Hebrews 3:18

Hebrews 3:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
• New International Version (NIV)And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?
• English Standard Version (ESV)And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?
• New King James Version (NKJV)And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?

Context of Hebrews 3:18

16Who were those people who heard God speak? All of them were the people that Moses led away from Egypt. They heard God's message, but they refused to obey him. 17Who was God angry with for 40 years? He was angry with those same people. They did what was wrong. So they died and their bodies remained in the wilderness. God promised to punish them, because they refused to obey him. He said, ‘They will never arrive in my special place of rest.’ 19So we must be careful ourselves! Those people did not trust God. As a result, they never arrived in God's special place.

Hebrews 3:18 word by word

τίσιν δὲ ὤμοσεν μὴ εἰσελεύσεσθαι εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσιν αὐτοῦ εἰ μὴ τοῖς ἀπειθήσασιν;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andδέde · thenG1161
• to whomτίςtis · which?G5101
• sware heὄμνυμιomnuō · to swearG3660
• thatμήmē · notG3361
• they shouldεἰσέρχομαιeiserchomai · to enterG1525
• intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• restὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• restκατάπαυσιςkatapausis · restG2663
• butεἰei · if: notG1487
• to them that believed notἀπειθέωapeitheō · to disobeyG544

Cross-references for Hebrews 3:18

• Hebrews 3:11Because of that, I promised to punish them. Because I was angry with them, I said, “They will never arrive in my special place of rest.” ’
• Numbers 14:30None of them will go into the land that I promised to give to you to live in. The only men who will go in are Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun.
• Deuteronomy 1:34When the Lord heard that you were complaining, he was angry. He made this serious promise:
• Numbers 14:11The Lord said to Moses, ‘These people continue to turn away from me. I did great miracles to show them my power. But still they will not trust me.
• Numbers 20:12The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘You did not trust me enough to show the Israelites that I am holy. So you will not lead them into the land that I have promised to give to them.’
• Deuteronomy 1:26But you refused to go into the land. You turned against the Lord your God.
• Deuteronomy 9:23When the Lord sent you out from Kadesh-Barnea, he said, ‘Go into the land that I have given to you and live there.’ But you turned against the Lord your God. You refused to trust him or obey him.
• Psalms 106:24Later, they did not believe God's promise to take them safely into the beautiful land of Canaan.

Commentaries on Hebrews 3:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18To whom sware he - God never acts by any kind of caprice; whenever he pours out his judgments, there are the most positive reasons to vindicate his conduct. Those whose carcasses fell in the wilderness were they who had sinned. And those who did not enter into his rest were those who believed not. God is represented here as swearing that they should not enter in, in order to show the determinate nature of his purpose, the reason on which it was founded…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18And to whom sware he - note, Hebrews 3:11. But to them that believed not - That did not confide in God; Deuteronomy 1:32. “Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God.” In consequence of this want of faith, God solemnly sware unto them that they should not enter into the promised land; Deuteronomy 1:34-35. “And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying, “Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-19Verses 14-19 The saints' privilege is, they are made partakers of Christ, that is, of the Spirit, the nature, graces, righteousness, and life of Christ; they are interested in all Christ is, in all he has done, or will do. The same spirit with which Christians set out in the ways of God, they should maintain unto the end. Perseverance in faith is the best evidence of the sincerity of our faith. Hearing the word often is a means of salvation, yet, if not…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-19These verses use a series of quick questions and answers, a common rhetorical method. The three questions follow the ideas in Psalm 95:8–11: The people of Israel rebelled against God, God was angry, and God swore they would never enter his rest. The answers come from other Old Testament passages about the Israelites' rebellion in the wilderness (Numbers 14; Deuteronomy 9; Psalm 106). The author emphasizes the severe consequences of disobeying God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. to them that believed not--rather as Greek, "to them that disobeyed." Practical unbelief (De 1:26).Read the comment

Topics related to Hebrews 3:18

• Assurance
• Backsliders
• Oath
• Procrastination
• Reprobacy
• Unbelief

In the dictionaries

• Apostle
• Moses
• Unbelief
• Congregation
• Faint
• Faithful; Faithfulness
• Hebrews, Epistle to the
• Mark
• Papyrus
• Sons of God

Commentaries on Hebrews 3

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings