Hebrews 10:36
in Hebrews 10You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For ye have need of patience, that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise.
KJV
For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
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This verse in Hebrews 10
Commentary
14 notes on this verse"For you have need of endurance." I seek not increase, but patience, so that you may persevere in the same things. "so that after you have done the will of God."The will of God is that you persevere in the same things until the end, …
This site's exposition
do not throw away your confidence
on Hebrews 10:35-39
The chapter gathers into one command, do not throw away your confidence, the parrhesia of verse 19. Habakkuk 2:3 to 4 is quoted, My righteous one will live by faith. The chapter ends on assurance, counting the readers of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
This site's exposition
You need to persevere
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown render the Greek as waiting endurance, the same root the Septuagint uses at Habakkuk 2:3, the prophecy quoted next. Most of the saints' happiness lies in promise, says Matthew Henry. Adam Clarke adds that God supplies the grace and the believer exercises it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
The will of God is that you sincerely believe in Him and perform good deeds, and moreover, when the time demands it, you should strive even to the point of shedding blood: for such ones receive the promise.
"For ye have need of patience," not of any addition to your labors, that ye may continue in the same state, that ye may not cast away what has been put into your hands. Ye need nothing else, but so to stand as ye have stood, that when ye come to the end, ye may receive the promise. "For" (he says) "ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." Ye have need of one thing only, to bear with the delay; not that ye should fight again. Ye are at the very crown (he means); ye have borne all the combats of bonds, of afflictions; your goods have been spoiled. What then? Henceforward ye are standing to be crowned: endure this only, the delay of the crown. O the greatness of the consolation! It is as if one should speak to an athlete who had overthrown all, and had no antagonist, and then was to be crowned, and yet endured not that time, during which the president of the games comes, and places the crown upon him; and he impatient, should wish to go out, and escape as though he could not bear the thirst and the heat.
The Medieval Church3 voices
A commentator
Photios I of ConstantinopleFRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 10.36 · Written before 893.
proposed
"The will of God" is to believe sincerely in him and to do virtuous deeds and to contend for them even to the point of blood when the time calls. For such people "receive what is promised."
543. – The way to keep it is patience; hence, he says, for you have need of patience. For just as meekness moderates anger, so patience puts a limit to sadness, so that it will not exceed the bounds of reason. But sadness is sometimes …
You need nothing else besides patience alone: you have everything else, and you need add nothing further. The will of God is that we endure to the end. For, He says, "he who endures to the end shall be saved" (Matt. 10:22). The Apostle persuades …
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Observe, The greatest part of the saints' happiness is in promise. They must first do the will of God before they receive the promise; and, after they have done the will of God, they have need of patience to wait for the time when the promise shall be fulfilled; they have need of patience to live till God calls them away.
For ye have need of patience,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Ye have need of patience - Having so great a fight of sufferings to pass through, and they of so long continuance. God furnishes the grace; you must exercise it. The grace or principle of patience comes from God; the use and exercise of that grace is of yourselves. Here ye must be workers together with God. Patience and perseverance are nearly the same. Have done the will of God - By keeping the faith, and patiently suffering for it.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Consequent exhortation to confidence and endurance, as Christ is soon coming. Cast not away--implying that they now have "confidence," and that it will not withdraw of itself, unless they "cast it away" wilfully (compare Heb 3:14). which--Greek, "the which": inasmuch as being such as. hath--present tense: it is as certain as if you had it in your hand (Heb 10:37).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Christ, being the grand and ultimate subject of all prophetical vision, is here made by Paul, under inspiration, the subject of the Spirit's prophecy by Habakkuk, in its final and exhaustive fulfilment.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For ye have need of patience - They were then suffering, and in all trials we have need of patience. We have need of it because there is in us so much disposition to complain and repine; because our nature is liable to sink under sufferings; and because our trials are often protracted. All that Christians can do in such cases is to be patient - to lie calmly in the hands of God, and submit to his will day by day, and year by year; see Jas 1:3-4; notes, Rom 5:4. That after ye have done the will of God - That is, in bearing trials, for the reference here is particularly to afflictions.Ye might receive the promise - The promised inheritance or reward - in heaven. It is implied here that this promise will not be received unless we are patient in our trials, and the prospect of this reward should encourage us to endure them.
The words behind it
13 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὑπομονῆς | hupomones | Of endurance | G5281 → | |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| ἔχετε | echete | You have | G2192 → | 707 times |
| χρείαν, | chreian | need, | G5532 → | 49 times |
| ἵνα | ina | so that | G2443 → | 668 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θέλημα | thelema | will | G2307 → | 62 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θεοῦ | theou | of God | G2316 → | 1312 times |
| ποιήσαντες | poiesantes | having done | G4160 → | 569 times |
| κομίσησθε | komisesthe | you may receive | G2865 → | 10 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐπαγγελίαν. | epangelian | promise. | G1860 → | 52 times |
ὑπομονῆςOf endurance
hupomonesG5281 →
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
ἔχετεYou have
echeteG2192 →707 times
χρείαν,need,
chreianG5532 →49 times
ἵναso that
inaG2443 →668 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
θέλημαwill
thelemaG2307 →62 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
θεοῦof God
theouG2316 →1312 times
ποιήσαντεςhaving done
poiesantesG4160 →569 times
κομίσησθεyou may receive
komisestheG2865 →10 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
ἐπαγγελίαν.promise.
epangelianG1860 →52 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 12:1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set…
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
- 1 Corinthians 9:24–27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.
- Philippians 2:16
as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
- Luke 21:34
But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
- Hebrews 10:35–39
So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.
- 2 Timothy 4:7
Through
1 Corinthians 13:7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
- 1 Peter 4:8
Through
Psalms 37:7Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
it leads to
- Psalms 27:14
Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!
- James 5:7–11
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.
- Psalms 27:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies42
On this verse
On this chapter
- The Covenants
- The Day of Atonement
- Eternal Security, and the Five Warnings of Hebrews
- Faith
- The Hall of Faith
- The Fall Feasts
Show the next 6 titles
- Hope
- The Anchor of the Soul
- Entertaining Angels Unaware
- How the Cross Saves: The Views of the Atonement
- Jephthah's vow
- The Joy Set Before Him
Show the next 6 titles
- The Messianic Psalms
- Nadab and Abihu: the unauthorized fire
- Patience and the Impulse
- The Scarlet Thread
- The Tabernacle
- The Appointed Times Read as a Calendar of Prophecy
Show the next 6 titles
- The Ark of the Covenant
- The Ascension: Acts 1:1-11 · Luke 24:50-53
- The Blood
- The Bronze Laver
- The Burnt Offering
- The Cherubim
Show the next 6 titles
About Hebrews

This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Hebrews; John Chrysostom, Homily on Hebrews 21; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews; Photios I of Constantinople, FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 10.36; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Hebrews and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews.
