Hebrews 3–4

Jesus Greater Than Moses

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters,^a who share in the heavenly calling,^b fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge^c as our apostle and high priest.^d He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.^e Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses,^f just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.^g “Moses was faithful as a servant^h in all God’s house,”ⁱ bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son^j over God’s house. And we are his house,^k if indeed we hold firmly^l to our confidence and the hope^m in which we glory.

Warning Against Unbelief

So, as the Holy Spirit says:^a

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts^b

as you did in the rebellion,

during the time of testing in the wilderness,

where your ancestors tested and tried me,

though for forty years they saw what I did.^c

That is why I was angry with that generation;

I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,

and they have not known my ways.’

So I declared on oath in my anger,^d

‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ^e”^f

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.^g But encourage one another daily,^h as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.ⁱ We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold firmly^j till the end our original conviction.^k As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts

as you did in the rebellion.”^l

Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?^m And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?ⁿ And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest^o if not to those who disobeyed?^p So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.^q

A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God

Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.^a For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.^b Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,

‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”^c

And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.”^d And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”^e

Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience,^f God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.”^g

For if Joshua had given them rest,^h God would not have spokenⁱ later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also rest from their own work,^j just as God did from his.^k Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.^l

For the word of God^m is aliveⁿ and active.^o Sharper than any double-edged sword,^p it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.^q Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.^r Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Jesus the Great High Priest

Therefore, since we have a great high priest^a who has ascended into heaven,^b Jesus the Son of God,^c let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.^d For we do not have a high priest^e who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are^f—yet he did not sin.^g Let us then approach^h God’s throne of grace with confidence,ⁱ so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.