Hebrews 3
New Matthew Bible
He calls upon us to hear and honour the word of Christ, who is more worthy than Moses. The punishment of persons who stubbornly harden their hearts.
3 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the celestial calling, consider the ambassador and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, even as Moses was in all his house. 3 And yet this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who has prepared the house has more honour in the house.
4 Every house is built by some man. But he who ordained all things is God. 5 And Moses truly was faithful in all his house, as a servant, to bear witness of those things that were to be spoken afterward. 6 But Christ as a son has rule over the house – whose house we are, if so be that we hold fast the confidence and the assurance of that hope to the end.
7 Therefore as the Holy Spirit says: Today if you hear his voice, 8 harden not your hearts, as in the rebellion in the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers tried me, proved me, and saw my works forty years long. 10 Therefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do ever err in their hearts; they have not acknowledged my ways. 11 So I swore in my wrath that they would not enter into my rest.
12 Take heed, brethren, that there be in none of you an evil heart in unbelief, that he should depart from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you grow hard-hearted through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 We are partakers of Christ if we keep sure until the end the first confidence, 15 as long as it is said: Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as when you rebelled. 16 For some, when they heard, rebelled – though not everyone who came out of Egypt under Moses. 17 But with whom was he displeased for forty years? Was he not displeased with those who sinned, whose bodies were overthrown in the desert? 18 To whom did he swear that they would not enter into his rest, but to those who did not believe? 19 And we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3
New Catholic Bible
A High Priest for Humanity[a]
Chapter 3
Christ’s Fidelity Is Superior to That of Moses.[b] 1 Therefore, holy brethren, who share in a heavenly calling, concentrate your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and the high priest of our profession of faith. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in God’s household.
3 However, he is deserving of a greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house is more honored than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all is God.
5 Now Moses was faithful as a servant in God’s household, testifying to the things that would later be revealed, 6 whereas Christ was faithful as a son watching over his house. And we are that house if we hold firm to our confidence and take pride in our hope.
The “Today” of God.[c] 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
8 harden not your hearts as at the rebellion,
in the day of testing in the desert,
9 where your ancestors tried me and tested me
though they had seen what I could do 10 for forty years.
As a result I became angered with that generation,
and I said, ‘Their hearts have always gone astray,
and they do not know my ways.’
11 Therefore, I swore in my anger,
‘They will never enter into my rest.’ ”
12 Take care, brethren, that none of you will ever have an evil and unbelieving heart that will cause you to forsake the living God. 13 Rather, encourage each other every day, as long as it is today, so that none of you will become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we will become partners with Christ only if we maintain firmly until the end the confidence we originally had, 15 as it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts as at the rebellion.”
16 Who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Were they not all those whom Moses had led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angered for forty years? Was it not with those who had sinned and whose corpses lay in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would never enter into his rest, if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see clearly that they were unable to enter because of their refusal to believe.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 3:1 The Covenant with Israel was entered into in the wilderness. Two great figures stood out: Moses and Aaron—the two mediators of the Law and sacrifice, of authority and worship. But when the work of Christ becomes known, all of that proves to have been provisional. And to speak of Christ the author develops two ideas: fidelity to God and solidarity or sympathy with humans. In between these two developments he inserts a long exhortation to serious Christians.
- Hebrews 3:1 The fidelity of Jesus is greater than that of Moses. Both were “apostles,” sent by God to the people, and “priests,” i.e., representatives of the people before God. But Moses acted in the world as a servant who carries out a limited mandate. Christ accomplishes his work personally, in his own name, like a Son. This work belongs to him; and it is the community of believers that he establishes in the world of God.
- Hebrews 3:7 Like Israel of the Exodus, the Church is on the march, on earth, certain of the promise of God but exposed to temptation. Since the Jewish people love to cling to the great epoch in the wilderness, the author invites them to profit from the lesson of that time—which is one of fidelity—offering them a commentary on Ps 95. His argument, which follows the exegetical methods of the time, may seem somewhat complicated. The generation of Hebrews delivered from Egypt did not enter the promised land because it rebelled against God (see Ex 17:1-7; Num 14:28-35). The memory of that rebellion remained alive in the Jewish tradition (see 1 Cor 10:1-11). Ps 95, which at that period was attributed to David, was written long after the Exile, when the perspective was no longer the conquest of Canaan, which had been accomplished by Joshua. The promise to enter into the rest of God has not become something distant: it is deeply involved with the fulfillment of creation, with sharing today in the divine life by following Christ along the way he has opened up (Heb 4:14).
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
