For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.
Parallel translations
- WEB For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day.
- KJV For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
- BSB For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
- NKJV For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.
- NLT Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come.
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
If Joshua had given Israel the true rest, God would not later speak of another day. The conquest under Joshua did not exhaust the promise of rest.
Overview
The author notes that Joshua led Israel into the land, yet Scripture later still spoke of 'today,' proving the ultimate rest was not given then. The earthly inheritance was a shadow of a fuller rest. This clears the way for the conclusion that a Sabbath rest still remains for God's people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Josh 1:15until Yahweh has given your brothers rest, as he has given you, and they have also possessed the land which Yahweh your God gives them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession, and possess it, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.’”
- Josh 22:4Now Yahweh your God has given rest to your brothers, as he spoke to them. Therefore now return and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave you beyond the Jordan.
- Deut 12:9for you haven’t yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which Yahweh your God gives you.
- Heb 11:13–15These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and embraced them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
- Josh 23:1After many days, when Yahweh had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years,
- Ps 78:55He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
- Acts 7:45which also our fathers, in their turn, brought in with Joshua when they entered into the possession of the nations, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers, to the days of David,
- Ps 105:44He gave them the lands of the nations. They took the labor of the peoples in possession,
- Deut 25:19Therefore it shall be, when Yahweh your God has given you rest from all your enemies all around, in the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it, that you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under the sky. You shall not forget.
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 4:8 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.