Passage

Hebrews 10.38

Book: Hebrews · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"36. For ye have need of patience, that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise. 37. For yet a very little while, He that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry."

"38. But my righteous one shall live by faith: And if he shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in him."

"39. But we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition; but of them that have faith unto the saving of the soul." (Hebrews 10:36-39, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"36. For you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise. 37. “In a very little while, he who comes will come, and will not wait."

"38. But the righteous will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”"

"39. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul." (Hebrews 10:36-39, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"36. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry."

"38. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."

"39. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." (Hebrews 10:36-39, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"36. for of patience ye have need, that the will of God having done, ye may receive the promise, 37. for yet a very very little, He who is coming will come, and will not tarry;"

"38. and 'the righteous by faith shall live,' and 'if he may draw back, My soul hath no pleasure in him,'"

"39. and we are not of those drawing back to destruction, but of those believing to a preserving of soul." (Hebrews 10:36-39, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: the anonymous author of Hebrews
Audience: Jewish Christian community tempted to return to Temple-Judaism under persecution
Location: uncertain (possibly Rome or Italy)
Time period: c. AD 60-70

Theological reading

Hebrews 10:38 is the third of the NT's three deployments of Hab 2:4, joining Rom 1:17 and Gal 3:11 in the OT-anchored doctrine of living by faith. The author of Hebrews deploys the verse in a perseverance register, the context (vv. 32-39) is a warning passage urging the audience not to shrink back under the pressure of persecution. The exegesis is significant: Hebrews preserves both halves of Hab 2:3-4 (the coming one will come, will not tarry of v. 3 alongside the righteous will live by faith of v. 4), reading the verses as a unified eschatological-perseverance promise. The believer's [[H0530 - emunah|emunah]] is the disposition that holds firm until the appointed time arrives. Together with Rom 1:17 and Gal 3:11, the verse fills out the threefold Pauline-Hebraic deployment of Habakkuk's covenantal-fidelity theology, justification by faith (Rom), against works-righteousness (Gal), and persevering faith (Heb).

Key words

G4102 - pistis, pistis, OT-rooted in emunah

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.