HEB 4:9 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:1–13: We must have faith in God and enter his rest

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

4:9

There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

¶ Since God did speak about it, we know that he has provided a sabbath rest for his people.
¶ So from this we^(incl) conclude/understand that there is still rest for God’s people, like the way God rested on the rest day.

This verse is important in Section 4:1–13. It tells what readers should conclude from 4:1–8. In those verses the author used two OT scriptures (Psalm 95 and Genesis 2:2) to lead to this conclusion in 4:9: God still provides a sabbath rest for his people.

There remains, then: The Greek wordThe Greek word is ἄρα. It is used here to introduce “an inference made on the basis of what precedes.” (BDAG, page 127). that the BSB translates as then introduces a deduction or conclusion from 4:1–8. It implies that the statement in 4:9 will tell what readers should realize and conclude from the preceding verses.

Some other ways to introduce it are:

That is how we know that…

This shows that…

So from all this we know/conclude that…

There remains…a Sabbath rest for the people of God: This clause indicates that a Sabbath rest is still available for God’s people to enjoy. Some other ways to translate it are:

there is still opportunity for the people of God to get rest with him. That rest is like God’s rest on the seventh day.

as for us, God’s people, it is possible for us to have rest like God’s rest on that seventh day

there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God (NLT)

remains: Here the Greek word that the BSB translates as remains means “to be reserved.” It indicates here that a sabbath rest is still available for God’s people. In this context it is God who has reserved (provided) this rest for his people. Some ways to translate it in this verse are:

is still waiting/provided

God has reserved

is still coming (NCV)

Sabbath rest: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Sabbath rest is a rare word. It occurs only here in the Greek New Testament.Allen (page 280, Kindle edition) says, “Many believe the author of Hebrews coined the term sabbatismos since it occurs nowhere in Greek literature prior to Hebrews and this is its only occurrence in the New Testament.” The Jews rested on the seventh (final) day of every week. They called this weekly rest day the Sabbath. The phrase Sabbath rest is related to the word for “sabbath.” It is used in a figurative way here to refer to a special type of rest.This word does not occur in the Greek Old Testament, but it is related to the Greek word for the Sabbath, which is based on the Hebrew word, shaḇḇaṯ. This noun is related to the verb shaḇaṯ which means “cease from, rest.” The Jews had to “cease” work on the seventh day and “rest,” as God did after his work of creation.

There are two main views about what this Sabbath rest refers to:

It refers to a spiritual rest that begins on earth when a person believes in Christ. Then the person depends on God for salvation and for the strength to do God’s will.
It refers to rest in heaven with God after a believer in Christ dies. It is symbolized in the OT by the rest that God promised the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Probably the word implies both of these meanings here. Some other ways to translate it are:

rest like God’s resting on the seventh day (GNT)

special rest (NLT)

people of God: The Greek word that the BSB translates as people often refers to a group of people who share kinship. It can also refer to people who share a common culture but are not related by blood. God created everyone, so all people belong to him. However, in the Bible the term “God’s people” is usually used in a special way to refer to the people who believe in him and obey him.

Some other ways to translate people of God here are:

the people who worship/serve God

God’s worshippers/subjects

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

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.

OET interlinear HEB 4:9

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 4:1–13: We must have faith in God and enter his rest

4:9

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)