Hebrews 10:38 teaches that a person who is right with God keeps living by trusting him, and that turning back from that trust is what the writer warns against. The verse is part of an exhortation written to Christians who were under pressure and tempted to give up their confidence in Christ. It comes from the anonymous author of the letter to the Hebrews, who was writing to a community of believers facing hardship and possible loss.
But the righteous will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”
Hebrews 10:38 (WEB)
What Hebrews 10:38 Means
The verse opens with “the righteous,” a word that points to people made right with God, and says they “will live by faith.” Here “live” means more than staying alive. It describes a whole way of life that is shaped by trust in God’s promises, especially the promise that he will finish what he has begun. Faith in this sense is not a feeling or a vague hope but a steady reliance on a God who keeps his word.
The second sentence takes a sharper tone. If a person “shrinks back,” meaning pulls away out of fear or fatigue, the writer says God’s soul has no pleasure in that person. This is not a picture of God taking delight in punishing anyone. It is a plain statement that turning away from trust in him is grievous to him, and that a settled, persevering faith is what pleases him.
The verse does not promise that faithful people will escape difficulty, avoid illness, or see their circumstances improve on schedule. What it says is that faith is the path of life for God’s people, and that drawing back from that faith is the danger the writer wants his readers to avoid.
The Context of Hebrews 10:38
The letter to the Hebrews was written to Christians, probably Jewish believers or people deeply rooted in Jewish worship, who were tempted to abandon their new confidence in Christ and return to older practices or to a safer social standing. The author is unnamed in the text, and the letter has long been studied as a sermon-like word of encouragement and warning. Chapter 10 moves from the finished sacrifice of Christ toward a call to hold firmly to that hope.
The verses just before this one urge readers not to throw away their boldness, because they need endurance to receive what God has promised. The verses just after it, in Hebrews 10:39, say the writer’s community is not among those who shrink back to destruction but among those who keep faith to the saving of the soul. Read in that setting, Hebrews 10:38 is a hinge: it names the choice between persevering trust and retreat, and the writer clearly hopes his readers will stand on the side of faith.
Key Phrases in Hebrews 10:38
Habakkuk 2:4
Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.
(WEB)
This is the Old Testament source of the phrase “live by faith” that the writer of Hebrews quotes. Reading the prophet’s original words shows the long roots of the idea that trust in God is the true path of life for his people.
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.
(WEB)
The chapter that follows describes faith as confidence in what is hoped for and assurance about what is not seen. It expands the picture of living by faith into a gallery of people who kept trusting God through hardship.
A Short Prayer From Hebrews 10:38
Lord, you have called me to live by faith, not by what I can see or control. When I feel tempted to pull back from you because the waiting is long or the cost is high, remind me that you are faithful and that your promises do not fail. Give me the courage to take the next step of trust today, even if it is small. Keep my heart steady in you, and let my life be pleasing to you as I hold on. Amen.
