Hebrews 10 · Verse 23

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Hebrews 10:23, King James Version

Hebrews 10:23 in other translations

BSBLet us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
WEBlet’s hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful.
ASVlet us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised:
YLTmay we hold fast the unwavering profession of the hope, (for faithful is He who did promise),
DARBYLet us hold fast the confession of the hope unwavering, (for he is faithful who has promised;)
BBELet us keep the witness of our hope strong and unshaking, for he is true who has given his word:
WebsterLet us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised:

What does Hebrews 10:23 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
23. (He 3:6, 14; 4:14.) profession--Greek, "confession." our faith--rather as Greek, "our hope"; which is indeed faith exercised as to the future inheritance. Hope rests on faith, and at the same time quickens faith, and is the ground of our bold confession (1Pe 3:15). Hope is similarly (He 10:22) connected with purification (1Jo 3:3). without wavering--without declension (He 3:14), "steadfast unto the end." he--God is faithful to His promises (He 6:17, 18; 11:11; 12:26, 28; 1Co 1:9; 10:13; 1Th 5:24; 2Th 3:3; see also Christ's promise, Joh 12:26); but man is too often unfaithful to his duties.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 23. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. To secure this was one of the leading designs of this epistle, and hence the apostle adverts to it so frequently. It is evident that those to whom he wrote were suffering persecution, Heb 12 and that there was great danger that they would apostatize. As these persecutions came probably from the Jews, and as the aim was to induce them to return to their former opinions, the object of the apostle is to show that there was in the Christian scheme every advantage of which the Jews could boast; everything pertaining to the dignity of the great Founder of the system, the character of the High Priest, and the nature and value of the sacrifices offered; and that all this was possessed far more abundantly in the permanent Christian system than in that which was typical in its character, and which were designed soon to vanish away. In view of all this, therefore, the apostle adds that they should hold fast the profession of their faith, without being shaken by their trials, or by the arguments of their enemies. We have the same inducement to hold fast the profession of our faith--for it is the same religion still; we have the same Saviour, and there is held out to us still the same prospect of heaven.

For he is faithful that promised. To induce them to hold fast their profession, the apostle adds this additional consideration. God, who had promised eternal life to them, was faithful to all that he had said. he arrangement here is,

(1.) That since God is so faithful to us, we ought to be faithful to him.

(2.) The fact that he is faithful is an encouragement to us. We are dependent on him for grace to hold fast our profession. If he were to prove unfaithful, we should have no strength to do it. But this he never does; and we may be assured that all that he has promised he will perform. To the service of such a God, therefore, we should adhere without wavering. Comp. 1Cor 10:13.

(a) "he is faithful" 1Thes 5:24

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith - The word ὁμολογια, from ὁμου, together, and λογος, a word, implies that general consent that was among Christians on all the important articles of their faith and practice; particularly their acknowledgment of the truth of the Gospel, and of Jesus Christ, as the only victim for sin, and the only Savior from it. If the word washed above refer to Christian baptism in the ease of adults, then the profession is that which the baptized then made of their faith in the Gospel; and of their determination to live and die in that faith. The various readings on this clause are many in the MSS., etc. Της ελπιδος την ὁμολογιαν, the confession of our Hope; D*, two of the Itala, Vulgate, Erpen's Arabic, and the Ethiopic. Ὁμολογιαν της πιστεως, the confession of Faith; one of the Barberini MSS. and two others. This is the reading which our translators have followed; but it is of very little authority. Την επαγγελιαν της ελπιδος, the promise of Hope; St. Chrysostom. Την ελπιδα της ὁμολογιας, the Hope of our Profession; one of Petavius's MSS. But among all these, the confession or profession of Hope is undoubtedly the genuine reading. Now, among the primitive Christians, the hope which they professed was the resurrection of the body, and everlasting life; every thing among these Christians was done and believed in reference to a future state; and for the joy that this set before them, they, like their Master, endured every cross, and despised all shame: they expected to be with God, through Christ; this hope they professed to have; and they confessed boldly and publicly the faith on which this hope was built. The apostle exhorts them to hold fast this confession without wavering - never to doubt the declarations made to them by their Redeemer, but having the full assurance of faith that their hearts were sprinkled from an evil conscience, that they had found redemption in the blood of the lamb, they might expect to be glorified with their living Head in the kingdom of their Father. He is faithful that promised - The eternal life, which is the object of your hope, is promised to you by him who cannot lie; as he then is faithful who has given you this promise, hold fast the profession of your hope.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hebrews 10:19-25

The apostle having closed the first part of the epistle, the doctrine is applied to practical purposes. As believers had an open way to the presence of God, it became them to use this privilege. The way and means by which Christians enjoy such privileges, is by the blood of Jesus, by the merit of that blood which he offered up as an atoning sacrifice. The agreement of infinite holiness with pardoning mercy, was not…

Read the full comment on Hebrews 10:19-25 →

Hebrews 10:23 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

κατέχωμενkatechōmenWe may hold fastG2722
τὴνtēnto theG3588
ὁμολογίανhomologianconfessionG3671
τῆςtēs<the>G3588
ἐλπίδοςelpidosof [our] hopeG1680
ἀκλινῆ,aklinēfirmly,G186
πιστὸςpistosfaithfulG4103
γὰρgarfor [is]G1063
ὁhothe [One]G3588
ἐπαγγειλάμενος,epangeilamenoshaving promised,G1861

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Hebrews 10:23

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:24

    Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

  • 1 Corinthians 1:9

    God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

  • 2 Thessalonians 3:3

    But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

  • Hebrews 6:18

    That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

  • Titus 1:2

    In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

  • Hebrews 3:6

    But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

  • 1 Corinthians 10:13

    There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

  • Revelation 3:11

    Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

  • James 1:6

    But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

  • Hebrews 4:14

    Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

  • Hebrews 11:11

    Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

  • Hebrews 3:14

    For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
hold.
3:6,14; 4:14; Re 3:11
wavering.
Jas 1:6
for.
6:18; 11:11; 1Co 1:9; 10:13; 1Th 5:24; 2Th 3:3; Tit 1:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Hebrews 10:22

    Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

  • Hebrews 10:23

    Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

  • Hebrews 10:24

    And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

Read all of Hebrews 10

Hebrews 10:23 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Mantengamos firme la profesión de nuestra fe sin fluctuar; que fiel es el que prometió:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Retenons la confession de notre espérance sans chanceler, car celui qui a promis est fidèle;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Laßt uns das Bekenntnis der Hoffnung unbeweglich festhalten,;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		teneamus spei nostræ confessionem indeclinabilem (fidelis enim est qui repromisit),