The Triumphs of Faith

1 Now faith is the 1aassurance of things 2bhoped for, the 3conviction of cthings not seen.

2 For by it the amen of old 1bgained approval.

3 By faith we understand that the 1aworlds were prepared bby the word of God, so that what is seen cwas not made out of things which are visible.

4 By faith aAbel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he bobtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying 1about his cgifts, and through 2faith, though dhe is dead, he still speaks.

5 By faith aEnoch was taken up so that he would not bsee death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.

6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who acomes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

7 By faith aNoah, being bwarned by God about cthings not yet seen, 1din reverence eprepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of fthe righteousness which is according to faith.

8 By faith aAbraham, when he was called, obeyed 1by going out to a place which he was to breceive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

9 By faith he lived as an alien in athe land of promise, as in a foreign land, bdwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, cfellow heirs of the same promise;

10 for he was looking for athe city which has bfoundations, cwhose architect and builder is God.

11 By faith even aSarah herself received 1ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him bfaithful who had promised.

12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and ahim as good as dead 1at that, as many descendants bas the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

13 aAll these died in faith, bwithout receiving the promises, but chaving seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and dhaving confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.

15 And indeed if they had been 1thinking of that country from which they went out, athey would have had opportunity to return.

16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a aheavenly one. Therefore bGod is not 1ashamed to be ccalled their God; for dHe has prepared a city for them.