Paragraph 4:11–13
4:11
This verse is the second key verse of this section (along with verse 9). It is a solemn exhortation.
4:11a
Let us, therefore: The word therefore introduces an exhortation to enter God’s rest. It is based on what the author said in 4:1–10. Another way to translate it is:
So then
-or-
As a result of all this
Let us…make every effort to enter that rest: The verb make every effort means “be eager, try hard, strive.” Here the command Let us…make every effort includes both the author and those who heard him. This command is similar to the one in 4:1 (“let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach” his rest.) The author emphasized the command by saying it at the beginning of the section and repeating it (in a slightly different way) near the end.
You should translate the two commands in a similar way. Some other ways to translate the command here are:
Let us…do our best to receive that rest (Good News Translation)
-or-
we must be committed/diligent to get that rest with God
-or-
Let us try as hard as we can to enter God’s rest (New Century Version)
4:11b
so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience: This clause tells the purpose for trying hard to enter God’s rest in 4:11a. It indicates that if we do not strive to enter God’s rest (4:11a), we may disobey God and then fall (4:11b). Another way to translate the clause is:
so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience (New International Version)
Notice that this clause mentions two actions: they may fall and they may disobey. The disobedience causes the fall, so in some languages it is more natural to translate the actions in a different order. For example:
so that no one will disobey God like they did and then fall
so that no one will fall: The phrase no one will fall is a figure of speech. The word fall refers to sin that causes a person not to receive God’s rest. It implies that a person may disobey God and refuse the rest that God offers him, just as the Israelites disobeyed God in the wilderness and did not receive God’s rest. That implies here that the person will fail to receive salvation.
Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
so that no one among us will retreat from our faith
-or-
so that none of us will lose/reject ⌊the rest⌋
by following the same pattern of disobedience: The phrase by following the same pattern of disobedience means “by disobeying God, as the people of Israel did.” In this context the word disobedience refers to refusing to believe God. See the note on 4:6c. This is the same word that the author used in 3:18 and 4:6c. In some languages it is more natural to use a verb to translate disobedience. For example:
by following the example of those who refused to obey (God’s Word)
the same pattern of disobedience: The pronoun the same refers to the pattern of disobedience of the people of Israel at the time of Moses. In some languages it is helpful to refer to them more explicitly. For example:
like the people of Israel disobeyed long ago
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