Hebrews 7:20

New Living Translation

This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron's descendants became priests without such an oath,

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
None of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without an oath,

King James Version (1611)
And in as much as not without an othe he was made Priest,

King James Version
And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest:

English Standard Version
And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath,

New American Standard Bible
And to the extent that it was not without an oath

New Century Version
It is important that God did this with an oath. Others became priests without an oath,

Legacy Standard Bible
And inasmuch as it was not without an oath

Berean Standard Bible
And none of this happened without an oath. For others became priests without an oath,

Contemporary English Version
God himself made a promise when this priest was appointed. But he did not make a promise like this when the other priests were appointed. The promise he made is, "I, the Lord, promise that you will be a priest forever! And I will never change my mind!"

Complete Jewish Bible
What is more, God swore an oath. For no oath was sworn in connection with those who become cohanim now;

Darby Translation
And by how much [it was] not without the swearing of an oath;

Easy-to-Read Version
Also, it is important that God made a promise with an oath when he made Jesus high priest. When those other men became priests, there was no oath.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And for as much as it is not without an othe (for these are made Priestes without an othe:

George Lamsa Translation
And he confirmed it for us by oath.

Good News Translation
In addition, there is also God's vow. There was no such vow when the others were made priests.

Lexham English Bible
And by as much as this was not without an oath (for these on the one hand have become priests without an oath,

Literal Translation
And by how much it was not without oath-taking;

Amplified Bible
And indeed it was not without the taking of an oath [that Christ was made priest]

American Standard Version
And inasmuch as it is not without the taking of an oath

Bible in Basic English
And as this is not without the taking of an oath

Hebrew Names Version
Inasmuch as it is not without the taking of an oath,

International Standard Version
Now none of this happened without an oath. Others became priests without any oath,

Etheridge Translation
And he hath confirmed it unto us in an oath.

Murdock Translation
And he confirmed it to us by an oath.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And in as much as that was not without an oth (For those priestes were made without an oth:

English Revised Version
And inasmuch as it is not without the taking of an oath

World English Bible
Inasmuch as it is not without the taking of an oath,

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And in as much as not without an oath he was made priest: (For those priests were made without an oath,

Weymouth's New Testament
And since it was not without an oath being taken--

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And hou greet it is, not with out sweryng; but the othere ben maad preestis with outen an ooth;

Update Bible Version
And inasmuch as [it is] not without the taking of an oath

Webster's Bible Translation
And inasmuch as not without an oath [he was made priest]:

New English Translation
And since this was not done without a sworn affirmation—for the others have become priests without a sworn affirmation,

New King James Version
And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath

New Life Bible
God made a promise when Christ became the Religious Leader Who made the way for man to go to God.

New Revised Standard
This was confirmed with an oath; for others who became priests took their office without an oath,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, inasmuch as not apart from oath-taking -

Douay-Rheims Bible
And inasmuch as it is not without an oath (for the others indeed were made priests without an oath:

Revised Standard Version
And it was not without an oath.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And for this cause it is a better hope that it was not promysed with out an othe.

Young's Literal Translation
And inasmuch as [it is] not apart from oath, (for those indeed apart from oath are become priests,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And for this cause is it a better hope, yt it was not promysed without an ooth.

Mace New Testament (1729)
Besides those priests were establish'd without any oath: but this with an oath,

THE MESSAGE
The old priesthood of Aaron perpetuated itself automatically, father to son, without explicit confirmation by God. But then God intervened and called this new, permanent priesthood into being with an added promise: God gave his word; he won't take it back: "You're the permanent priest." This makes Jesus the guarantee of a far better way between us and God—one that really works! A new covenant.

Simplified Cowboy Version
This new trail was blazed through the world with a solemn oath. Aaron's people never made an oath to become priests.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And inasmuch as it was not without an oath

Contextual Overview

¹¹ So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron? ¹² And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit it. ¹³ For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests. ¹⁴ What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe. ¹⁵ This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared. ¹⁶ Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. ¹⁷ And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied, "You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek." ¹⁸ Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless. ¹⁹ For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God. ²⁰ This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron's descendants became priests without such an oath,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cross-References

Psalms 104:6
You clothed the earth with floods of water, water that covered even the mountains.

Jeremiah 3:23
Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion. Only in the Lord our God will Israel ever find salvation.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And inasmuch as not without an oath,.... Our version supplies as follows,

he was made priest; which well agrees with what is said in the next verse; the Syriac version renders it, "and which he confirmed to us by an oath"; that is, the better hope, Christ and his priesthood, said to be brought in, and by which men draw nigh to God; this is established by the oath of God himself referring to Psalms 110:4 afterwards cited in proof of it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And inasmuch as not without an oath - In addition to every other consideration showing the superiority of Christ as a priest, there was the solemnity of the oath by which he was set apart to the office. The appointment of one to the office of priest by an oath, such as occurred in the case of Jesus, was much more solemn and important than where the office was received merely by descent.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 20. Not without an oath — "The apostle's reasoning here is founded on this, that God never interposed his oath, except to show the certainty and immutability of the thing sworn. Thus he sware to Abraham, Genesis 22:16-18, that in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed; and to the rebellious Israelites, Deuteronomy 1:34; Deuteronomy 1:35, that they should not enter into his rest; and to Moses, Deuteronomy 4:21, that he should not go into Canaan; and to David, Psalms 89:4, that his seed should endure for ever, and his throne unto all generations. Wherefore, since Christ was made a priest, not without an oath that he should be a priest for ever, after the similitude of Melchisedec, that circumstance showed God's immutable resolution never to change or abolish his priesthood, nor to change or abolish the covenant which was established on his priesthood; whereas the Levitical priesthood and the law of Moses, being established without an oath, were thereby declared to be changeable at God's pleasure." This judicious note is from Dr. Macknight.