7Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, [3:8] do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, [3:9] where your fathers tested and tried me, and saw my works for forty years. [3:10] Therefore I was provoked with that generation and said, 'They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.' [3:11] So I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'"
HEB 3:7-11
Do Not Harden Your Hearts
In the world it was spoken into
For a 1st-century Jewish or Jewish-Christian audience, this passage would evoke the wilderness narrative from Exodus and Numbers, where Israel’s rebellion against God led to their exclusion from the promised rest. The mention of 'testing' and 'rebellion' would recall the Israelites’ failure to trust God despite witnessing His works, particularly at Meribah and Massah. The 'hardening of hearts' was a familiar metaphor for stubbornness and resistance to divine guidance, often linked to disobedience. The 'rest' referenced here would resonate with the Jewish hope of entering God’s ultimate Sabbath rest, a concept rooted in Psalm 95 and Jewish eschatology. The warning against repeating the failures of the wilderness generation would have been understood as a call to faithfulness in the present, especially for those navigating the pressures of Roman imperial culture and the challenges of maintaining Jewish identity in diaspora or mixed communities.
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How other translations render this
HEB 3:7
- KJV
- Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
- BSB
- Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice,
- Koinōnos
- Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice,
HEB 3:8
- KJV
- Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
- BSB
- do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness,
- Koinōnos
- do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,
HEB 3:9
- KJV
- When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
- BSB
- where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works.
- Koinōnos
- where your fathers tested and tried me, and saw my works for forty years.
HEB 3:10
- KJV
- Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
- BSB
- Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known My ways.’
- Koinōnos
- Therefore I was provoked with that generation and said, 'They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.
HEB 3:11
- KJV
- So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
- BSB
- So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’”
- Koinōnos
- So I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'
Only verses where the wording diverges meaningfully are shown. Identical phrasings are suppressed.
Translator's notes
HEB 3:8
- shall harden:The word translated 'shall harden' implies a process of making something stiff or unyielding, often referring to a deliberate act of resistance or stubbornness against something that should be pliable.
- rebellion:The term used here for 'rebellion' specifically refers to an act of provoking or embittering, often against divine authority, rather than just a general uprising.
- of testing:The word translated 'of testing' can refer to both a trial meant to prove or refine, and a temptation designed to lead astray, carrying both senses of challenge and potential downfall.
HEB 3:11
- wrath:The word translated 'wrath' often describes a deep-seated, passionate emotion that can be slow to ignite but intense and enduring once aroused, rather than a fleeting outburst.