After the Old Testament text comes the explanation of it. A new step forward is marked by an imperative, be careful, and the address to the readers, fellow believers (My is implied; see comment on 3.1). The emotive level is raised by the use of such words as evil, unbelieving, and living (compare 4.12).
My fellow believers may be rendered as “You who believe even as I do” or “You who together with me believe in Christ.”
A literal rendering of be careful could suggest a positive content rather than a negative one. Therefore it may be necessary to use some such expression as “beware that you do not” or “watch out so that you will not.”
No one among you makes it clear that at this point the writer is not afraid that the whole community to which he is writing will lose its faith, but that some individuals within it may do so.
A heart so evil and unbelieving: King James Version‘s literal translation “an evil heart of unbelief” represents a phrase which would be more natural in Hebrew than in Greek. (a) “Heart of unbelief” means “unbelieving heart,” as in Revised Standard Version. (b) On heart, see discussion on 3.8. (c) “Unbelief” in the Old Testament was not just an attitude of mind but a motive for action, as the rest of the verse shows. The two Greek nouns which Good News Translation translates unbelieving here and did not believe in 4.6 are similar in meaning, and both are stronger and less passive than Good News Bible suggests. Here the idea is that of refusing to believe (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “disobedient”); in 4.6, that of refusing to obey (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “disobedience”). In 3.18 Good News Bible excellently translates the second word as rebelled.
In a number of languages it may be necessary to change or drop the figure of heart, since in biblical language the heart stands for the will and purpose of the individual. Therefore one may translate “beware that no one among you is so evil and so unbelieving that….” But in this context unbelieving may be better rendered as “rebellious,” “so opposed to God,” or even “so disobedient.”
Revised Standard Version translates the metaphor for “fall away” literally. Good News Translation‘s turn away revises it slightly, since “fall away” has become a technical expression in English church language for “apostatize” or “stop believing.” New English Bible uses the stronger but more literary expression “a deserter from the living God.” Any idea of a mere turning back to the past should in any case be avoided. In a number of languages turn away may be rendered “to turn one’s back on,” “to reject,” or possibly “to refuse to follow.”
Most modern translations, including Good News Translation, keep the traditional expression the living God. A comparison with similar expressions such as living messages (Acts 7.38), the living … word of God (1 Peter 1.23; compare Hebrews 4.12), a living way (10.20), a living hope (1 Peter 1.3), living bread (John 6.51), and living stone (1 Peter 2.4) suggests that the living God is not only “the God who is alive” (in contrast to idols) but also “the God who gives life.” That is how Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch first edition translated the living God in this verse.
Some of the force of the phrase the living God may be lost in the use of living as a kind of adjectival qualifier. However, in a nonrestrictive modifying clause the emphasis may be more satisfactorily reflected; for example, “to turn one’s back on God, who is indeed alive” or “… away from God; he lives.” If, however, one adopts the interpretation “who gives life,” a causative must be employed; for example, “… the one who causes people to live.”
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .