So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Parallel translations
- WEB We see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief.
- BSB So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.
- NKJV So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
- NASB And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
- NLT So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.
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
Israel could not enter the promised rest because of unbelief. Unbelief is named as the decisive reason for their exclusion.
Overview
The chapter concludes by diagnosing the wilderness generation's failure: 'they were not able to enter in because of unbelief.' This pinpoints the core issue the author has been pressing throughout. The lesson stands as a warning that faith, not mere privilege or proximity, is what brings one into God's promised rest.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Jude 1:5I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
- John 3:36He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
- John 3:18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
- Mark 16:16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
- 1 Jn 5:10He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
- 2 Th 2:12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 3:19 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.