Hebrews 10:37
in Hebrews 10For, “In just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For yet a very little while, He that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry.
KJV
For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
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This verse in Hebrews 10
Commentary
13 notes on this verseAnd here it is clearly foretold that that one will come whom prophecy says will come. Who could this be but he who is referred to in the words, "Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord, the Lord God also has shone upon us"? With which also Zechariah agrees, when he says, "Behold a man, the Dawn is his name, and he shall rise from below." The same prophet too, noting the time, adds, "At eventide it shall be light. If he delays, wait for him."
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
He who is coming will come
Oecumenius notes that the Greek doubles its word for little, a very little while. Albert Barnes hears Christ's promise of John 16:16 here. John Wesley names the purpose of the coming, to repay each person for what he has done.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
And when can we receive the promise? Do not become sluggish, he says: he who repays is near. "For yet a very little while, and he who is coming will come and will not delay." For what he says,"a very little while, [ὅσον ὅσον], signifies …
A commentator
Clement of RomeClement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 23 · Written before 99.
proposed
The all-merciful and beneficent Father has bowels [of compassion] towards those that fear Him, and kindly and lovingly bestows His favours upon those who come to Him with a simple mind. Wherefore let us not be double-minded; neither let our soul be lifted up on account of His exceedingly great and glorious gifts. Far from us be that which is written, "Wretched are they who are of a double mind, and of a doubting heart; who say, These things we have heard even in the times of our fathers; but, behold, we have grown old, and none of them has happened unto us." Ye foolish ones! compare yourselves to a tree: take [for instance] the vine. First of all, it sheds its leaves, then it buds, next it puts forth leaves, and then it flowers; after that comes the sour grape, and then follows the ripened fruit. Ye perceive how in a little time the fruit of a tree comes to maturity. Of a truth, soon and suddenly shall His will be accomplished, as the Scripture also bears witness, saying, "Speedily will He come, and will not tarry;" [Hebrews 10:37] and, "The Lord shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Holy One, for whom ye look." [Malachi 3:1]
He then also hinting this, what does he say? "Yet a little while and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry." For lest they should say, And when will He come? He comforts them from the Scriptures. For thus also when he says in another place, "Now is our salvation nearer," he comforts them because the remaining time is short. And this he says not of himself but from the Scriptures. But if from that time it was said, "Yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry," it is plain that now He is nearer. Wherefore also waiting is no small reward.
The Medieval Church2 voices
545. – Then (v. 37) he cites an authority to prove what he had said. In regard to this he does two things: first, he states it; secondly, he applies it to his thesis (v. 39). In regard to the first he does three things: …
He brings forward the prophet Habakkuk, who says that the Judge is near, with the purpose of rendering recompense. And if even Habakkuk said at that time, "yet a little while, a very little while, and the Coming One shall come," then it is clear …
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He will soon come to judgment, and put an end to the sufferings of the whole church (all his mystical body), and give them an ample and glorious reward in the most public manner. There is an appointed time for both, and beyond that time he will not tarry, Hab. ii. The Christian's present conflict may be sharp, but it will be soon over.
For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For yet a little while - There seems to be an allusion here to what the Saviour himself said, “A little while, and ye shall not see me; and again, a little while and ye shall see me;” Joh 16:
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).
For yet a little while - Ετι γαρ μικρον ὁσον· For yet a very little time. In a very short space of time the Messiah will come, and execute judgment upon your rebellious country. This is determined, because they have filled up the measure of their iniquity, and their destruction slumbereth not. The apostle seems to refer to Hab 2:3, Hab 2:4, and accommodates the words to his own purpose.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἔτι | eti | Yet | G2089 → | 140 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| μικρὸν | mikron | A little | G3398 → | |
| ὅσον | hoson | very | G3745 → | 110 times |
| ὅσον, | hoson | while, | G3745 → | 110 times |
| ὁ | ho | the [One] who | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐρχόμενος | erchomenos | is coming | G2064 → | 628 times |
| ἥξει | hexei | will come | G2240 → | 26 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| οὐ | ou | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| χρονίσει. | chronisei | will delay. | G5549 → |
ἔτιYet
etiG2089 →140 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
μικρὸνA little
mikronG3398 →
ὅσονvery
hosonG3745 →110 times
ὅσον,while,
hosonG3745 →110 times
ὁthe [One] who
hoG3588 →19766 times
ἐρχόμενοςis coming
erchomenosG2064 →628 times
ἥξειwill come
hexeiG2240 →26 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
οὐnot
ouG3756 →1664 times
χρονίσει.will delay.
chroniseiG5549 →
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
Isaiah 26:20Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed.
it leads to
- Psalms 30:5
For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.
- Psalms 27:5
For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.
- Isaiah 54:7–8
“For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will bring you back.
- Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
- Psalms 91:4
He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
- Psalms 30:5
Through
Isaiah 60:22The least of you will become a thousand, and the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will accomplish it quickly.
it leads to
- Habakkuk 2:3
For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
- Hebrews 10:36
You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.
- Luke 18:7
Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?
- Habakkuk 2:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies42
On this verse
On this chapter
- The General Epistles
- The Covenants
- The Day of Atonement
- Eternal Security, and the Five Warnings of Hebrews
- Faith
- The Hall of Faith
Show the next 6 titles
- The Fall Feasts
- Hope
- The Anchor of the Soul
- Entertaining Angels Unaware
- How the Cross Saves: The Views of the Atonement
- Jephthah's vow
Show the next 6 titles
- The Joy Set Before Him
- The Messianic Psalms
- Nadab and Abihu: the unauthorized fire
- Patience and the Impulse
- The Farmer Waits for the Rain
- The Scarlet Thread
Show the next 6 titles
About Hebrews
This page draws on 13 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); Clement of Rome, Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 23; Eusebius of Caesarea, PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 6.14; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Hebrews and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews.