Jesus Our High Priest

Therefore, (A)holy brothers and sisters, partakers of a (B)heavenly calling, consider (C)the Apostle and (D)High Priest of our (E)confession: Jesus; [a]He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as (F)Moses also was in all His house. (G)For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now (H)Moses was faithful in all [b]God’s house as (I)a servant, (J)for a testimony of those things (K)which were to be spoken later; but Christ was faithful as (L)a Son over His house—(M)whose house we are, (N)if we hold firmly to our (O)confidence and the boast of our [c](P)hope.

Therefore, just as (Q)the Holy Spirit says,

(R)Today if you hear His voice,
(S)Do not harden your hearts as [d]when they provoked Me,
As on the day of trial in the wilderness,
(T)Where your fathers put Me to the test,
And saw My works for (U)forty years.
10 (V)Therefore I was angry with this generation,
And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
And they did not know My ways’;
11 (W)As I swore in My anger,
They certainly shall not enter My rest.’”

The Danger of Unbelief

12 (X)Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart [e]that falls away from (Y)the living God. 13 But (Z)encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the (AA)deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ (AB)if we keep the beginning of our [f](AC)commitment firm until the end, 15 while it is said,

(AD)Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts, as [g]when they provoked Me.”

16 For who (AE)provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, (AF)did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, (AG)whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear (AH)that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were (AI)disobedient? 19 And so we see that they were not able to enter because of (AJ)unbelief.

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 3:2 Lit being faithful
  2. Hebrews 3:5 Lit His
  3. Hebrews 3:6 One early ms adds firm until the end
  4. Hebrews 3:8 Lit in the provocation
  5. Hebrews 3:12 Or that leaves the; lit in falling away from
  6. Hebrews 3:14 Or assurance
  7. Hebrews 3:15 Lit in the rebellion

Jesus Is Greater Than Moses

And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and[a] are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger[b] and High Priest. For he was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God’s entire[c] house.

But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself. For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God.

Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.[d]

That is why the Holy Spirit says,

“Today when you hear his voice,
    don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled,
    when they tested me in the wilderness.
There your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
    even though they saw my miracles for forty years.
10 So I was angry with them, and I said,
‘Their hearts always turn away from me.
    They refuse to do what I tell them.’
11 So in my anger I took an oath:
    ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”[e]

12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters.[f] Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 15 Remember what it says:

“Today when you hear his voice,
    don’t harden your hearts
    as Israel did when they rebelled.”[g]

16 And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? 18 And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him? 19 So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.

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Footnotes

  1. 3:1a Greek And so, holy brothers who.
  2. 3:1b Greek God’s apostle.
  3. 3:2 Some manuscripts do not include entire.
  4. 3:6 Some manuscripts add faithful to the end.
  5. 3:7-11 Ps 95:7-11.
  6. 3:12 Greek brothers.
  7. 3:15 Ps 95:7-8.