So, as long as God's promise of entering into a state of rest with Him [still] remains, we should fear that someone among you will appear [in the end] to have fallen short of [attaining] it. [Note: In this section "entering into rest" refers to Israel entering Canaan (verses 6, 8) and to Christians entering heaven (verses 3, 9). The "Sabbath day rest" is represented as a type of both].

For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He could not make a vow by anyone greater, He vowed by Himself,

Since God wanted to show conclusively to those who would inherit the promise [i.e., Abraham and all of his spiritual descendants], how unchangeable His purpose was, He confirmed it with an oath.

He did this so that by two unchangeable things [i.e., His promise and His oath], (and it is impossible for God to lie), we, who have fled [to God] for refuge, could be greatly encouraged to take hold of the hope set before us [i.e., the hope of never ending life].

Therefore, Christ is the Mediator of a New Agreement, so that [all] those people who have been called [by God] can receive the promise of the never ending inheritance. [This is possible because] a death has taken place for the redemption of [people's] sins who lived under the first Agreement.

For you need to be steadfast so that, after you have done what God wants, you will receive the promise [of an inheritance. See 9:15].

By [having] faith, Sarah herself received the ability to have children, even though she was [sterile, being] past the age of child-bearing, since she considered God faithful to His promise. [Note: Some translations consider "Abraham" to be the subject of this highly controversial verse. See Lightfoot, pages 222-225].