Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience.
- BSB Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.
- NKJV Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
- NASB Therefore let’s make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience.
- NLT So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.
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
Believers should make every effort to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through the same kind of unbelieving disobedience as Israel. Diligent perseverance is urged so none repeats the wilderness failure.
Overview
Strikingly, the author calls for diligence 'to enter into that rest,' showing that resting in God's grace and earnest striving are not opposites. The warning recalls Israel's disobedience as a pattern to avoid. The verse holds together the call to active perseverance and the gracious rest that is its goal.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Matt 11:28–30Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
- Luke 13:24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
- Heb 3:18And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
- Eph 5:6Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
- Heb 6:11And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
- 2 Pet 1:10–11Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
- Titus 1:16They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
- Heb 3:12Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
- Phil 2:12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
- Titus 3:3For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
- Matt 11:12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
- Acts 26:19Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
- Matt 7:13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
- Luke 16:16The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
- Col 3:6For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
- Rom 11:30–32For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
- Eph 2:2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
- John 6:27Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
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 4:11 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.