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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Heb C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13
Heb 3 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19
OET (OET-LV) for_forty years.
Therefore I_was_angry the with_generation this, and I_said:
Always they_are_being_strayed in_their heart, and they not knew the ways of_me,
OET (OET-RV) over forty years.
§ That’s why I was angry with that generation and I said:
⇔ ‘They’re always straying in their hearts and they don’t really know my ways.’
In the earlier sections of Hebrews the author showed that Jesus was greater than both the angels and Moses. In 2:1–4 he gave a first warning not to refuse the message which Jesus brought. Here in 3:7–19 he gave a second warning not to refuse Jesus’ message, especially the “rest” that God offers through Jesus. The author quoted from Psalm 95, which says that God wanted to give the people of Israel a land where they could have rest from their enemies. When they were slaves in Egypt, he sent Moses to lead them to that land, but they rebelled against God in the wilderness. Then God did not allow them to enter the land of rest.
It is often difficult to decide how to translate “rest” in this section and in chapter 4. Psalm 95 and Hebrews do refer to the time when Moses was alive and God promised to give the people of Israel land. However, King David was already in that land when he wrote the psalm, so the “rest” could not refer to the land. It refers to a different type of “rest.” That rest is a way of trusting God and depending on him for everything. We especially trust him to save us from our sins and give us eternal life. Because of the rest that God gives, we can have peace even when we suffer.
Be careful not to imply that the rest that God promises his people today is a certain place or land. Some scholars believe that the rest refers to heaven. It is true that we will have perfect rest in heaven, but Hebrews indicates that the rest that God provides for us begins on earth when we trust in Jesus.
Some other headings for this section are:
Rest for God’s People
Warning Against Unbelief (NIV)
We Must Continue to Follow/Obey God
Scholars differ about where to end this warning section. Some scholars end the warning at 3:19. Others make the warning section continue to 4:13. In these notes, 3:19 is the end of this second warning section, and the following section is 4:1–13.
This paragraph contains a long quotation. You should use the format which you usually use for such quotations. This quotation from Psalm 95:7b–11 refers to the years when the people of Israel were traveling through the desert to the land of Canaan. God did many miracles for them, but they often complained against him.
In 3:8a–9a the quotation from Psalm 95 probably refers to a specific time when the people of Israel complained.There are two main views about which “rebellion” and “day of testing” the author referred to here:(a) He referred to the time that the Israelites rebelled against God at Kadesh Barnea. They refused to enter the land of Canaan that God promised to give them (Numbers 14:22).(b) He referred to the time that the Israelites rebelled against God at the place that was later named Meribah and Massah. They complained that they had no water, and they made God angry by their attitude and by what they said (Exodus 17:1–7).Option (a) is probably more likely in this context. It may refer to Exodus 17:1–7, when they did not find water to drink where they camped. However, it is more likely that it refers to Numbers 14, where they refused to enter the land that the Lord wanted to give them. That interpretation fits well with the theme of “rest” in Hebrews 4.
In 3:9b–11 the author referred to what the people of Israel did during the whole forty year period when they wandered through the desert. In 3:7–8a he indicates that followers of Jesus must not stubbornly reject what God tells them to do, as the people of Israel did in the desert.
Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said,
Therefore I was angry with those ancestors and said,
So I was angry with them, and I said, (NLT)
Because of that, he was angry with them, and he said about them,
Therefore: The word that the BSB translates as Therefore introduces the result of the people rebelling and testing God in 3:8–9. It implies that God was angry because they tested him and did not believe in him. Some ways to translate the connection in English are:
So
As a result
I was angry with that generation: This clause explains why God was angry with the people who rebelled against him. He was angry because they did not believe him and disobeyed him. This is the way in which they “tested” him (3:9).
For more information about the way the people of Israel rebelled against the Lord, see Deuteronomy 1:19–40 and Numbers 13–14.
that generation: The phrase that generationAllen (page 258, Kindle edition) points out, “The author also substituted ‘this’ for ‘that’ before ‘generation,’ implying that his generation was included along with those of the Old Testament.” However, no English version uses “this” in 3:10. refers to the Israelites who lived at the time when God rescued them from Egypt and led them through the desert. Consider how you refer to a group of ancestors who lived at a specific time more than a thousand years before you. In some languages a general reference back to them will be sufficient. For example:
those people/ancestors
Refer to them in a natural way in your language.
and I said: This phrase introduces what the Lord said about the people. He did not speak directly to them. Hebrews does not make explicit to whom he spoke. He probably spoke to Moses, since in Numbers 14:22 God said to Moses, “They have already tested me many times.”Lane (page 86) says, “The complaint, ‘Their hearts are always going astray’ (v 10b), corresponds to Num 14:22b, ‘They have already tested me many times.’”
Some other ways to introduce God’s decision are:
I thought
I said about them
‘Their hearts are always going astray,
‘They always want to go their own way.
‘They are always disloyal (GNT)
“These people always reject me in their hearts.
and they have not known My ways.’
They refuse to do what I tell them.’ (NLT)
and refuse to obey my commands.’
They do not want to understand the way/commands that I teach them.”
Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known My ways: The two clauses in 3:10b and 3:10c are parallel. They have a similar meaning, and they are closely connected. Together they indicate that the people refused to obey God. In 3:10b the emphasis is that the people were not loyal to God. In 3:10c the emphasis is that they refused to know and follow God’s ways.
Some ways to translate these clauses are:
10bThey are always disloyal 10cand refuse to obey my commands. (GNT)
10bThey continually go astray to someone/something else. 10cThey refuse to follow my commands.Kankanaey back translation on TW.
10bthese people have determined that they will separate from me. 10cThey do not want to follow the word I speak about how they should live.
Their hearts are always going astray: This clause is figurative. It indicates that the people were not loyal to God. They did not do what he told them to do. For ways to translate this clause, see the examples for 3:10b in the preceding note.
hearts: For more information on the use of hearts as an idiom, see the note on 3:8a.
and they have not known My ways: The clause and they have not known My ways indicates that the people did not want to understand the way that God wanted them to live. It implies that they did not choose to obey him. The people of Israel did not understand what God wanted because they refused to obey his commands. That is why he was angry with them.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
They refuse to do what I tell them. (NLT)
they will not hear/listen-to the way I teach them to live
and they have no desire to know who I am and how I want them to live
For more information on what the people of Israel did, see Deuteronomy 1:32–33.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure
τεσσεράκοντα ἔτη
˱for˲_forty years
The phrase for 40 years goes with the end of the previous verse and tells how long “they saw my works”([3:9](../03/09.md)). You could include these words at the end of verse 9, or you could include them here in verse 10 and show with punctuation that they belong with the previous sentence.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes
εἶπον, ἀεὶ πλανῶνται τῇ καρδίᾳ; αὐτοὶ δὲ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τὰς ὁδούς μου;
˱I˲_said (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τεσσεράκοντα ἔτη Διό προσώχθισα τῇ γενεᾷ ταύτῃ καί εἶπον Ἀεί πλανῶνται τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοί δέ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τάς ὁδούς μού)
If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this direct quotation as an indirect quotation. Alternate translation: [I said that they are always going astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism
ἀεὶ πλανῶνται τῇ καρδίᾳ; αὐτοὶ δὲ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τὰς ὁδούς μου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τεσσεράκοντα ἔτη Διό προσώχθισα τῇ γενεᾷ ταύτῃ καί εἶπον Ἀεί πλανῶνται τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοί δέ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τάς ὁδούς μού)
The quotation includes two statements that mean almost the same thing. This was considered good poetry in the author’s culture. If this would not be good poetry in your culture, and if the repetition would be confusing, you could combine the two statements. Alternate translation: [They are always going astray from my ways in their hearts] or [Their hearts have never know my ways]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἀεὶ πλανῶνται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τεσσεράκοντα ἔτη Διό προσώχθισα τῇ γενεᾷ ταύτῃ καί εἶπον Ἀεί πλανῶνται τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοί δέ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τάς ὁδούς μού)
The author of the quotation speaks as if the Israelites were traveling down the wrong road. He speaks in this way to indicate that they were not following God properly. Someone who is going astray does not want to do what is right. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [They are not following me] or [They always disobey me]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
τῇ καρδίᾳ
¬the ˱in˲_their heart
In the author’s culture, the word hearts refers to the places where humans think and plan. If it would be helpful in your language, you could refer part of the human body where your culture believes that humans think and plan, or express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [in their minds] or [in what they plan]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
τὰς ὁδούς μου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τεσσεράκοντα ἔτη Διό προσώχθισα τῇ γενεᾷ ταύτῃ καί εἶπον Ἀεί πλανῶνται τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοί δέ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τάς ὁδούς μού)
God speaks as if he has ways or paths on which he walks. When the audience does not know these ways, that means that they do not know what God wants or values. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [how I want them to conduct their lives] or [what I value]
3:7-19 This passage presents, “as a warning to us” (1 Cor 10:6), the negative example of those who wandered in the wilderness for forty years and died there. The wilderness wanderings represent disobedience to God and its consequences (see Num 32:7-11; Deut 1:19-35; Ps 106:24-26).
OET (OET-LV) for_forty years.
Therefore I_was_angry the with_generation this, and I_said:
Always they_are_being_strayed in_their heart, and they not knew the ways of_me,
OET (OET-RV) over forty years.
§ That’s why I was angry with that generation and I said:
⇔ ‘They’re always straying in their hearts and they don’t really know my ways.’
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.