As a comparison with Revised Standard Version shows, Good News Translation follows the logical order rather than the grammatical order of the Greek sentence. Two thoughts run through the whole of verses 5-8. They are: (a) God promised a place of rest to his people in Old Testament times, but later, when they disobeyed him, he shut them out from it. (b) This place of rest remains available for God’s people now. Yet the two ideas should not be separated. Both are rooted in the quotation from Psalm 95.11 and are thus closely related to one another.

The Good News in Good News Translation usually means “the Christian message.” This expression is strange here, in a verse which speaks of Old Testament times. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch solves the problem by translating “the message of God’s rest” (verse 2) and “what God had promised them” (verse 6).

Those who first heard the Good News may be best rendered as “Those who heard the Good News about rest” or even “… the message about being able to rest.”

Did not receive that rest may be rendered as in other verses as “were not allowed to rest” or “were not privileged to rest.” Revised Standard Version‘s “it” in “to enter it” refers back to “my rest” in verse 5.

Revised Standard Version‘s “disobedience” is a more literal translation of the text than did not believe; it is also stronger. Belief and action are closely linked in biblical thought, and so are unbelief and disobedience (see also 3.12).

Because they did not believe may be rendered as “because they did not trust what God had said” or “because they refused to believe what God had said.”

Good News Translation‘s others does not contradict Revised Standard Version‘s more literal “some.” The Greek means simply “some people.”

The passive expression who are allowed to receive it can often be best expressed in an active form with God being the one who permits the event to take place; for example, “others whom God allows to receive that rest” or “those whom God permits to rest.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .