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?
• 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?
• New Living Translation (NLT)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?

Context of Hebrews 3:18

16For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

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 3:11As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'"
• Numbers 14:30not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
• Deuteronomy 1:34"And the Lord heard your words and was angered, and he swore,
• Numbers 14:11And the Lord said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?
• Numbers 20:12And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them."
• Deuteronomy 1:26"Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God.
• Deuteronomy 9:23And when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, 'Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,' then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God and did not believe him or obey his voice.
• Psalms 106:24Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise.

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