SEV Biblia, Chapter 3:12
Mirad, hermanos, que en ninguno de vosotros haya corazn malo de infidelidad para apartarse del Dios vivo;
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Hebrew 3:12
Verse 12. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you] Take warning by those disobedient Israelites; they were brought out of the house of bondage, and had the fullest promise of a land of prosperity and rest. By their disobedience they came short of it, and fell in the wilderness. Ye have been brought from the bondage of sin, and have a most gracious promise of an everlasting inheritance among the saints in light; through unbelief and disobedience they lost their rest, through the same ye may lose yours. An evil heart of unbelief will head away from the living God. What was possible in their case, is possible in yours. The apostle shows here five degrees of apostasy: 1. Consenting to sin, being deceived by its solicitations. 2. Hardness of heart, through giving way to sin. 3. Unbelief in consequence of this hardness which leads them to call even the truth of the Gospel in question. 4. This unbelief causing them to speak evil of the Gospel, and the provision God has made for the salvation of their souls. 5. Apostasy itself, or falling off from the living God; and thus extinguishing all the light that was in them, and finally grieving the Spirit of God, so that he takes his flight, and leaves them to a seared conscience and reprobate mind. See Leigh. He who begins to give the least way to sin is in danger of final apostasy; the best remedy against this is to get the evil heart removed, as one murderer in the house is more to be dreaded than ten without.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 12. Take heed, brethren , etc..] This exhortation is grounded upon the state and case of their ancestors before given, as a warning and caution to the then present Hebrews; and whom the apostle styles brethren, to show that he had no hard thoughts of them, and that his jealousy was a godly one, and not an evil suspicion; and may teach us that all exhortations, admonitions, and reproofs should be given in love: lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief ; or such an evil heart, in which unbelief prevails, and is predominant: there is in every man, whether a profane sinner, or an hypocritical professor, an evil heart, and an unbelieving one; and there is unbelief in regenerate persons, which when cherished and encouraged by them is a great evil, and should be avoided; and this sin is aggravated by the many instances of God's grace, and by the many declarations of it, and by the exceeding great and precious promises God has made, and by the great discoveries of his love to their souls in times past: and this sin, when it gets ahead, has a very great influence on the heart, to make it evil; and unbelief was the first sin of man, at least it very early appeared; it is the mother sin, and puts persons upon every sin; it defiles the conscience, hardens the heart, renders the word unprofitable, unfit for duty and makes men unstable, and therefore to be shunned; and especially because of the dreadful effect following: in departing from the living God ; that is, from Christ, who is the Son over his own house, and whose voice is to be heard; for of no other is the apostle speaking in the context; and who is not only the Son of the living God, but he is himself the living God; he is life in himself, and is the fountain and author of life, natural, spiritual, and eternal. This is mentioned to exalt the person of Christ, the apostle and high priest of our profession; and to discover the greatness and heinousness of the sin of such as depart from him and his Gospel, and to deter men from it: there is a final and total departure from Christ, from his Gospel and ordinances, from his people, and from a former profession of faith, which is never to be found in true believers; for they are as Mount Zion, which can never be removed; but there is a partial departure, and for a while, which they are liable to, and is attended with bad effects to them, and should be guarded against: saints should take heed of themselves, and of their hearts, and of the unbelief of them, that they do not in the least depart from Christ, by letting go their hold of him, or by a non-exercise of faith upon him; and this should be the care and concern of every individual member of the church, and at all times; unbelief is very dishonourable to God and Christ; contradicts the word and promises of God; is uncomfortable to the saints; it is a sin that very easily besets, and is very provoking to God, and is highly resented by him.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 7-13 - Days of temptation are often days of provocation. But to provoke God when he is letting us see that we entirely depend and live upon him, in a provocation indeed. The hardening of the heart is the spring of all other sins. The sins of others, especially of our relations, should be warnings to us. All sin, especially sin committed by God's professing privileged people, not only provokes God, but it grieves him. God is loth to destroy any in, or for their sin; he waits long to be graciou to them. But sin, long persisted in, will make God's wrath discove itself in destroying the impenitent; there is no resting under the wrath of God. "Take heed:" all who would get safe to heaven must loo about them; if once we allow ourselves to distrust God, we may soo desert him. Let those that think they stand, take heed lest they fall Since to-morrow is not ours, we must make the best improvement of thi day. And there are none, even the strongest of the flock, who do no need help of other Christians. Neither are there any so low an despised, but the care of their standing in the faith, and of their safety, belongs to all. Sin has so many ways and colours, that we nee more eyes than ours own. Sin appears fair, but is vile; it appear pleasant, but is destructive; it promises much, but performs nothing The deceitfulness of sin hardens the soul; one sin allowed makes wa for another; and every act of sin confirms the habit. Let every on beware of sin.
Greek Textus Receptus
βλεπετε 991 5720 αδελφοι 80 μηποτε 3379 εσται 2071 5704 εν 1722 τινι 5100 υμων 5216 καρδια 2588 πονηρα 4190 απιστιας 570 εν 1722 τω 3588 αποστηναι 868 5629 απο 575 θεου 2316 ζωντος 2198 5723
Vincent's NT Word Studies
12. Note how the following exhortation is colored by the O.T. citation: evil heart; the today; be hardened; take heed (blepete). See to it. Often in warnings or admonitions: sometimes with ajpo from, with genitive of that against which the warning is given, as Mark viii. 15; xii. 38; but so only in the Gospels. In construction connect with dio ver. 7; therefore beware. Lest there be (mhpote estai). The indicative with mh lest shows that with the fear that the event may occur, there is blended a suspicion that it will occur.
In any of you (en tini umwn). They are appealed to individually. An evil head of unbelief (kardia ponhra apistiav). The hole phrase N.T.o . Neither do the combinations evil heart or heart of unbelief occur elsewhere. In LXX, among nearly a thousand instances of kardia heart, kardia ponhra evil heart appears only five times, and in three of the five in apocryphal books. See Sir. ix. 1; Bar. i. 22; ii. 8. In LXX proper, Jer. xvi. 12; xviii. 12. jApistiav of unbelief, specifies that in which the more general ponhra evil consists. An evil-heart is an unbelieving heart. In departing from the living God (en tw aposthnai apo qeou zwntov). The characteristic of unbelief. Faith is personal union with God. Unbelief separates from God. The phrase living God is common to both Testaments. For the bearing of the words upon the question of the Gentile destination of the Epistle, see Introduction.
