The Superiority of Jesus to Moses

Therefore, holy brothers, sharers in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to the one who appointed him, as Moses also was in his household.[a] For this one is considered worthy of greater glory than Moses, inasmuch as the one who builds it has greater honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the one who built all things is God. And Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony to the things that would be spoken, but Christ was faithful[b] as a son over his house, whose house we are, if[c] we hold fast to our confidence and the hope we can be proud of.

A Serious Warning Against Unbelief

Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
    in the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers tested me by trial
    and saw my works 10 for forty years.
Therefore I was angry with this generation,
    and I said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
and they do not know my ways.’
11     As I swore in my anger,
They will never enter[d] into my rest.’”[e]

12 Watch out, brothers, lest there be in some of you an evil, unbelieving heart, with the result that you fall away[f] from the living God. 13 But encourage one another day by day[g], as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you become hardened[h] by the deception of sin. 14 For we have become partners of Christ, if indeed we hold fast the beginning of our commitment steadfast until the end, 15 while it is said[i],

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”[j]

16 For who, when they[k] heard it, were disobedient? Surely it was not all who went out from Egypt through Moses? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear they would not enter into his rest, except those who were disobedient? 19 And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 3:2 Some manuscripts have “in all his household”
  2. Hebrews 3:6 The words “was faithful” are not in the Greek text, but are an understood repetition from the previous verse and v. 2
  3. Hebrews 3:6 Some manuscripts have “if indeed”
  4. Hebrews 3:11 Literally “if they will enter”
  5. Hebrews 3:11 A quotation from Ps 95:7b-11
  6. Hebrews 3:12 Here “with the result that” is supplied as a component of the infinitive (“fall away”) which is understood as result
  7. Hebrews 3:13 Literally “by each day”
  8. Hebrews 3:13 Literally “not anyone of you be hardened”
  9. Hebrews 3:15 Literally “in the saying”
  10. Hebrews 3:15 A quotation from Ps 95:7b-8
  11. Hebrews 3:16 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal

Jesus Greater Than Moses

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters,(A) who share in the heavenly calling,(B) fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge(C) as our apostle and high priest.(D) He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.(E) Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses,(F) just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.(G) “Moses was faithful as a servant(H) in all God’s house,”[a](I) bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son(J) over God’s house. And we are his house,(K) if indeed we hold firmly(L) to our confidence and the hope(M) in which we glory.

Warning Against Unbelief

So, as the Holy Spirit says:(N)

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts(O)
as you did in the rebellion,
    during the time of testing in the wilderness,
where your ancestors tested and tried me,
    though for forty years they saw what I did.(P)
10 That is why I was angry with that generation;
    I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
    and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,(Q)
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ (R)[b](S)

12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.(T) 13 But encourage one another daily,(U) as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.(V) 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold(W) our original conviction firmly to the very end.(X) 15 As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts
    as you did in the rebellion.”[c](Y)

16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?(Z) 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?(AA) 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest(AB) if not to those who disobeyed?(AC) 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.(AD)

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 3:5 Num. 12:7
  2. Hebrews 3:11 Psalm 95:7-11
  3. Hebrews 3:15 Psalm 95:7,8