Hebrews 3:8

Hebrews 3:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
• New International Version (NIV)do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness,
• English Standard Version (ESV)do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness,

Context of Hebrews 3:8

6But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ. 7That is why the Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness. 9There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years. 10So I was angry with them, and I said, ‘Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’

Hebrews 3:8 word by word

μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν ὡς ἐν τῷ παραπικρασμῷ κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν τοῦ πειρασμοῦ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Hardenσκληρύνωsklērunō · to hardenG4645
• notμήmē · notG3361
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• heartsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• heartsκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the provocationπαραπικρασμόςparapikrasmos · rebellionG3894
• inκατάkata · according toG2596
• the dayἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
• of temptationπειρασμόςpeirasmos · temptation/testing: testingG3986
• the wildernessἔρημοςerēmos · desertedG2048

Cross-references for Hebrews 3:8

• Hebrews 3:12Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.
• Exodus 8:15But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted.
• 1 Samuel 6:6Don’t be stubborn and rebellious as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. By the time God was finished with them, they were eager to let Israel go.
• 2 Kings 17:14But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the Lord their God.
• 2 Chronicles 30:8Do not be stubborn, as they were, but submit yourselves to the Lord. Come to his Temple, which he has set apart as holy forever. Worship the Lord your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you.
• 2 Chronicles 36:13He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty in God’s name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.
• Nehemiah 9:16“But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands.
• Job 9:4For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever challenged him successfully?
• Proverbs 28:14Blessed are those who fear to do wrong, but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble.
• Proverbs 29:1Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery.
• Jeremiah 7:26But my people have not listened to me or even tried to hear. They have been stubborn and sinful—even worse than their ancestors.
• Ezekiel 3:7But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn.
• Daniel 5:20But when his heart and mind were puffed up with arrogance, he was brought down from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.
• Zechariah 7:11“Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing.
• Matthew 13:15For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’
• Acts 19:9But some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

Commentaries on Hebrews 3:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Harden not your hearts - Which ye will infallibly do, if ye will not hear his voice. Provocation - · From , signifying intensity, and , to make bitter; the exasperation, or bitter provocation. "The Israelites provoked God first in the wilderness of Sin, (Pelusium), when they murmured for want of bread, and had the manna given them, Exodus 16:4. From the wilderness of Sin they journeyed to Rephidim, where they provoked God a second time for want of water…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Harden not your hearts - Do not render the heart insensible to the divine voice and admonition. A hard heart is that where the conscience is seared and insensible; where truth makes no impression; where no religious effect is produced by afflictions; where preaching is listened to without interest; and where the mind is unaffected by the appeals of friends. The idea here is, that a refusal to listen to the voice of God is connected with a hardening of the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-13Verses 7-13 Days of temptation are often days of provocation. But to provoke God, when he is letting us see that we entirely depend and live upon him, is a provocation indeed. The hardening of the heart is the spring of all other sins. The sins of others, especially of our relations, should be warnings to us. All sin, especially sin committed by God's professing, privileged people, not only provokes God, but it grieves him. God is loth to destroy any in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8The Israelites rebelled and tested God in places like Massah and Meribah, where water was scarce (Exodus 17:1–7; Numbers 20:2–13). They especially disobeyed at Kadesh by refusing to enter the promised land (Hebrews 3:10; see Numbers 14:1–25; Deuteronomy 1:19–46; Psalm 106).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-117-11. Exhortation from Psa 95:7-11, not through unbelief to lose participation in the spiritual house. Seeing that we are the house of God if we hold fast our confidence ... (He 3:6). Jesus is "faithful," be not ye unfaithful (He 3:2, 12). The sentence beginning with "wherefore," interrupted by the parenthesis confirming the argument from Psa 95:7-11, is completed at He 3:12, "Take heed," &c. Holy Ghost saith--by the inspired Psalmist; so that the words…Read the comment

Topics related to Hebrews 3:8

• Call
• Decision
• Heart
• Impenitence
• Obduracy (Hardness)
• Procrastination
• Prophecy
• Quotations and Allusions
• Self-Will
• Symbols and Similitudes
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• Apostle
• Day
• Holy Ghost
• Massah
• Moses
• Unbelief
• Congregation
• Faint
• Faithful; Faithfulness
• Harden

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