Hebrews 10:38

Hebrews 10:38 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
• New International Version (NIV)And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

Context of Hebrews 10:38

36You need to be patient and strong. Then you will continue to do what God wants. As a result, you will receive what God has promised. 37This is what the Bible says: ‘In a very short time, my special servant will come. He is the one that I promised to send to you. He will not be late. The person that I have accepted as right will live. That person will live because he trusts me. But if anyone is afraid and he turns back, I will not be happy with that person.’ 39But we are not like those people who are afraid and who turn back. If we were, God would destroy us. But we are people who continue to trust God. And so, our lives are safe with God.

Hebrews 10:38 word by word

ὁ δὲ δίκαιός μου ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται· καὶ ἐὰν ὑποστείληται, οὐκ εὐδοκεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου ἐν αὐτῷ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Nowδέde · thenG1161
• the justδίκαιοςdikaios · justG1342
• shall liveζάωzaō · to liveG2198
• byἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102
• butκαίkai · andG2532
• ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• draw backὑποστέλλωhupostellō · to withdrawG5288
• myἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• soulὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• soulψυχήpsuchē · soul: myselfG5590
• shall haveεὐδοκέωeudokeō · to delightG2106
• noοὐou · noG3756
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846

Cross-references for Hebrews 10:38

• Habakkuk 2:4Look now! The enemy is very proud. They do not want to do what is right. But righteous people will live because of their faith in God.
• Romans 1:17The good news explains how God accepts people as right with himself. He does this when they believe in Christ. It is only because of their faith. Nothing else. This is what was written in the Bible long ago: ‘Everyone that God accepts as right will live, because they trust him.’
• Galatians 3:11We know that the Law can not cause anyone to become right with God. That is clear because the Bible says, ‘The person that God has accepted as right will live because they trust him.’
• Hebrews 10:26Now that we have learned what is true, we must continue to believe in Jesus. If we know God's true message, but we still choose to do wrong things, God will not forgive us. There is no other sacrifice that will take away our sins.
• Hebrews 6:4That is important, because we must not turn away from Christ, after we have first believed in him. Some people have come into God's light. They have understood God's message. They have started to enjoy the true life that God has given them. They have received the Holy Spirit, like other believers.
• Psalms 85:8Now I will listen to what the Lord God says. He will give peace to his people, to those who serve him. But they must not turn back to do foolish things again.
• Ezekiel 3:20A righteous person may stop doing things that are right. He may start to do bad things. Then I will put him in danger. He will die as punishment for his sins. I will not remember the good things that he did. But if you have not warned him of the danger, I will say that you are guilty. It is as if you killed him yourself.
• Ezekiel 18:24A righteous person may stop doing things that are good and right. He may start to do the same disgusting things that wicked people do. Then he will not continue to live. I will not remember any of the good things that he did. Instead, I will punish him because of the sins that he has done. He has not been faithful to me, so he will die.
• Zephaniah 1:6‘I will remove those who have turned away from the Lord. I will also remove those who decide things without the Lord.
• Matthew 12:43Jesus then said, ‘When a bad spirit leaves a person, it travels through dry places. It looks for a new place to live. But maybe it does not find anywhere.
• Matthew 13:21But they are like plants that have not grown down well into the soil. So they only believe for a short time. They may have problems. Or other people may do bad things to them, because they obey God's message. When that happens, these people soon stop believing.
• 2 Peter 2:19The false teachers tell these believers to do whatever they want to do. They promise that this will make them really free. But the false teachers themselves are not free. Instead, they are like slaves. They cannot stop doing the bad things that will destroy them. We know that if something has power over a person, then that person is its slave.
• 1 John 2:19These people used to be in our group of believers. But they left us. They never really belonged to our group. If they had been true believers, they would have remained with us. When they left us, it showed clearly that none of them really belonged to us.
• Psalms 5:4My God, you do not like anything that is bad. Evil people cannot live near you.
• Psalms 147:11Who does make the Lord happy? People who respect him and serve him well. People who trust him because they know he loves them.
• Psalms 149:4When the Lord's people serve him, it makes him happy. He is happy to help humble people, so that people respect them.

Commentaries on Hebrews 10:38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 38Now the just shall live by faith - ̔ · But the just by faith, i.e. he who is justified by faith, shall live - shall be preserved when this overflowing scourge shall come. See this meaning of the phrase vindicated, Romans 1:17. And it is evident, both from this text, and Galatians 3:11, that it is in this sense that the apostle uses it. But if any man draw back - ̔· But if he draw back; he, the man who is justified by faith; for it is of him, and none…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 38Now the just shall live by faith - This is a part of the quotation from Habakkuk Habakkuk 2:3-4, which was probably commenced in the previous verse; see the passage fully explained in the notes on Romans 1:17. The meaning in the connection in which it stands here, in accordance with the sense in which it was used by Habakkuk, is, that the righteous should live by “continued confidence” in God. They should pass their lives not in doubt, and fear, and…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 32-39Verses 32-39 Many and various afflictions united against the early Christians, and they had a great conflict. The Christian spirit is not a selfish spirit; it puts us upon pitying others, visiting them, helping them, and pleading for them. All things here are but shadows. The happiness of the saints in heaven will last for ever; enemies can never take it away as earthly goods. This will make rich amends for all we may lose and suffer here. The greatest…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 37-38These verses quote Habakkuk 2:3–4 to show the difference between the righteous and the wicked when they face God's judgment (see also Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-39Instead of the daily ministry of the Levitical priests, Christ's service is perfected by the one sacrifice, whence He now sits on the right hand of God as a Priest-King, until all His foes shall be subdued unto Him. Thus the new covenant (He 8:8-12) is inaugurated, whereby the law is written on the heart, so that an offering for sin is needed no more. Wherefore we ought to draw near the Holiest in firm faith and love; fearful of the awful results of…Read the comment

Topics related to Hebrews 10:38

• Backsliders
• Faith
• Quotations and Allusions

In the dictionaries

• Approach
• Assembling
• Assurance
• Backslide
• Consider
• Draw
• Fearful
• Habakkuk, Prophecies of
• High priest
• Judge

Commentaries on Hebrews 10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings