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And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
Hebrews 3:18 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB To whom did he swear that they wouldn’t enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient?
  • BSB And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed?
  • NKJV And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?
  • NASB And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?
  • NLT And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him?

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

God swore that the disobedient would not enter His rest. Disobedience, rooted in unbelief, excluded them from the promise.

Overview

The exclusion from rest fell upon those who were 'disobedient,' a disobedience the next verse identifies as unbelief. The oath of Psalm 95 is shown to have a moral cause: rebellion against God's voice. This prepares the conclusion that unbelief is the root that bars entry into God's rest.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Heb 4:6Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
  • Deut 1:34–35And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,
  • Num 14:30Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
  • Ps 106:24–26Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word:
  • Deut 1:26–32Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God:
  • Num 20:12And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
  • Deut 9:23Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.
  • Heb 4:2For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
  • Heb 3:11So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
  • Num 14:11And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
  • Num 14:23Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

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 3:18YouTube · 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 3:18 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.