Hebrews 4:15
“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Context
Having just affirmed that all things are open before God, the author offers reassurance: the One we answer to is also a high priest who has shared our weaknesses. This sets up the invitation of verse 16.
What Does Hebrews 4:15 Mean?
Hebrews 4:15 assures us that our high priest fully understands our weaknesses because He was tempted in every way we are, yet never sinned. The verse is framed as a double negative turned into a comfort: we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel for us. On the contrary, He can be "touched with the feeling of our infirmities" -- He genuinely shares in our struggles and limitations rather than standing aloof from them.
The phrase "in all points tempted like as we are" sweeps in the full range of human experience: weariness, sorrow, pressure, loss, and the pull toward sin. Jesus knows these not as theory but as lived reality. Yet the verse closes with the crucial words "yet without sin." His full experience of temptation never resulted in failure. This matters in two directions. It means He understands us completely, so no one need feel their struggle is beyond His sympathy. It also means He is qualified to help, because His own integrity remained unbroken. A high priest who had given in to sin could not lift others out of it. Because He faced everything and remained faithful, He can lead us through what we cannot face alone.
In the Original Language
The Greek sympatheō ("touched with the feeling") literally means to suffer together with, and peirazō covers both testing and the enticement to sin.
Cross References
“For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.”
- Hebrews 2:18
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him.”
- Isaiah 53:3
“Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:”
- 1 Peter 2:22
Application
When you feel weak or tempted, draw near to the Savior who truly understands your struggle and overcame it without sin, ready to strengthen you.