UTN uW Translation Notes:

Hebrews 4 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

3. Example of the wilderness generation (3:1–4:13) * Exhortation: Strive to enter the rest! (3:7–4:11) * Exhortation: The power of God’s word (4:12–13)4. Summary statement (4:14–16)Some translations set each line of poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to make it easier to read. The ULT does this with the poetry in 4:3–5, 7, which are words from the Old Testament.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

God’s rest

The author continues to refer to “rest” in this chapter. This time, he also includes how God “rested” after he created everything. Continue to translate “rest” the way you did in chapter 3. (See: rest)

“Today”

The quotation from Psalm 95 includes the word “today.” Much like in the previous chapter, the author references “today” several times (See: 4:7–8). In 4:7, he refers to how we always call the current day “today.” This means that the “rest” is available “today,” or right now. In 4:8, the author refers to “another day” that happened after Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land. This refers again to “today” from the psalm quotation. In these verses, translate “today” with a word or phrase that someone would use for the current day or time, and translate “day” so that it is clear that it refers to “today.” (See: biblicaltimeday)

Joshua, David, and the audience

In 4:7–9, the author makes an argument that is based on sequence in time. First, Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land. Many years later, God spoke through David that people could enter the rest “today.” Finally, the author quotes these words to his audience after Jesus has died and risen again. The author’s point is that what Joshua led the Israelites into could not count as “rest,” because David was still speaking about entering the “rest” many years later. The author argues that this means that the words about entering the rest still apply when he himself is writing this letter. When you translate these verses, make sure that your readers understand that the author is making an argument based on sequence. (See: grammar-connect-time-sequential)

Jesus the high priest

In 4:14–15, much as in 2:17, the author refers to Jesus as a “priest,” here specifically a “high priest.” This is an important theme in Hebrews. In much of the rest of the letter, the author argues that Jesus is a high priest who offers a sacrifice in the heavenly sanctuary. Here the author begins to develop that theme by showing that Jesus is a sympathetic and merciful high priest. Translate “high priest” like you did in 2:17. (See: highpriest)

Translation Issues in This Chapter

The word of God as a sword

In 4:12, the author says that God’s word is “sharper than any two-edged sword,” and it can “pierce” and “divide” people’s joints and marrow and their souls and spirits. The author makes this comparison because he wants to show that God uses his “word” to discern and judge everything, even things that are very hard to know or understand. Just like a sharp sword can cut anything apart, even things that are securely fastened together, so God uses his “word” to get to the core of what every person is and thinks. If possible, preserve the comparison between God’s word and a sharp blade, since this is an important metaphor that appears in other biblical books. (See: figs-metaphor)

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Who “speaks” the quotations?

In 4:3–5, 7, the author refers to the person who “speaks” the quotations as “he.” Since the author identified the Holy Spirit as the one who “speaks” Psalm 95, it is likely that he is referring to the Holy Spirit again as the speaker of these quotations. However, it is also possible that the author means that God, considered as a whole, speaks these quotations, or perhaps the author is avoiding identifying the speaker. If possible, preserve the ambiguity by referring simply to “he” or an unnamed person. If necessary, you could make it more explicit that the “Holy Spirit” or “God” speaks these words. (See: writing-quotations)

The logic of 4:3–7

In 4:3–7, the author uses Genesis 2:2 to comment on Psalm 95:11. This is a complicated argument, and it is likely that the author is making several points.First (1), he could be identifying the “rest” as the result of God’s “works.” In other words, the “rest” is something that God enjoyed on the seventh day, after he accomplished his work. The author uses Genesis 2:2 to show that the “rest” began to exist when God created the world. This means that the “rest” to which Psalm 95:11 refers has been available since then. This explains why the author says that the “rest” remains for some to enter (See: 4:6).Second (2), he could be using what Genesis 2:2 says about “rest” to define what “rest” means in Psalm 95:11. In the Psalm, the “rest” would have originally referred primarily to the promised land. However, the author uses how God “rested” on the seventh day to define the “rest” primarily as something that people do with God rather than as a place to which they go. This explains why the author defines “entering the rest” as “resting from works” (See: 4:10).Since the author does not include much explanation and instead quotes the two verses together, you should also put the two verses together without including much explanation. See the notes for specific translation decisions. The author gives some conclusions in 4:6–10, so it is important to translate these verses clearly.