is the act of one who is understood to sustain an office above the people on whom the blessing is pronounced. This was understood of the Saviour when parents brought their children to him to lay his hands on them and bless them Matthew 19:13; and the same was true of Jacob when dying he blessed the sons of Joseph; Hebrews 11:21; Genesis 48:5-20. The word “less” here means the one of inferior rank; who is less in office, honor, or age. It does not imply inferiority of moral or religious character, for this is not the point under consideration. The word “better” means one who is of superior office or rank, not one who has necessarily a purer or holier character. That Melchizedek was thus superior to Abraham, Paul says, is implied by the very declaration that he “blessed him.” It is also seen to be true by the whole comparison. Abraham was a petty prince; an “Emir” - the head of a company of Nomades, or migratory shepherds, having, it is true, a large number of dependants, but still not having the rank here given to Melchizedek. Though called “a prophet” Genesis 20:7, yet he is nowhere called either a priest or a king. In these respects, it was undoubted that he was inferior to Melchizedek.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Hebrews 7:7. The less is blessed of the better. — That the superior blesses the inferior is a general proposition; but Abraham was blessed of Melchisedec, therefore Melchisedec was greater than Abraham. "The blessing here spoken of," says Dr. Macknight, "is not the simple wishing of good to others, which may be done by inferiors to superiors; but it is the action of a person authorized to declare God's intention to bestow good things on another. In this manner Isaac and Jacob blessed their children under a prophetic impulse; in this manner the priests under the law blessed the people; in this manner, likewise, Melchisedec, the priest of the most high God, blessed Abraham."


 
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