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OET (OET-LV) for/because we_are_coming_in into the_rest, the ones having_believed, as he_has_said:
As I_swore in the severe_anger of_me:
Never they_will_be_coming_in into the rest of_me, and_yet his works from the_foundation of_the_world having_been_become.
OET (OET-RV) So those of us who believed are entering that rest, as he said:
⇔ ‘As I promised in my severe anger,
⇔ They will never enter into my rest.’
§ And yet he’s had it ready since the creation of the world.
The word “rest” is used in 4:1, and it is the important topic that connects chapter 4 to chapter 3.It is the link between chapters 3 and 4, just as 2:1 was the link between chapter 1 and chapter 2, and 3:1 was a link between chapter 2 and chapter 3. The author used the word “rest” in a figurative way to refer to depending on God. God wants his people to rest from their own work, as God rested from his work on the seventh day after he created the world. In chapter 3, God promised the people of Israel a place to rest. In chapter 4, the author used a special time of rest as a symbol. This time was one day each week, which the people called the Sabbath Day (seventh day). Both the place and the time of rest are symbols of the rest that God’s people have when they depend on him for everything.
Two sentences in this section are especially important in stating this theme:
4:9 | There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. (BSB) |
4:11 | Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, (BSB) |
The theme of this section is clear: God has planned a good life of rest for believers when they depend on him. We must be careful to believe and obey him so that we do not miss the life of rest that he promised. Some words that are connected to this theme in chapters 3 and 4 are “faith,” “believe,” “unbelief,” and “disobedience.”
Some other examples of headings for this section are:
God’s people can still experience God’s rest
We should trust God and receive his promise of rest
At the end of chapter 3, the author indicated that the people of Israel whom God led out of Egypt refused to enter his rest (3:19). Chapter 4 begins by saying that God still offers that rest to people who believe him (4:1a). Connect chapter 4 with chapter 3 in a natural way in your language. Notice the examples in the note on “Therefore” in 4:1a.
Now we who have believed enter that rest.
We(incl) who believe it are the ones who enter/receive that rest.
And we know that only we(incl) who believe that message receive/obtain God’s rest.
Now we who have believed enter that rest: The word Now introduces an explanation of what the author said in 4:2.The Greek logical connective gar (often translated as “for/because”) is not always used to introduce the reason for a preceding statement. It often functions as a more general explanatory link, marking a progression to the next point in the discussion or argument. When gar has this function, the BSB sometimes translates it but sometimes leaves it untranslated, as in 5:1 and 7:1. It also introduces a contrast. We who have believed contrasts with the people who did not believe what God promised. They could not enter God’s rest. Instead, we who have believed are the ones who enter the rest that he promised.
Some ways to translate this explanation and contrast are:
For only we who believe can enter his rest. (NLT)
It is only we who believe who will enter that resting-placeKankanaey back translation on TW.
But as for us, because we believed the word that God spoke, now we are able to enter the rest.
we who have believed: The pronoun we includes the author and everyone who believes the good news (4:2a), which is the message (4:2b) about the promise of entering his rest (4:1a). The word believed is used in the same sense as “faith” in 4:2, and the Greek words are closely related.
In some languages it is necessary to indicate what is believed. In this context they believed the good news that they heard in 4:2. Some ways to refer back to it are:
we who believed it
we who believe the message
we who have trusted/accepted the good news
Remember that the “message” and the “good news” in 4:2 referred to what Joshua, Caleb, and Moses told the people. They told the people that God was able to give them rest, just as he promised them. In 4:3 we also believe the good news that God still offers rest to us, and he is able to give us that rest.
enter that rest: There is a textual variant here. Most Greek texts have “the rest.” Some texts omit “the.” Among English versions, only the KJV omits “the.” The difference seems to be more a matter of form than a meaning difference. The phrase enter that rest has the same meaning as “entering his rest” in 4:1. Translate it in a similar way here.
As for the others, it is just as God has said:
This agrees with what God said in the Scripture:
It is just as God said about those who did not believe,
just as God has said: In this part of the verse, the author spoke again about the people who did not believe God. The phrase just as God has said introduces what God said about them. In many languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:
As for those who didn’t believe, God said (NLT)
This agrees with what God said in the Scripture about those who did not believe him:
Translate the connection in a natural way in your language.
“So I swore on oath in My anger,
“So I angrily promised,
“Because of that, I became angry, and spoke these words that cannot change/fail:
‘They shall never enter My rest.’”
‘They will never come into my rest.’”
‘These people will never receive/obtain the rest that I promised them.’”
So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest’: These words from Psalm 95:11 were quoted in 3:11. You should translate them exactly as you did there.
And yet His works have been finished
And yet God completed/finished his work and provided a time of rest
He said this even though he finished making everything
since the foundation of the world.
as soon as he created the world.
at the time when he created the world.
And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world: The word yet implies that the clause in 4:3e–f tells an unexpected fact. The clause indicates that when God finished creating the world, his work was done (and he rested). It implies that at that time, he also provided rest for his people. However, the people whom he led out of Egypt will never enjoy that rest (4:3a–d).
Some other ways to translate this unexpected fact are:
Yet from when God created the world, he has been resting.
But God’s work was finished from the time he made the world.
even though this rest has been ready since he made the world (NLT)
since the foundation of the world: The phrase since the foundation of the world refers to the time when God created the world (and everything in it). Then he rested. God’s “work” came before his “rest.” He finished his work of creating the world a long time before the people of Israel made their journey to Egypt.
In some languages it is more natural to translate foundation (“creation”) as a verb. For example:
the time he created the world (GNT)
when he created everything
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
γὰρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰσερχόμεθα γάρ εἰς κατάπαυσιν οἱ πιστεύσαντες καθώς εἴρηκεν Ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ μού Εἰ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τήν κατάπαυσιν μού καίτοι τῶν ἔργων ἀπό καταβολῆς κόσμου γενηθέντων)
The word For introduces how one does “benefit” from hearing the “good news” ([4:2](../04/02.md)). It is those who “believe” who are able to enter into rest. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces further explanation. Alternate translation: [In fact,]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
εἰσερχόμεθα & εἰς κατάπαυσιν, οἱ πιστεύσαντες
˱we˲_˓are˒_coming_in & into ˓the˒_rest the_‹ones› ˓having˒_believed
The word rest could refer to: (1) the state of “resting.” Alternate translation: [we who have believed participate in the way that God rests] or [we who have believed rest] (2) the place where people rest, particularly the land that God promised to give to his people. Alternate translation: [we who have believed enter into the resting place] or [we who have believed enter into the land of rest]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
καθὼς εἴρηκεν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰσερχόμεθα γάρ εἰς κατάπαυσιν οἱ πιστεύσαντες καθώς εἴρηκεν Ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ μού Εἰ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τήν κατάπαυσιν μού καίτοι τῶν ἔργων ἀπό καταβολῆς κόσμου γενηθέντων)
The phrase just as indicates that the quotation will support the claim that we who have believed enter into rest. However, the quotation is a negative statement about how the Israelite ancestors will not enter into rest. The quotation could support the claim by: (1) proving the opposite point. Since the Israelite ancestors did not enter because they did not believe (See: [3:19](../03/19.md)), that means that those who believe can enter. Alternate translation: [which you know because he said this about those who did not believe:] (2) proving that the rest is still available. In other words, because the Israelite ancestors did not enter, someone still can enter. Alternate translation: [which you can tell is still available because he said]
Note 4 topic: writing-quotations
καθὼς εἴρηκεν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰσερχόμεθα γάρ εἰς κατάπαυσιν οἱ πιστεύσαντες καθώς εἴρηκεν Ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ μού Εἰ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τήν κατάπαυσιν μού καίτοι τῶν ἔργων ἀπό καταβολῆς κόσμου γενηθέντων)
The author uses the phrase just as he said to requote a part of the quotation that he introduced earlier (See: especially [3:11](../03/11.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces something that has already been quoted. Alternate translation: [just as he said in what I already quoted]
Note 5 topic: writing-pronouns
εἴρηκεν
˱he˲_˓has˒_said
The word he could refer back to: (1) the Holy Spirit, whom the author identifies as the speaker of the quotation (See: [3:7](../03/07.md)). Alternate translation: [God’s Spirit said] (2) God considered as a unity. Alternate translation: [God said]
ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ μου, εἰ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσίν μου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰσερχόμεθα γάρ εἰς κατάπαυσιν οἱ πιστεύσαντες καθώς εἴρηκεν Ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ μού Εἰ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τήν κατάπαυσιν μού καίτοι τῶν ἔργων ἀπό καταβολῆς κόσμου γενηθέντων)
Since the author repeats here the same words that he quoted in [3:11](../03/11.md), you should translate these words in exactly the same way as you did in that verse.
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
καίτοι τῶν ἔργων
and_yet his works
The word although introduces something that is unexpected. God swore that the Israelite ancestors would not enter into my rest, but (unexpectedly) that rest has been available since the foundation of the world, since God’s works were finished then. The author’s point is that God’s oath about how the Israelite ancestors would never enter does not mean that the rest is not available or not yet available. Instead, the rest has been available since God created everything. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [but despite that, his works] or [although the rest is available even now, for his works]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
τῶν ἔργων & γενηθέντων
his works & ˓having_been˒_become
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. The author uses the passive form here to focus on the works that were finished rather than on the person doing the finishing. If you must state who did the action, the author implies that God did it. Alternate translation: [God finished his works]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰσερχόμεθα γάρ εἰς κατάπαυσιν οἱ πιστεύσαντες καθώς εἴρηκεν Ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ μού Εἰ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τήν κατάπαυσιν μού καίτοι τῶν ἔργων ἀπό καταβολῆς κόσμου γενηθέντων)
The author speaks of how God created the world as if he set the world on a foundation or solid base. In the author’s culture, this was a common way to refer to how God created everything. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that refers to how God created everything. Alternate translation: [from the beginning of the world] or [from the time when the world was created]
4:3 People who believe the Good News are the true heirs of God’s rest, the salvation that God offers through Christ’s sacrifice.
• God said: The quotation of Ps 95:11 reminds the reader that the unbelieving rebels in the wilderness would never enter God’s place of rest (cp. Heb 11:8, 10, 14-16; 12:22-24).
• since he made the world: God’s rest means much more than physical entry into Canaan (see study note on 4:4).
OET (OET-LV) for/because we_are_coming_in into the_rest, the ones having_believed, as he_has_said:
As I_swore in the severe_anger of_me:
Never they_will_be_coming_in into the rest of_me, and_yet his works from the_foundation of_the_world having_been_become.
OET (OET-RV) So those of us who believed are entering that rest, as he said:
⇔ ‘As I promised in my severe anger,
⇔ They will never enter into my rest.’
§ And yet he’s had it ready since the creation of the world.
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.