Hebrews 10:37

My Notes

What Does Hebrews 10:37 Mean?

"For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry." The author quotes Habakkuk 2:3-4 (via the Septuagint) to encourage perseverance: the one who's coming is coming — and the delay is brief. "A little while" (mikron hoson hoson — how very, very little) emphasizes the brevity of the remaining wait. The doubling of the diminutive (little little) means: less time than you think. Almost nothing. The merest sliver of time remains before the arrival.

The phrase "will not tarry" (ou chroniei — will not delay, will not be slow) means the perceived delay isn't actual delay. From heaven's perspective, the timing is on schedule. The 'tarrying' you feel is human perception of divine punctuality.

Reflection Questions

• 1.How does the tripled diminutive ('how very very little') reframe the wait you're enduring?
• 2.Where does the perceived delay feel like God's tardiness when it's actually divine punctuality?
• 3.What confidence (v. 35) are you tempted to throw away because the wait feels too long?
• 4.How does 'will not tarry' change your experience of the space between promise and fulfillment?

Devotional

A little while. How very, very little. And he that shall come will come. Will not tarry. The wait you're enduring has an expiration date — and the expiration is sooner than your patience suggests.

Yet a little while. Mikron hoson hoson — the Greek doubles and triples the diminutive: how little, how very little. The author isn't saying: a significant but manageable amount of time. He's saying: the tiniest possible amount of time. The merest sliver. The wait that feels eternal is, from heaven's vantage point, nothing.

He that shall come will come. The certainty is in the verb: will come (hēxei — he is coming, the arrival is in motion). Not: he might come. Not: he could come if conditions are right. He IS coming. The arrival is as certain as the promise. The person who's coming has already started the journey. The only variable is when you see him appear — not whether.

Will not tarry. Ou chroniei — will not delay. The perceived delay isn't a delay. The clock that feels slow to you is running precisely on God's schedule. The tarrying that tests your patience is punctuality that exceeds your perception. He's not late. You're impatient. And the difference between the two is the difference between your clock and his.

The author quotes this to believers under pressure (v. 32-36: persecution, public exposure, imprisonment, seizure of property). The temptation for persecuted believers: give up. The pressure is too much. The wait is too long. The suffering is unbearable. And the author says: a very, very little while. The one you're waiting for is almost here. Don't throw away your confidence (v. 35). The delay is measured in a 'little while' so brief that the language has to triple the diminutive to capture how short it is.

If you're waiting — if the promise feels late, if the relief hasn't arrived, if the return seems impossibly distant — the 'little while' is the word for you. Not because it makes the waiting painless. Because it makes the waiting purposeful. The end is not just coming. It's close. How very, very close.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture