Passage

Hebrews 4.9-10

Book: Hebrews · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

7. he again defineth a certain day, To-day, saying in David so long a time afterward (even as hath been said before), To-day if ye shall hear his voice, Harden not your hearts. 8. For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day.

9. There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God. 10. For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his.

Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, that no man fall after the same example of disobedience. 12. For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:7-12, ASV)

WEB

7. he again defines a certain day, today, saying through David so long a time afterward (just as has been said), “Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.” 8. For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day.

9. There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10. For he who has entered into his rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from his.

Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience. 12. For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:7-12, WEB)

KJV

7. Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 8. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. ^{Jesus: that is, Joshua}

9. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. ^{rest: or, keeping of a sabbath} 10. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. ^{unbelief: or, disobedience} 12. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:7-12, KJV)

YLT

7. again He doth limit a certain day, 'To-day,' (in David saying, after so long a time,) as it hath been said, 'To-day, if His voice ye may hear, ye may not harden your hearts,' 8. for if Joshua had given them rest, He would not concerning another day have spoken after these things;

9. there doth remain, then, a sabbatic rest to the people of God, 10. for he who did enter into his rest, he also rested from his works, as God from His own.

May we be diligent, then, to enter into that rest, that no one in the same example of the unbelief may fall, 12. for the reckoning of God is living, and working, and sharp above every two-edged sword, and piercing unto the dividing asunder both of soul and spirit, of joints also and marrow, and a discerner of thoughts and intents of the heart; (Hebrews 4:7-12, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the anonymous author of Hebrews. Pauline authorship was doubted in antiquity and Origen concluded that who wrote it, God knows
Audience: Jewish believers under pressure to fall back from Christ into the older covenant observances
Location: unknown; the closing greeting from those of Italy (13:24) points in two directions at once
Time period: most likely before AD 70, since the sacrificial system is discussed as still operating

Theological reading

There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his.

The word at verse 9 changes and the change is the point. Throughout the preceding argument the term has been katapausis, rest or cessation. Here the author writes sabbatismos, a sabbath-keeping, a word rare enough that this is its only New Testament occurrence. Having spent a chapter arguing that Joshua did not deliver the promised rest, he names what remains in explicitly sabbath vocabulary.

Verse 10 then defines the content by analogy with Genesis 2:2: the one who enters ceases from his own works as God ceased from his. God's sabbath was not recovery from exhaustion but the completion of a finished work, and the rest offered is of that kind. It is the cessation of self-justifying effort rather than of activity.

This is the letter's argument against the readers' temptation in miniature. They are considering returning to a system of continual offering, and the author's reply is that the offering is finished and the rest is entered by faith rather than by resuming the work.

The passage is central to sabbatarian debate. Read with Colossians 2:16-17 and Romans 14:5, the sabbath is treated as a shadow whose substance is Christ, and the rest here is a present and eschatological reality rather than a calendar observance. See Mosaic Law.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

No Strong's-tagged lexicon entry is curated for the key terms of this verse; the lexicon covers roughly 100 contested terms, not every word. See Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Genesis Hermeneutics, via Hebrews 4.3-11
Mosaic Capital Punishment, via Hebrews 4.1-11
Mosaic Law, via Hebrews 4.1-11
Sabbath, via Hebrews 4.9-11

Lexicon:

H3091 - Yehoshua, via Hebrews 4.8-11

Notes

Your annotations.

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.