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God’s Promised Rest

Therefore we must be wary[a] that, while the promise of entering his rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it. For we had good news proclaimed to us just as they did. But the message they heard did them no good, since they did not join in[b] with those who heard it in faith.[c] For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest!’”[d] And yet God’s works[e] were accomplished from the foundation of the world. For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works,”[f] but to repeat the text cited earlier:[g]They will never enter my rest!

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 4:1 tn Grk “let us fear.”
  2. Hebrews 4:2 tn Or “they were not united.”
  3. Hebrews 4:2 tc A few mss (א and a few versional witnesses) have the nominative singular participle συγκεκερασμένος (sunkekerasmenos, “since it [the message] was not combined with faith by those who heard it”), a reading that refers back to the ὁ λόγος (ho logos, “the message”). There are a few other variants here (e.g., συγκεκεραμμένοι [sunkekerammenoi] in 104, συγκεκεραμένους [sunkekeramenous] in 1881 M), but the accusative plural participle συγκεκερασμένους (sunkekerasmenous), found in P13vid,46 A B C D* Ψ 0243 0278 33 81 1739 2464, has by far the best external credentials. This participle agrees with the previous ἐκείνους (ekeinous, “those”), a more difficult construction grammatically than the nominative singular. Thus, both on external and internal grounds, συγκεκερασμένους is preferred.
  4. Hebrews 4:3 sn A quotation from Ps 95:11.
  5. Hebrews 4:3 tn Grk “although the works,” continuing the previous reference to God. The referent (God) is specified in the translation for clarity.
  6. Hebrews 4:4 sn A quotation from Gen 2:2.
  7. Hebrews 4:5 tn Grk “and in this again.”

The Rest that Remains for the People of God

Therefore let us fear, while there[a] remains a promise of entering into his rest, that none of you appear to fall short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us[b], just as those also did, but the message they heard[c] did not benefit them, because they[d] were not united with those who heard it in faith. For we who have believed enter into rest,[e] just as he has said,

“As I swore in my anger,
They will never enter[f] into my rest.’”[g]

And yet these works have been accomplished from the foundation of the world. For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works,”[h] and in this passage again, ‘They will never enter[i] into my rest.’”[j]

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 4:1 Here “while” is supplied as a component of the participle (“remains”) which is understood as temporal
  2. Hebrews 4:2 Literally “for we are also having had the good news proclaimed”
  3. Hebrews 4:2 Literally “of hearing”
  4. Hebrews 4:2 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“united”) which is understood as causal
  5. Hebrews 4:3 Some manuscripts have “that rest”
  6. Hebrews 4:3 Literally “if they will enter”
  7. Hebrews 4:3 A quotation from Ps 95:11
  8. Hebrews 4:4 A quotation from Gen 2:2
  9. Hebrews 4:5 Literally “if they will enter”
  10. Hebrews 4:5 A quotation from Ps 95:11