Hebrews 10:38

Hebrews 10:38

Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

a. ASV: But my righteous one shall live by faith: And if he shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in him.

b. YLT: And 'the righteous by faith shall live,' and 'if he may draw back, My soul hath no pleasure in him,'

c. Amplified Bible Classic:  But the just shall live by faith [My righteous servant shall live by his conviction respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, and holy fervor born of faith and conjoined with it]; and if he draws back and shrinks in fear, My soul has no delight or pleasure in him.

1. “Now the just shall live by faith…”

a. Now [Strong: 1161 dé, deh; a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and, etc.:—also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).]

b. the [Strong: 3588 ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [ho] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.]

c. just [Strong: 1342 díkaios, dik'-ah-yos; from G1349; equitable (in character or act); by implication, innocent, holy (absolutely or relatively):—just, meet, right(-eous).] [Thayer: righteous, observing divine laws, in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God, used of him whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, and who therefore needs no rectification in the heart or life] [Vine: In the NT it denotes "righteous," a state of being right, or right conduct, judged whether by the Divine standard, or according to human standards, of what is right.]

d. [shall] live [Strong: 2198 záō, dzah'-o; a primary verb; to live (literally or figuratively):—life(-time), (a-)live(-ly), quick.]

e. by [Strong: 1537 ek, ek; a primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence action or motion proceeds), from, out (of place, time, or cause; literal or figurative; direct or remote):—after, among, × are, at, betwixt(-yond), by (the means of), exceedingly, (+abundantly above), for(- th), from (among, forth, up), + grudgingly, + heartily, X heavenly, × hereby, + very highly, in, …ly, (because, by reason) of, off (from), on, out among (from, of), over, since, × thenceforth, through, × unto, × vehemently, with(-out).]

f. faith [Strong: 4102 pístis, pis'-tis; from G3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:—assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.]

1). Vine: The main elements in faith in its relation to the invisible God, as distinct from faith in man, are especially brought out in the use of this noun and corresponding verb. They are: 1. A firm conviction producing a full acknowledgement of God’s word as truth: Romans 3:2-4. 2. Personal surrender to Him: John 1:12; John 8:31-34. 3. Conduct inspired by such surrender: 2 Corinthians 5:7. All this stands in contrast to belief in its purely natural exercise, which consists of an opinion held in good faith without necessary reference to its proofs.

2). A person living by faith within these parameters will constantly be moving forward toward God, growing spiritually and growing in obedience.

2. “…but if any man draw back…”

a. but [Strong: 2532 kaí, kahee; apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:—and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

b. if [Strong: 1437 eán, eh-an'; from G1487 and G302; a conditional particle; in case that, provided, etc.; often used in connection with other particles to denote indefiniteness or uncertainty:—before, but, except, (and) if, (if) so, (what-, whither-)soever, though, when (-soever), whether (or), to whom, (who-)so(-ever).]

c. [any man] draw back [Strong: 5288 hypostéllō, hoop-os-tel'-lo; from G5259 and G4724; to withhold under (out of sight), i.e. (reflexively) to cower or shrink, (figuratively) to conceal (reserve):—draw (keep) back, shun, withdraw.] [Vine: "to draw back, withdraw," perhaps a metaphor from lowering a sail and so slackening the course, and hence of being remiss in holding the truth; in the Active Voice, rendered "drew back" in Galatians 2:12, RV (AV, "withdrew"); in the Middle, in Hebrews 10:38, "shrink back" RV (AV, "draw back"); the prefix hupo, "underneath," is here suggestive of stealth.]

1). Drawing back implies moving away from, departing from God toward evil in disobedience.

a). Hebrews 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

b). Jeremiah 7:23, 24 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.

But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.

a). By definition the person drawing back has an evil heart of disobedience and is going backwards away from God toward evil.

2). Contrast drawing back, departing from with drawing near.

a). 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.

3.  “…my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

a. my [Strong: moû, moo; the simpler form of G1700; of me:—I, me, mine (own), my.]

b. soul [Strong: 5590 psychḗ, psoo-khay'; from G5594; breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from G4151, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from G2222, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew H5315, H7307 and H2416):—heart (+ -ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you.]

c. [shall have] no [Strong: 3756 ou, oo; a primary word; the absolute negative (compare G3361) adverb; no or not:—+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, + nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but.]

d. pleasure [Strong: 2106 eudokéō, yoo-dok-eh'-o; from G2095 and G1380; to think well of, i.e. approve (an act); specially, to approbate (a person or thing):—think good, (be well) please(-d), be the good (have, take) pleasure, be willing.]

e. in [Strong: 1722 en, en; a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e. a relation of rest (intermediate between G1519 and G1537); "in," at, (up-)on, by, etc.:—about, after, against, + almost, × altogether, among, × as, at, before, between, (here-)by (+ all means), for (… sake of), + give self wholly to, (here-)in(-to, -wardly), × mightily, (because) of, (up-)on, (open-)ly, × outwardly, one, × quickly, × shortly, (speedi-)ly, × that, × there(-in, -on), through(-out), (un-)to(-ward), under, when, where(-with), while, with(-in). Often used in compounds, with substantially the same import; rarely with verbs of motion, and then not to indicate direction, except (elliptically) by a separate (and different) preposition.]

f. him [Strong: 846 autós, ow-tos'; from the particle αὖ aû (perhaps akin to the base of G109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:—her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]

1). The exhortation is not to draw back, move away from living by faith, of living by conviction in relationship to God in holy fervor and those who do so, as this fragment says, God will have no pleasure in these people. Without faith the righteous cannot please God. It is not that faith pleases God, but that without faith we cannot please him.

a). Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

(1) rewarder [Strong: 3406 misthapodotes mis-thap-od-ot'-ace from 3409 and 591; a remunerator:--rewarder.]  [misthapodotes; misthos-wages; apo-back; didomi-to give.] [Bullinger: a payer of full of wages.]

(2) diligently seek [Strong: 1567 ekzeteo ek-zay-teh'-o from 1537 and 2212; to search out, i.e. (figuratively)investigate, crave, demand, (by Hebraism) worship:--en- (re-)quire, seek after (carefully, diligently).] [Thayer: to seek out, search for]

2). God will pay in full and reward those who crave and seek Him out. God will reward us with Himself.

a). Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

b). James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.