Hebrews 3–4

Chapter 3

Jesus Our High Priest

¹Therefore, ^aholy brethren, partakers of a ^bheavenly calling, consider Jesus, ^cthe Apostle and ^dHigh Priest of our ^econfession;

²¹He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as ^aMoses also was in all His house.

^3aFor He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house.

⁴For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.

⁵Now ^aMoses was faithful in all His house as ^ba servant, ^cfor a testimony of those things ^dwhich were to be spoken later;

⁶but Christ was faithful as ^aa Son over His house—^bwhose house we are, ^cif we hold fast our ^dconfidence and the boast of our ^ehope firm until the end.

⁷Therefore, just as ^athe Holy Spirit says,

“^bToday if you hear His voice,

^8aDo not harden your hearts as ¹when they provoked Me,

As in the day of trial in the wilderness,

^9aWhere your fathers tried Me by testing Me,

And saw My works for ^bforty years.

¹⁰“^aTherefore I was angry with this generation,

And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,

And they did not know My ways’;

^11aAs I swore in My wrath,

‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

The Peril of Unbelief

^12aTake care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart ¹that falls away from ^bthe living God.

¹³But ^aencourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the ^bdeceitfulness of sin.

¹⁴For we have become partakers of Christ, ^aif we hold fast the beginning of our ^bassurance firm until the end,

¹⁵while it is said,

“^aToday if you hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts, as ¹when they provoked Me.”

¹⁶For who ^aprovoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, ^bdid not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?

¹⁷And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, ^awhose bodies fell in the wilderness?

¹⁸And to whom did He swear ^athat they would not enter His rest, but to those who were ^bdisobedient?

¹⁹So we see that they were not able to enter because of ^aunbelief.

Chapter 4

The Believer’s Rest

¹Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have ^acome short of it.

²For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but ^athe word ¹they heard did not profit them, because ²it was not united by faith in those who heard.

³For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,

“^aAs I swore in My wrath,

They shall not enter My rest,”

although His works were finished ^bfrom the foundation of the world.

⁴For He has said ^asomewhere concerning the seventh day: “^bAnd God ^crested on the seventh day from all His works”;

⁵and again in this passage, “^aThey shall not enter My rest.”

⁶Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of ^adisobedience,

⁷He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying ¹through David after so long a time just ^aas has been said before,

“^bToday if you hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts.”

⁸For ^aif ¹Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.

⁹So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

¹⁰For the one who has entered His rest has himself also ^arested from his works, as ^bGod did from His.

¹¹Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same ^aexample of ^bdisobedience.

¹²For ^athe word of God is ^bliving and ^cactive and sharper than any two-edged ^dsword, and piercing as far as the division of ^esoul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and ^fable to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

¹³And ^athere is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are ^bopen and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great ^ahigh priest who has ^bpassed through the heavens, Jesus ^cthe Son of God, let us hold fast our ^dconfession.

¹⁵For we do not have ^aa high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been ^btempted in all things as we are, yet ^cwithout sin.

¹⁶Therefore let us ^adraw near with ^bconfidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.