What Does Hebrews 4:1 Mean in the King James?
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The promise remains open, yet “rest” grows from παύω (pauō, to cease): it is something entered, not something guaranteed by proximity.
THE MEANING
The promise of entering God’s rest remains for you, while the risk of coming short is real now. The verse holds those truths together: being near a promise is not the same as entering what it offers.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie this undoes is: “If the promise remains, I cannot miss what it offers.”
THE ROOT
κατάπαυσις
katapausis
GROWS FROM
παύω
pauō
To cease or stop; in compounds, to bring something to a stop.
Κατάπαυσις (katapausis, rest) is built on παύω (pauō, to cease). Hebrews 4:10 makes that connection explicit: entering rest is described as ceasing from one’s works.
ALSO GROWS
pauō: Cease, stop
παύω
This verb supplies the action inside “rest”: coming to rest involves ceasing.
katapauō: Bring to rest, cause to cease
καταπαύω
This related verb appears in Hebrews 4:10, where entering rest is linked with ceasing from work.
ὑστερηκέναι
hysterēkenai
GROWS FROM
ὑστερ-
hyster-
To be behind, be deficient, or lack.
The verb carries the sense of lacking or falling behind, so “come short” holds the possibility of not attaining what is offered. The same Greek verb appears as “come short” in Romans 3:23, extending this word’s reach beyond this warning.
ALSO GROWS
hysterēma: Lack, deficiency
ὑστέρημα
This noun from the same word family names what is missing, clarifying the sense of falling short.
hysteron: Later, afterward
ὕστερον
This related form carries the sense of what comes after or remains behind.
THE PATTERN
Rest remains an offered way into release, yet it can still be refused or missed.
Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.THE THREAD
For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.The same κατάπαυσις (katapausis, rest) appears here, alongside κατέπαυσεν (katepausen, ceased), a verb from the same word family. The connection opens “rest” as cessation from work, not simply a place one hopes to reach.
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