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

16And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt? 17And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? 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? 19So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.

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 3:11So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”
• Numbers 14:30You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
• Deuteronomy 1:34“When the Lord heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore,
• Numbers 14:11And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?
• Numbers 20:12But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”
• Deuteronomy 1:26“But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to go in.
• Deuteronomy 9:23And at Kadesh-barnea the Lord sent you out with this command: ‘Go up and take over the land I have given you.’ But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to put your trust in him or obey him.
• Psalms 106:24The people refused to enter the pleasant land, for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them.

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