Psalms 95:11

95:11 So I made a vow in my anger,

‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’” ¹ 

Jeremiah 6:16

6:16 The Lord said to his people: ² 

“You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. ³ 

Ask where the old, reliable paths ⁴  are.

Ask where the path is that leads to blessing ⁵  and follow it.

If you do, you will find rest for your souls.”

But they said, “We will not follow it!”

Jeremiah 30:10

30:10 So I, the Lord, tell you not to be afraid,

you descendants of Jacob, my servants. ⁶ 

Do not be terrified, people of Israel.

For I will rescue you and your descendants

from a faraway land where you are captives. ⁷ 

The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace.

They will be secure and no one will terrify them. ⁸ 

Matthew 11:28-29

11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 11:29 Take my yoke ⁹  on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Hebrews 4:8-10

4:8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God ¹⁰  would not have spoken afterward about another day. 4:9 Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. 4:10 For the one who enters God’s ¹¹  rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.

¹ tn Heb “my resting place.” The promised land of Canaan is here viewed metaphorically as a place of rest for God’s people, who are compared to sheep (see v. 7).

² tn The words, “to his people” are not in the text but are implicit in the interchange of pronouns in the Hebrew of vv. 16-17. They are supplied in the translation here for clarity.

³ tn Heb “Stand at the crossroads and look.”

⁴ tn Heb “the ancient path,” i.e., the path the Lord set out in ancient times (cf. Deut 32:7).

⁵ tn Heb “the way of/to the good.”

³ tn Heb “So do not be afraid, my servant Jacob, oracle of the Lord.” Here and elsewhere in the verse the terms Jacob and Israel are poetic for the people of Israel descended from the patriarch Jacob. The terms have been supplied throughout with plural referents for greater clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “For I will rescue you from far away, your descendants from the land of their captivity.”

⁵ sn Compare the ideals of the Mosaic covenant in Lev 26:6, the Davidic covenant in 2 Sam 7:10-11, and the new covenant in Ezek 34:25-31.

⁴ sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restrictions that a teacher or rabbi would place on his followers.

⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Grk “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.