Hebrews 3:12

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
heed	Βλέπετε, Blepete	G991	to look at (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active imperative, 2nd person plural
brethren	ἀδελφοί, adelphoi	G80	a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (m… · noun — vocative plural masculine
lest	μήποτε mḗpote	G3379	not ever
be	ἔσομαι ésomai	G2071	will be
in	ἔν en	G1722	"in · preposition
any	τινι tini	G5100	some or any person or object · indefinite pronoun — dative singular masculine
you	ὑμῶν hymōn	G5216	of (from or concerning) you
an	καρδία kardia	G2588	the heart · noun — nominative singular feminine
evil	πονηρὰ ponēra	G4190	hurtful · adjective — nominative singular feminine
heart	καρδία kardía	G2588	the heart
unbelief	ἀπιστίας apistias	G570	faithlessness · noun — genitive singular feminine
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
departing	ἀποστῆναι apostēnai	G868	to remove · verb — second aorist active infinitive
from	ἀπὸ apo	G575	"off · preposition
living	ζῶντος· zōntos	G2198	to live (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active participle, genitive singular masculine
God	θεοῦ theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
Jeremiah 7:24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, an…
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Jeremiah 18:12 And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.
1 Corinthians 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Hebrews 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we…
Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Jeremiah 11:8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them a…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hebrews 3:7–end

Here the apostle proceeds in pressing upon them serious counsels and cautions to the close of the chapter; and he recites a passage out of Psa 95:7, etc., where observe, I. What he counsels them to do - to give a speedy and present attention to the call of Christ. "Hear his voice, assent to, approve of, and consider, what God in Christ speaks unto you; apply it to yourselves with suitable affections and endeavours, and set about it this very day, for tomorrow it may be too late." II. What he cautions them against - hardening their hearts, turning the deaf ear to the calls and counsels of Christ: "When he tells you of the evil of sin, the excellency of holiness, the necessity of receiving him…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hebrews 3:12

Take heed--to be joined with "wherefore," Heb 3:7. lest there be--Greek (indicative), "lest there shall be"; lest there be, as I fear there is; implying that it is not merely a possible contingency, but that there is ground for thinking it will be so. in any--"in any one of you." Not merely ought all in general be on their guard, but they ought to be so concerned for the safety of each one member, as not to suffer any one to perish through their negligence [CALVIN]. heart--The heart is not to be trusted. Compare Heb 3:10, "They do always err in their heart." unbelief--faithlessness. Christ is faithful; therefore, saith Paul to the Hebrews, we ought not to be faithless as our fathers…

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Adam Clarke on Hebrews 3:12

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you - Take warning by those disobedient Israelites; they were brought out of the house of bondage, and had the fullest promise of a land of prosperity and rest. By their disobedience they came short of it, and fell in the wilderness. Ye have been brought from the bondage of sin, and have a most gracious promise of an everlasting inheritance among the saints in light; through unbelief and disobedience they lost their rest, through the same ye may lose yours. An evil heart of unbelief will head away from the living God. What was possible in their case, is possible in yours. The apostle shows here five degrees of apostasy: 1. Consenting to sin, being…

The Church Fathers

Fearful of the saying. See, he says, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, from the rest, the kingdom of heaven.
— Oecumenius, The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews

Thinking, then, that they could find a better, they wander and become wretched, and enter upon pathless places. But those which fell into the fire and were burned are those who have departed for ever from the living God.
— Shepherd of Hermas, Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 3

Above all things indeed, he says, "let there not be an evil heart of unbelief." But even suppose there should be, let no man despair, but let him recover himself; for as long as we are in this world, the "To-day" is in season.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Hebrews 6

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Moses — Drawn (or Egypt. mesu, “son;” hence Rameses, royal son). On the invitation of Pharaoh (Gen. 45:17-25), Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt. This immigration took place probably about 350 years…
Apostasy · General references — General references
Apostates · Described — Described
Backsliders · 8:22; — 8:22;
Heart, Character Of The Unrenewed · Unbelieving — Unbelieving
Heedfulness · Necessary: Against unbelief — Necessary: Against unbelief
Procrastination · 11:2,3;12:22,27,28; — 11:2,3;12:22,27,28;
Rebellion Against God · Connected with: The heart is the seat of — Connected with: The heart is the seat of
Reprobacy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Self-Will · .Warn the people against — .Warn the people against
Self-Will And Stubbornness · Ministers should: Warn their people against — Ministers should: Warn their people against
Symbols And Similitudes · General references — General references
Unbelief · 5:12-14;

Hebrews 3:12

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hebrews 3:7–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hebrews 3:12

Adam Clarke on Hebrews 3:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Hebrews 3:12

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hebrews 3:7–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hebrews 3:12

Adam Clarke on Hebrews 3:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Hebrews 3:12

John Calvin on Hebrews 3:7-13

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Hebrews 3:12-19