But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
Parallel translations
- WEB But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul.
- KJV But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
- NKJV But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
- NASB But we are not among those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith for the safekeeping of the soul.
- NLT But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.
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
But we are not those who shrink back and are destroyed; we are those who have faith and are saved. The author confidently identifies his readers with persevering believers.
Overview
The chapter closes on a note of confidence: 'we' are not of those who draw back to ruin, but of those whose faith leads to the saving of the soul. This both encourages the readers and transitions to chapter 11's great exposition of faith. True faith endures and results in salvation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 27
- 1 Jn 5:5Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
- 1 Pet 1:5who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Mark 16:16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
- 2 Th 2:12–14in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness.
- 1 Jn 5:16If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he should ask God, who will give life to those who commit this kind of sin. There is a sin that leads to death; I am not saying he should ask regarding that sin.
- 1 Sam 15:11“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.
- 2 Pet 3:7And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
- John 20:31But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
- Heb 11:1Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.
- 1 Th 5:9For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Luke 11:26Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first.”
- John 6:40For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
- Ps 44:18Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from Your path.
- John 3:15–16that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.
- Acts 16:30–31Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
- John 17:12While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
- Heb 6:6–9and then have fallen away—to be restored to repentance, because they themselves are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to open shame.
- Prov 1:32For the waywardness of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
- Rom 10:9–10that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
- 2 Th 2:3Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.
- Prov 14:14The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.
- Heb 10:26If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
- John 5:24Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.
- 1 Tim 6:9Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
- Rev 17:11The beast that was, and now is not, is an eighth king, who belongs to the other seven and is going into destruction.
- Jude 1:12–13These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.
- Rev 17:8The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be.
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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 10:39 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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