Hebrews 3:1--5:10

Jesus and Moses

3:1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, ¹  partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess, ²  3:2 who is faithful to the one who appointed him, as Moses was also in God’s ³  house. ⁴  3:3 For he has come to deserve greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves greater honor than the house itself! 3:4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 3:5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s ⁵  house ⁶  as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken. 3:6 But Christ ⁷  is faithful as a son over God’s ⁸  house. We are of his house, ⁹  if in fact we hold firmly ¹⁰  to our confidence and the hope we take pride in. ¹¹ 

Exposition of Psalm 95: Hearing God’s Word in Faith

3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ¹² 

“Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! ¹³ 

3:8 “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness.

3:9 “There your fathers tested me and tried me, ¹⁴  and they saw my works for forty years.

3:10 “Therefore, I became provoked at that generation and said, ‘Their hearts are always wandering ¹⁵  and they have not known my ways.’

3:11 “As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest!’” ¹⁶ 

3:12 See to it, ¹⁷  brothers and sisters, ¹⁸  that none of you has ¹⁹  an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes ²⁰  the living God. ²¹  3:13 But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception. 3:14 For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence ²²  firm until the end. 3:15 As it says, ²³  “Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks! ²⁴  Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” ²⁵  3:16 For which ones heard and rebelled? Was it not all who came out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership? ²⁶  3:17 And against whom was God ²⁷  provoked for forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness? ²⁸  3:18 And to whom did he swear they would never enter into his rest, except those who were disobedient? 3:19 So ²⁹  we see that they could not enter because of unbelief.

God’s Promised Rest

4:1 Therefore we must be wary ³⁰  that, while the promise of entering his rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it. 4:2 For we had good news proclaimed to us just as they did. But the message they heard did them no good, since they did not join in ³¹  with those who heard it in faith. ³²  4:3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my anger, ‘They will never enter my rest!’” ³³  And yet God’s works ³⁴  were accomplished from the foundation of the world. 4:4 For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works,” ³⁵  4:5 but to repeat the text cited earlier: ³⁶  “They will never enter my rest!” 4:6 Therefore it remains for some to enter it, yet those to whom it was previously proclaimed did not enter because of disobedience. 4:7 So God ³⁷  again ordains a certain day, “Today,” speaking through David ³⁸  after so long a time, as in the words quoted before, ³⁹  “O, that today you would listen as he speaks! ⁴⁰  Do not harden your hearts.” 4:8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God ⁴¹  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 ⁴²  rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works. 4:11 Thus we must make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by following the same pattern of disobedience. 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. 4:13 And no creature is hidden from God, ⁴³  but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

Jesus Our Compassionate High Priest

4:14 Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 4:15 For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. 4:16 Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help. ⁴⁴ 

5:1 For every high priest is taken from among the people ⁴⁵  and appointed ⁴⁶  to represent them before God, ⁴⁷  to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 5:2 He is able to deal compassionately with those who are ignorant and erring, since he also is subject to weakness, 5:3 and for this reason he is obligated to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. 5:4 And no one assumes this honor ⁴⁸  on his own initiative, ⁴⁹  but only when called to it by God, ⁵⁰  as in fact Aaron was. 5:5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming high priest, but the one who glorified him was God, ⁵¹  who said to him, “You are my Son! Today I have fathered you,” ⁵²  5:6 as also in another place God ⁵³  says, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” ⁵⁴  5:7 During his earthly life ⁵⁵  Christ ⁵⁶  offered ⁵⁷  both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion. 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered. ⁵⁸  5:9 And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 5:10 and he was designated ⁵⁹  by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek. ⁶⁰ 

[3:1]  ¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[3:1]  ² tn Grk “of our confession.”

[3:2]  ³ tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:2]  ⁴ tc ‡ The reading adopted by the translation follows a few early mss and some versions (Ì^13,46vid B vg^ms co Ambr). The majority of mss (א A C D Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy) insert “all” (“in all his house”), apparently in anticipation of Heb 3:5 which quotes directly from Num 12:7. On balance, the omission better explains the rise of ὅλῳ ({olw, “all”) than vice versa. NA²⁷ puts ὅλῳ in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[3:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:5]  ⁶ sn A quotation from Num 12:7.

[3:6]  ⁷ sn The Greek makes the contrast between v. 5 and v. 6a more emphatic and explicit than is easily done in English.

[3:6]  ⁸ tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:6]  ⁹ tn Grk “whose house we are,” continuing the previous sentence.

[3:6]  ¹⁰ tc The reading adopted by the translation is found in Ì^13,46 B sa, while the vast majority of mss (א A C D Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï latt) add μέχρι τέλους βεβαίαν (mecri telou" bebaian, “secure until the end”). The external evidence for the omission, though minimal, has excellent credentials. Considering the internal factors, B. M. Metzger (TCGNT 595) finds it surprising that the feminine adjective βεβαίαν should modify the neuter noun καύχημα (kauchma, here translated “we take pride”), a fact that suggests that even the form of the word was borrowed from another place. Since the same phrase occurs at Heb 3:14, it is likely that later scribes added it here at Heb 3:6 in anticipation of Heb 3:14. While these words belong at 3:14, they seem foreign to 3:6.

[3:6]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the pride of our hope.”

[3:7]  ¹² sn The following quotation is from Ps 95:7b-11.

[3:7]  ¹³ tn Grk “today if you hear his voice.”

[3:9]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “tested me by trial.”

[3:10]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “they are wandering in the heart.”

[3:11]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “if they shall enter my rest,” a Hebrew idiom expressing an oath that something will certainly not happen.

[3:12]  ¹⁷ tn Or “take care.”

[3:12]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[3:12]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “that there not be in any of you.”

[3:12]  ²⁰ tn Or “deserts,” “rebels against.”

[3:12]  ²¹ tn Grk “in forsaking the living God.”

[3:14]  ²² tn Grk “the beginning of the confidence.”

[3:15]  ²³ tn Grk “while it is said.”

[3:15]  ²⁴ tn Grk “today if you hear his voice.”

[3:15]  ²⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 95:7b-8.

[3:16]  ²⁶ tn Grk “through Moses.”

[3:17]  ²⁷ tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:17]  ²⁸ sn An allusion to God’s judgment pronounced in Num 14:29, 32.

[3:19]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate a summary or conclusion to the argument of the preceding paragraph.

[4:1]  ³⁰ tn Grk “let us fear.”

[4:2]  ³¹ tn Or “they were not united.”

[4:2]  ³² tc A few mss (א and a few versional witnesses) have the nominative singular participle συγκεκερασμένος (sunkekerasmeno", “since it [the message] was not combined with faith by those who heard it”), a reading that refers back to the ὁ λόγος (Jo logo", “the message”). There are a few other variants here (e.g., συγκεκεραμμένοι [sunkekerammenoi] in 104, συγκεκεραμένους [sunkekeramenou"] in 1881 Ï), but the accusative plural participle συγκεκερασμένους (sunkekerasmenou"), found in Ì^13vid,46 A B C D* Ψ 0243 0278 33 81 1739 2464 pc, has by far the best external credentials. This participle agrees with the previous ἐκείνους (ekeinou", “those”), a more difficult construction grammatically than the nominative singular. Thus, both on external and internal grounds, συγκεκερασμένους is preferred.

[4:3]  ³³ sn A quotation from Ps 95:11.

[4:3]  ³⁴ tn Grk “although the works,” continuing the previous reference to God. The referent (God) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:4]  ³⁵ sn A quotation from Gen 2:2.

[4:5]  ³⁶ tn Grk “and in this again.”

[4:7]  ³⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:7]  ³⁸ sn Ps 95 does not mention David either in the text or the superscription. It is possible that the writer of Hebrews is attributing the entire collection of psalms to David (although some psalms are specifically attributed to other individuals or groups).

[4:7]  ³⁹ tn Grk “as it has been said before” (see Heb 3:7).

[4:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “today if you hear his voice.”

[4:8]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:10]  ⁴² tn Grk “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:13]  ⁴³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:16]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “for timely help.”

[5:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “from among men,” but since the point in context is shared humanity (rather than shared maleness), the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) has been translated “people.”

[5:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “who is taken from among people is appointed.”

[5:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “appointed on behalf of people in reference to things relating to God.”

[5:4]  ⁴⁸ sn Honor refers here to the honor of the high priesthood.

[5:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “by himself, on his own.”

[5:4]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “being called by God.”

[5:5]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “the one”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:5]  ⁵² tn Grk “I have begotten you”; see Heb 1:5.

[5:6]  ⁵³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:6]  ⁵⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 110:4.

[5:7]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “in the days of his flesh.”

[5:7]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:7]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “who…having offered,” continuing the description of Christ from Heb 5:5-6.

[5:8]  ⁵⁸ sn There is a wordplay in the Greek text between the verbs “learned” (ἔμαθεν, emaqen) and “suffered” (ἔπαθεν, epaqen).

[5:10]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “having been designated,” continuing the thought of Heb 5:9.

[5:10]  ⁶⁰ sn The phrase in the order of Melchizedek picks up the quotation from Ps 110:4 in Heb 5:6.