Hebrews 4:3 (ASV)

Passage

For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said, As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Nearby Context

Hebrews 4:1 Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it.

Hebrews 4:2 For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they: but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard.

Hebrews 4:3 For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said, As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Hebrews 4:4 For he hath said somewhere of the seventh [day] on this wise, And God rested on the seventh day from all his works;

Hebrews 4:5 and in this [place] again, They shall not enter into my rest.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "believed", "enter", "rest", "even", "hath", "said", and "sware". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "believed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "For indeed we have had good tidings..." into verse 4's "For he hath said somewhere of the...", so "world" and "believed" belong inside that flow. In Hebrews context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "world" and "believed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.