“And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?”
The full verse · Hebrews 3:18 · KJV
to sware that they , to them that believed ?
Asked by
Author of Hebrews: the unnamed writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who shows that God has spoken through His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2), explaining God's oath in Psalm 95:11, "I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest" (Hebrews 3:11)
Asked to
Hebrews: the first readers of the letter, "holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling" (Hebrews 3:1), warned not to harden their hearts (Hebrews 3:15)
The Scene
This is the last of three questions explaining Psalm 95 (Hebrews 3:17-18); the writer has just asked with whom God was grieved forty years, and whether it was not with them that had sinned (Hebrews 3:17).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe writer now names the root of the problem. The first two questions spoke of God being grieved forty years and of those who sinned; this one points to the cause underneath: they "believed not." God's oath in the psalm was not arbitrary. It fell on people who would not trust Him. The question leads straight to the writer's conclusion in Hebrews 3:19, and from there to his urgent call in Hebrews 4:1: "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it." Barnes traces their exclusion to a want of faith, and Gill describes an unbelief that showed itself in disobedience.
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe question contains its own answer: God swore against "them that believed not." The writer then states it plainly: "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief" (Hebrews 3:19). He returns to it in Hebrews 4:6: "they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief." But he also insists the promise still stands: "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsGod's oath is recorded in Numbers 14:23, 30: they "shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers." The "rest" first meant the land of Canaan, and the writer goes on to show it points beyond Canaan to God's own rest (Hebrews 4:9-10). The Greek word behind "believed not" is apeitheo. Thayer defines it as "not to allow oneself to be persuaded; not to comply with." That is why the KJV says "believed not" and the ESV says "were disobedient": the word holds both. Gill describes how the people "would not be persuaded" by Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyGod swore an oath because His word matters. He keeps His promises, and He also keeps His warnings. The same God who swore to give the land to their fathers (Numbers 14:23) swore that those who would not trust Him would not enter it.
But the story is not finished. The writer says God still offers rest, "To day" (Hebrews 4:7), and that "we which have believed do enter into rest" (Hebrews 4:3). The question that closes the door on the unbelieving generation opens it again for anyone who will trust God now. Unbelief, not weakness or failure of effort, is what kept them out.
Look Closer
What was the root reason the wilderness generation did not enter God's rest?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, You still offer Your rest today; what in me is refusing to be persuaded by Your promise?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Why do you think unbelief so often shows up as disobedience?
- What does "entering God's rest" look like in an ordinary week for you?
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Unbelief is more than having questions. It is refusing to be persuaded by what God has said. Israel had God's promise and God's presence, yet they would not trust Him, and they missed what He had for them.
The good news is that the offer of rest still stands. "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9). You enter it by believing, not by proving yourself. This does not mean God asks for blind faith with no questions; the writer reasons with his readers at length. It means that when God has spoken, the right response is to trust Him and follow. Scripture's own application: Hebrews 4:1-3
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.”
“But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?”
“How long will this people provoke me?”
“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation”