HEB 3:6 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. Χριστός
2. χristos
3. chosen one messiah
4. Messiah
5. 55470
6. N····NMS
7. chosen_one/messiah
8. Christ
9. GN
10. Y64; Person=Jesus
11. 141657
1. Δέ
2. de
3. On the other hand
4. other hand
5. 11610
6. C·······
7. on_the_other_hand
8. on_the_other_hand
9. W
10. Y64
11. 141658
1. ὡς
2. hōs
3. as
4. -
5. 56130
6. C·······
7. as
8. as
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141659
1. Υἱός
2. huios
3. son
4. -
5. 52070
6. N····NMS
7. son
8. Son
9. G
10. Y64; Person=Jesus
11. 141660
1. ἐπί
2. epi
3. over
4. -
5. 19090
6. P·······
7. over
8. over
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141661
1. τόν
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····AMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141662
1. οἶκον
2. oikos
3. house
4. -
5. 36240
6. N····AMS
7. house
8. house
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141663
1. αὐτοῦ
2. autos
3. of him
4. his
5. 8460
6. R···3GMS
7. ˱of˲ him
8. ˱of˲ him
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141664
1. οὗ
2. hos
3. whose
4. -
5. 37390
6. R····GMS
7. whose
8. whose
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141665
1. ὅς
2. hos
3. -
4. -
5. 37390
6. R····NMS
7. which
8. which
9. -
10. -
11. 141666
1. οἶκος
2. oikos
3. house
4. -
5. 36240
6. N····NMS
7. house
8. house
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141667
1. μέν
2. men
3. -
4. -
5. 33030
6. D·······
7. indeed
8. indeed
9. -
10. -
11. 141668
1. ἐσμέν
2. eimi
3. are
4. -
5. 15100
6. VIPA1··P
7. are
8. are
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141669
1. ἡμεῖς
2. egō
3. we
4. -
5. 14730
6. R···1N·P
7. we
8. we
9. -
10. Y64; R140980
11. 141670
1. κἄν
2. kan
3. -
4. -
5. 25790
6. C·······
7. and_if
8. and_if
9. -
10. -
11. 141671
1. ἐάν
2. ean
3. if
4. -
5. 14370
6. C·······
7. if
8. if
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141672
1. ἐάνπερ
2. eanper
3. -
4. -
5. 14375
6. C·······
7. if_indeed
8. if_indeed
9. -
10. -
11. 141673
1. τήν
2. ho
3. our
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····AFS
7. our
8. our
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141674
1. παρρησίαν
2. parrēsia
3. confidence
4. confidence
5. 39540
6. N····AFS
7. confidence
8. confidence
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141675
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. -
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141676
1. τό
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····ANS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141677
1. καύχημα
2. kauχēma
3. boast
4. -
5. 27450
6. N····ANS
7. boast
8. boast
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141678
1. τῆς
2. ho
3. of our
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····GFS
7. ˱of˲ our
8. ˱of˲ our
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141679
1. ἐλπίδος
2. elpis
3. hope
4. -
5. 16800
6. N····GFS
7. hope
8. hope
9. -
10. Y64
11. 141680
1. μέχρι
2. meχri
3. -
4. -
5. 33600
6. P·······
7. until
8. until
9. -
10. -
11. 141681
1. τέλους
2. telos
3. -
4. -
5. 50560
6. N····GNS
7. ˓the˒ end
8. ˓the˒ end
9. -
10. -
11. 141682
1. βεβαίαν
2. bebaios
3. -
4. -
5. 9490
6. S····AFS
7. confirmed
8. confirmed
9. -
10. -
11. 141683
1. κατάσχωμεν
2. kateχō
3. we may retain
4. retain
5. 27220
6. VSAA1··P
7. ˱we˲ ˓may˒ retain
8. ˱we˲ ˓may˒ retain
9. -
10. Y64; R140980
11. 141684

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–6: Jesus is greater than Moses

In this section the author explained how Jesus is greater than Moses. Moses was faithful as a servant in God’s house, but Jesus is God’s Son. He is faithful as a Son, taking care of God’s household for God. Because of that he is worthy of more honor than Moses.

Some other examples of headings for this section are:

Moses was God’s faithful servant, but Jesus was God’s faithful Son

Jesus and Moses (NET)

Some English versions include all of chapter 3 in one section. However, Section 3:7–19 is the second of the important warning sections in the book of Hebrews. (The first warning was in 2:1–4.) It is often helpful to readers to provide separate headings for each of these warning sections.

3:6a

But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house.

However, Christ was faithful as God’s son in charge of God’s household.
But Christ was not a servant like Moses. He was God’s son over God’s house. He did everything as God told him to do.

But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house: This clause implies that Christ was faithful in a different (and better) way than Moses was. Christ was faithful as God’s son to fulfill all the responsibilities of a son. As the son, he was in charge of God’s house. In contrast, Moses (3:5) was a servant to God, so he only had to fulfill the responsibilities of a servant.

Some ways to translate the contrast are:

But Christ is a faithful son in charge of God’s household. (GW)

but Christ is faithful as a son, set over the household (REB)

However, Christ was not only a servant of God, but rather his Child who was faithful in being in charge of his Father’s family.

Connect this part of the contrast to 3:5 in a natural way in your language.

Christ: Here the author used the word Christ for the first time in Hebrews. He used it as a title to refer to Jesus as the person whom God had appointed and promised to send as king and savior. The title Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “messiah,” and the two words have the same meaning. You should use the same word for Christ here as you use in the Gospels.

Some ways to translate Christ are:

Use a title or a descriptive phrase in your language that has the same meaning as Christ. For example:
Messiah
Promised Deliverer
the Rescuer-King whom God appointed
Transliterate Christ and include a phrase that explains the meaning. For example:
Christ, the appointed one
Cristo, the Savior whom God promised to send
the Christ who comes from God
Transliterate Christ and indicate in some way that it is a title. For example:
the Christ
the Kirisita

If you do not indicate the meaning of Christ in your text of your translation, you may want to include a footnote to explain it. Or you may want to explain the meaning in a glossary. For example:

The word/title “Christ” refers to the king and savior whom God had promised to send.

General Comment on 3:5–6a

In 3:5–6a the author contrasted Moses (3:5) and Christ (3:6a). Notice how the contrast is emphasized in the example below:

⁵It is true that Moses was faithful in serving all his companions in the family of God, but he was only a servant of God and what he did, it was an illustration of what God would make known in the future. ⁶But as for Christ, he was not just a servant in the household of God but rather the boss, because he is the Son of the Householder.

Emphasize this contrast in a natural way in your language.

3:6b–c

And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast: The statement in 3:6b–c gives the condition for being part of God’s household. It indicates that we must firmly continue to have confidence and to proudly hope in Jesus Christ. Other ways to translate this statement are:

We are his household if we continue to have courage and to be proud of our hope.

and we belong to his family if we continue to be courageous and we are not ashamed of what we hope/anticipateSimilar to the Kankanaey back translation on TW.

And we are God’s household, if we keep up our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ. (NLT)

In some languages it is more natural to change the order of 3:6b and 3:6c.

3:6b

And we are His house,

We^(incl) are members of God’s household,
And we^(incl) who believe in Christ belong to God’s people/family,

we: The pronoun we refers both to the author and the people to whom he was speaking.

His house: The phrase His house refers here to God’s household, as in 3:2b, 3:5a, and 3:6a.

3:6c

if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.

if we^(incl) continue to be courageous and confident about what we^(incl) hope for.
if we^(incl) keep trusting him and if we^(incl) are not ashamed to expect what he promised us.

if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast: This clause is more literally “if the confidence and the boast of hope we hold-firm.” It implies that we must continue to have confidence in Christ and to be proud of our hope in him (3:6b).

Some other ways to translate the clause are:

if we continue to have courage and to be proud of the confidence we have (GW)

if we keep trusting Christ and are not ashamed of what we hope/expect

we: The pronoun we refers to both the author and the people to whom he wrote.

hold firmly: Here the Greek word that the BSB translates as hold firmly means to “firmly continue to believe.”BDAG assigns its use in this verse to meaning 2, “to adhere firmly to traditions, convictions, or beliefs,” and sense b, “hold fast, retain faithfully” (page 533). In this context it refers to always continuing to trust Christ. A person who trusts him in that way continues to have faith in him through every problem or persecution.

Some other ways to translate this meaning are:

continue to be very sure

maintain our trust (JBP)

our confidence: The Greek word that the BSB translates as confidence means “boldness” or “fearlessness.” Some other ways to translate it here are:

we do not fear

we continue to be courageous

and the hope of which we boast: There is a textual issue at the end of 3:6d: (1) Some Greek manuscripts end the verse after the phrase “pride that belongs to hope.” For example, the GW says, and to be proud of the confidence we have (BSB, NIV, GNT, NRSV, GW, NLT, CEV, NJB, NCV, NET, REB)(2) Other Greek manuscripts have the phrase “firm to the end.” For example, the JBP says, and joyful hope steadfast to the end (KJV, NASB, JBP)It is recommended that you follow option (1), as the majority of English versions do. The phrase the hope of which we boast indicates that we expect that Christ will save us, and that causes us to be confident and courageous. Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

the hope that gives us confidence/boldness

what we boldly expect from God/Christ

hope: The word hope refers here to confidence that God will do everything that he promised to do. This is the first time that the word occurs in Hebrews.

of which we boast: The Greek verb which the BSB translates as boast refers to being joyfully confident. We (God’s people) are confident about our hope in Christ. The verb does not imply being arrogant or too confident in ourselves or our own achievements. (Notice that boast is used as a verb here.)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

Χριστὸς & ὡς Υἱὸς

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Χριστός Δέ ὡς Υἱός ἐπί τόν οἶκον αὐτοῦ οὗ οἶκος ἐσμέν ἡμεῖς ἐάν τήν παρρησίαν καί τό καύχημα τῆς ἐλπίδος κατάσχωμεν)

The author is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. He omits these words because he stated them in the previous verse (“was faithful”). If your language needs these words to make a complete thought, you could include them here. Alternate translation: [Christ was faithful as a Son]

Note 2 topic: guidelines-sonofgodprinciples

Υἱὸς

The word Son is an important title for Jesus, the Son of God. See how you translated this word in [1:2](../01/02.md).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ

The phrase over the house is a spatial metaphor that indicates that the Son rules over or is in charge of his house. This phrase contrasts with how Moses was “in his entire house” (See: [3:5](../03/05.md)). If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [in charge of the house]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, οὗ οἶκός ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς

The word house refers to a group of people, in this case God’s people. See how you translated house in [3:2](../03/02.md). Alternate translation: [over his clan (whose clan we are]

Note 5 topic: writing-pronouns

αὐτοῦ, οὗ

˱of˲_him whose

The words his* and whose refer to God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make explicit that the pronouns refer to God. Alternate translation: [God’s … whose]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure
οἶκον & οὗ οἶκός ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς, ἐὰν τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ τὸ καύχημα τῆς ἐλπίδος κατάσχωμεν.

house & whose (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Χριστός Δέ ὡς Υἱός ἐπί τόν οἶκον αὐτοῦ οὗ οἶκος ἐσμέν ἡμεῖς ἐάν τήν παρρησίαν καί τό καύχημα τῆς ἐλπίδος κατάσχωμεν)

This sentence transitions from what the author has said about God’s house, about Jesus, and about Moses to an exhortation to continue to hold fast. The ULT has connected the sentence to the preceding information but put it in parentheses to indicate that it is slightly disconnected. Consider a natural way to include a transition sentence in your language. Alternate translation: [house. We are his house if we hold fast to the confidence and the boasting of our hope.]

Note 7 topic: grammar-connect-condition-hypothetical
ἐσμεν & ἐὰν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Χριστός Δέ ὡς Υἱός ἐπί τόν οἶκον αὐτοῦ οὗ οἶκος ἐσμέν ἡμεῖς ἐάν τήν παρρησίαν καί τό καύχημα τῆς ἐλπίδος κατάσχωμεν)

The author uses the conditional form to show that “holding fast” leads to being God’s house. If the conditional form does not indicate a cause and effect relationship like this in your language, you could express the if statement in a way that does show the relationship. Alternate translation: [are, given that]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
κατάσχωμεν

˱we˲_˓may˒_retain

The author speaks of persistently doing something as if it were holding firmly onto an object. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [we continue strongly in]

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ τὸ καύχημα τῆς ἐλπίδος κατάσχωμεν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Χριστός Δέ ὡς Υἱός ἐπί τόν οἶκον αὐτοῦ οὗ οἶκος ἐσμέν ἡμεῖς ἐάν τήν παρρησίαν καί τό καύχημα τῆς ἐλπίδος κατάσχωμεν)

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of confidence and hope, you could express those ideas by using verbs and adjectives or in another natural way. Alternate translation: [we keep being confident and proud about what we hope for] or [we continue to boldly await and speak joyfully about the things that we expect]

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ τὸ καύχημα τῆς ἐλπίδος

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Χριστός Δέ ὡς Υἱός ἐπί τόν οἶκον αὐτοῦ οὗ οἶκος ἐσμέν ἡμεῖς ἐάν τήν παρρησίαν καί τό καύχημα τῆς ἐλπίδος κατάσχωμεν)

The author uses the possessive form to describe confidence and boasting about or concerning our hope. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a more natural construction. Alternate translation: [the confidence and the boasting concerning our hope]

OET interlinear HEB 3:6