Paragraph 3:16–19
In 3:16–18, the author asked his readers three rhetorical questions about the quotation from Psalm 95:8–11 (in 3:8–11). In these questions the people of Israel who rebelled against the Lord are an example for the readers of Hebrews. In 3:19 he stated his conclusion: the Lord did not allow the Israelites to enter the land where he planned to give them rest because they did not trust him.
In these verses the author answered his own rhetorical questions with other rhetorical questions. In some languages it is more natural to translate the answers as statements.
3:16
who were the ones who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?: Here the author asked two rhetorical questions about the people who were “in the rebellion” (3:15). The second question answers the first question. The questions indicate that the people who heard God’s voice but then rebelled against him were the people whom Moses led out of Egypt.
Some other ways to translate this meaning are:
• Use a rhetorical question and a statement for an answer. For example:
16 Who heard God’s voice and was against him? It was all those people Moses led out of Egypt. (New Century Version)
-or-
Who were the people who heard God’s voice and rebelled against him? All those who were led out of Egypt by Moses.
• Use two statements. For example:
You know who the people are who rejected the word that God spoke. They are the people whom Moses took out of Egypt.
Translate the rhetorical questions in a natural way in your language.
3:16a
For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as For here probably indicates that this verse supports earlier statements that the author has made. It may support the statement in 3:12 about not having an evil, unbelieving heart. Many English versions do not translate the conjunction.
Connect the verse to the context in a natural way in your language. In some languages a connector may not be necessary.
the ones who heard and rebelled: This phrase refers to the people who heard what God said, but they rebelled against him. In some languages it is necessary to make the meaning more explicit. For example:
who heard God’s voice and rebelled against him (Good News Translation)
-or-
who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice (New Living Translation (2004))
3:16b
those Moses led out of Egypt: This phrase refers to all the people of Israel whom Moses led out of captivity in Egypt. The book of Exodus tells this story.
Moses: For more information about Moses, see the note on 3:2b.
Egypt: In some languages where people do not know the country of Egypt, you may need to say “⌊the country of⌋ Egypt.”
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