The Bible — World English Bible
Hebrews 3
In brief
Hebrews 3 invites believers to fix their attention on Jesus, presented as the apostle and high priest of our confession. The author compares him to Moses: both are faithful in God's house, but Moses is a servant in it, while Christ is the Son over it, and this house is God's people. The chapter then quotes Psalm 95 and recalls the wilderness generation, which hardened its heart and did not enter God's rest. It calls us not to fall away and to encourage one another every day.
The chapter in 4 parts
1Therefore, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession: Jesus,
2who was faithful to him who appointed him, as also Moses was in all his house.
3For he has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, because he who built the house has more honor than the house.
4For every house is built by someone; but he who built all things is God.
5Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were afterward to be spoken,
6but Christ is faithful as a Son over his house. We are his house, if we hold fast our confidence and the glorying of our hope firm to the end.
7Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you will hear his voice,
8don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness,
9where your fathers tested me and tried me, and saw my deeds for forty years.
10Therefore I was displeased with that generation, and said, ‘They always err in their heart, but they didn’t know my ways.’
11As I swore in my wrath, ‘They will not enter into my rest.’ ”
12Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there might be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God;
13but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called “today”, lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
14For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence firm to the end,
15while it is said, “Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion.”
16For who, when they heard, rebelled? Wasn’t it all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?
17With whom was he displeased forty years? Wasn’t it with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
18To whom did he swear that they wouldn’t enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient?
19We see that they weren’t able to enter in because of unbelief.
Key verses
Therefore, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession: Jesus,
The call of the chapter is to “consider” Jesus, that is, to fix your attention on him. He is called apostle, the one sent by God, and high priest, the one who offers the sacrifice and intercedes for his people.
Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were afterward to be spoken, but Christ is faithful as a Son over his house. We are his house, if we hold fast our confidence and the glorying of our hope firm to the end.
Moses was faithful as a servant in God's house, but Christ is faithful as a Son over his house. The difference is not a criticism of Moses: it shows how much greater Jesus is.
Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness,
The author quotes Psalm 95 and attributes it to the Holy Spirit. The word “Today” is central: God's voice is received now, and the heart can harden if we delay in answering.
Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there might be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God;
The danger described is not first of all a great visible sin, but an unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. Unbelief is presented as the root of the problem.
We see that they weren’t able to enter in because of unbelief.
The chapter ends with an observation: the wilderness generation could not enter God's rest because of unbelief. The warning is addressed to today's readers.
Bible verses to meditate on
Test your knowledge
What the sermons say
Frequently asked questions about Hebrews 3
What does Hebrews 3 mean?
Hebrews 3 explains that Jesus is greater than Moses: Moses was faithful as a servant in God's house, and Jesus is faithful as a Son over that house. The chapter then warns believers not to imitate the wilderness generation, which hardened its heart and did not enter God's rest because of its unbelief.
Why does the author compare Jesus to Moses?
The readers of the letter were Christians of Jewish background, deeply attached to Moses and the Law. The author does not belittle Moses, he acknowledges him as faithful. But he shows that Jesus is superior, because he is the Son and the house is his. So going back would not be progress.
What does “don't harden your hearts” mean?
The expression comes from Psalm 95, quoted in verses 7 and 8. It recalls the people of Israel who, in the wilderness, refused to trust God despite his works. To harden your heart is to not respond to God's voice when you hear it. The text insists on “today”: the answer is not to be put off until later.
What is God's rest in Hebrews 3?
The “rest” first refers to the promised land that the wilderness generation could not reach. The author then widens it, in chapter 4, to a rest that God offers his people today. Christian traditions stress its present or future side to different degrees, but all link it to faith and obedience.
Articles quoting Hebrews 3
World English Bible translation — public domain.