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But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Hebrews 10:27 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries.
  • BSB but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.
  • NKJV but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
  • NASB but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.
  • NLT There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

For such rejecters there remains only a terrifying expectation of judgment and consuming fire. To spurn Christ is to face God's wrath.

Overview

Continuing the warning, the author describes what awaits the unrepentant apostate: dreadful judgment and 'fierceness of fire' that consumes God's adversaries (echoing Isaiah 26:11). The gravity underscores how serious it is to turn from Christ. The passage urges readers to persevere rather than presume.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 39

  • Isa 26:11LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.
  • Heb 2:3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
  • Zeph 1:18Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
  • Heb 12:25See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
  • Heb 9:27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
  • Matt 13:50And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
  • Nah 1:2God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
  • Zeph 3:8Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
  • Jer 4:4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
  • Mal 4:1For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
  • Nah 1:8–10But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
  • Rev 20:15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
  • Matt 3:12Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
  • Matt 8:29And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
  • Luke 19:27But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
  • Jas 5:3Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
  • Ps 21:9Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
  • Ezek 38:19For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
  • Matt 3:10And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
  • Isa 33:14The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
  • Ps 68:1–2Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
  • Matt 25:41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
  • Ezek 36:5Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.
  • Joel 2:30And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
  • Nah 1:5–6The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
  • Dan 5:6Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
  • Num 16:35And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
  • Mark 9:43–49And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
  • Matt 13:42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
  • Deut 32:43Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.
  • 1 Sam 28:19–20Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
  • Heb 12:29For our God is a consuming fire.
  • Hos 10:8The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.
  • Luke 21:26Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
  • Luke 16:24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
  • Rev 6:15–17And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
  • 2 Th 1:7–8And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
  • Luke 23:30Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.
  • 1 Th 2:15–16Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Hebrews videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Hebrews 10:27YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on HebrewsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Hebrews is sustained worship of Christ: better than angels, Moses, and the priests; the great High Priest after Melchizedek who by one sacrifice perfects forever those he saves.

How Hebrews 10:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

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