Hebrews 3

Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · AD 60 – AD 69 · The early church · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·

19 verses · 371 words · ~2 min read · ~2 min listen

Jesus Our Apostle and High Priest

¹Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, set your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. ²He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all Godʼs house.

³For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. ⁴And every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

⁵Now Moses was faithful as a servant in all Godʼs house, testifying to what would be spoken later. ⁶But Christ is faithful as the Son over Godʼs house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.

Do Not Harden Your Hearts

Psalms 95:1–11

⁷Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today, if you hear His voice,

⁸do not harden your hearts,

as you did in the rebellion,

in the day of testing in the wilderness,

⁹where your fathers tested and tried Me,

and for forty years saw My works.

¹⁰Therefore I was angry with that generation,

and I said,

‘Their hearts are always going astray,

and they have not known My ways.’

¹¹So I swore on oath in My anger,

‘They shall never enter My rest.’”

The Peril of Unbelief

¹²See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. ¹³But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sinʼs deceitfulness.

¹⁴We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first. ¹⁵As it has been said:

“Today, if you hear His voice,

do not harden your hearts,

as you did in the rebellion.”

¹⁶For who were the ones who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? ¹⁷And with whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed? ¹⁹So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.

Footnotes (5)

a v2 Literally just as Moses in all His house; SBL just as Moses in His house
b v5 Numbers 12:7
c v6 NE, WH, BYZ, and TR include to the end.
d v11 Psalms 95:7–11(see also LXX)
e v15 Psalms 95:7–8

Study notes on this chapter · 2

Type / patternLinked by the New Testament

Moses and Christ, servant and Son

Hebrews compares Moses and Jesus directly: Moses was faithful as a servant in God's house, while Christ is faithful as a Son over God's house, and is worthy of greater honor. John's prologue says the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

When: Moses, traditionally c. 1446 or c. 1250 BC; Hebrews, before AD 70 (most likely).

Original passageNumbers 12:6–8Exodus 3:1–12

Where the New Testament applies itHebrews 3:1–6John 1:17

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

Prophecy & fulfillmentLinked by the New Testament

Today, if you hear his voice, enter the rest

Psalm 95 warns the people not to harden their hearts as in the wilderness. Hebrews reads the warning as still open: Joshua did not give Israel the final rest, since David later speaks of 'today', so a Sabbath rest still remains for God's people, rooted in God resting on the seventh day.

When: Wilderness rebellion (c. 1446 BC or later); Psalm 95; Hebrews, before AD 70 (most likely).

Original passagePsalms 95:7–11Genesis 2:2–3

Where the New Testament applies itHebrews 3:7–19Hebrews 4:1–11

Ways people read this (3)

The rest is final salvation and life with God in the age to come.
The rest is entered now through faith and fulfilled fully later.
Some traditions draw from this a continuing Sabbath observance; others see the Sabbath as fulfilled in Christ.

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

See all prophecy & fulfillment notes →