^11:1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. ^11:2For by it the people of old¹ received God’s commendation.²^11:3By faith we understand that the worlds³ were set in order at God’s command,⁴ so that the visible has its origin in the invisible.⁵^11:4By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith⁶ he was commended as righteous, because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith⁷ he still speaks, though he is dead. ^11:5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was not to be found because God took him up. For before his removal he had been commended as having pleased God. ^11:6Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. ^11:7By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen, with reverent regard⁸ constructed an ark for the deliverance of his family. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

^11:8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going. ^11:9By faith he lived as a foreigner⁹ in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs¹⁰ of the same promise. ^11:10For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations,¹¹ whose architect and builder is God. ^11:11By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old,¹² he received the ability to procreate,¹³ because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. ^11:12So in fact children¹⁴ were fathered by one man—and this one as good as dead—like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand¹⁵ on the seashore.¹⁶^11:13These all died in faith without receiving the things promised,¹⁷ but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners¹⁸ on the earth. ^11:14For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ^11:15In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ^11:16But as it is,¹⁹ they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. ^11:17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He had received the promises,²⁰ yet he was ready to offer up²¹ his only son. ^11:18God had told him, “Through Isaac descendants will carry on your name,”²²^11:19and he reasoned²³ that God could even raise him from the dead, and in a sense²⁴ he received him back from there. ^11:20By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. ^11:21By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped as he leaned on his staff.²⁵^11:22By faith Joseph, at the end of his life,²⁶ mentioned the exodus of the sons of Israel²⁷ and gave instructions about his burial.²⁸

^11:23By faith, when Moses was born, his parents hid him²⁹ for three months, because they saw the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. ^11:24By faith, when he grew up, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ^11:25choosing rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to enjoy sin’s fleeting pleasure. ^11:26He regarded abuse suffered for Christ³⁰ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on³¹ the reward. ^11:27By faith he left Egypt without fearing the king’s anger, for he persevered as though he could see the one who is invisible. ^11:28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood,³² so that the one who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. ^11:29By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry ground, but when the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up. ^11:30By faith the walls of Jericho³³ fell after the people marched around them³⁴ for seven days. ^11:31By faith Rahab the prostitute escaped the destruction of³⁵ the disobedient, because she welcomed the spies in peace.

^11:32And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. ^11:33Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice,³⁶ gained what was promised,³⁷ shut the mouths of lions, ^11:34quenched raging fire,³⁸ escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness,³⁹ became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, ^11:35and women received back their dead raised to life.⁴⁰ But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life.⁴¹^11:36And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ^11:37They were stoned, sawed apart,⁴² murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated ^11:38(the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth. ^11:39And these all were commended⁴³ for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.⁴⁴^11:40For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us.⁴⁵

The Lord’s Discipline

^12:1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,¹ we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, ^12:2keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.²^12:3Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. ^12:4You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed³ in your struggle against sin. ^12:5And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons?

“My son, do not scorn⁴ the Lord’s discipline

or give up when he corrects⁵ you.

^12:6“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts.”⁶

^12:7Endure your suffering⁷ as discipline;⁸ God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? ^12:8But if you do not experience discipline,⁹ something all sons¹⁰ have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons. ^12:9Besides, we have experienced discipline from¹¹ our earthly fathers¹² and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life?¹³^12:10For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness. ^12:11Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful.¹⁴ But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness¹⁵ for those trained by it. ^12:12Therefore, strengthen¹⁶ your listless hands and your weak knees,¹⁷^12:13and make straight paths for your feet,¹⁸ so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.

Do Not Reject God’s Warning

^12:14Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness,¹⁹ for without it no one will see the Lord. ^12:15See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no one be like a bitter root springing up²⁰ and causing trouble, and through him many become defiled. ^12:16And see to it that no one becomes²¹ an immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.²²^12:17For you know that²³ later when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no opportunity for repentance, although he sought the blessing²⁴ with tears. ^12:18For you have not come to something that can be touched,²⁵ to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind ^12:19and the blast of a trumpet and a voice uttering words²⁶ such that those who heard begged to hear no more.²⁷^12:20For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”²⁸^12:21In fact, the scene²⁹ was so terrifying that Moses said, “I shudder with fear.”³⁰^12:22But you have come to Mount Zion, the city³¹ of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly ^12:23and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect, ^12:24and to Jesus, the mediator³² of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does.³³

^12:25Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven? ^12:26Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.”³⁴^12:27Now this phrase “once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain. ^12:28So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe. ^12:29For our God is indeed a devouring fire.³⁵

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Footnotes

1 Or “the elders,” “the ancients.”
2 Grk “were attested,” “received commendation”; and Heb 11:4–6 shows this to be from God.
3 Grk “ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 1:2 for same usage.
4 Grk “by God’s word.”
5 The Greek phrasing emphasizes this point by negating the opposite: “so that what is seen did not come into being from things that are visible.”
6 Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through which.”
7 Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through it.”
8 Cf. εὐλαβέομαι 2, “out of reverent regard (for God’s command).”
9 Or “settled as a resident alien.”
10 Or “heirs with him.”
11 Grk “that has foundations.”
12 Grk “past the time of maturity.”
13 Grk “power to deposit seed.” Though it is not as likely, some construe this phrase to mean “power to conceive seed,” making the whole verse about Sarah: “by faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and too old, she received ability to conceive, because she regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy.”
14 Grk “these”; in the translation the referent (children) has been specified for clarity.
15 Grk a collective “the sand.”
16 An allusion to Gen 22:17 (which itself goes back to Gen 15:5).
17 Grk “the promises,” referring to the things God promised, not to the pledges themselves.
18 Or “sojourners.”
19 Grk “now.”
20 Here “received the promises” refers to the pledges themselves, not to the things God promised.
21 Grk “he was offering up.” The tense of this verb indicates the attempt or readiness to sacrifice Isaac without the actual completion of the deed.
22 Grk “in Isaac seed will be named for you.” A quotation from Gen 21:12.
23 Grk “having reasoned,” continuing the ideas of v. 17.
24 Grk “in/by a symbol.”
25 Grk “worshiped on the top of his staff,” a quotation from Gen 47:31 ().
26 Grk “coming to an end,” “dying.”
27 Joseph’s prophecy about the exodus of the sons of Israel is found in Gen 50:24.
28 Grk “about his bones,” which refers by metonymy to the disposition of his bones, i.e., his burial. The instructions about his burial are recorded in Gen 50:25.
29 Grk “Moses, when he was born, was hidden by his parents.”
30 Grk “the abuse [or ‘reproach’] of Christ.”
31 Grk “he was looking away to.”
32 Grk “the pouring out of the blood.” The sprinkling of the blood refers here to the application of the blood to the doorways of the Israelite houses (cf. Exod 12:7, 13).
33 For location see ; ; ; ; ; .
34 Grk “after they had been encircled.”
35 Grk “did not perish together with.”
36 This probably refers to the righteous rule of David and others. But it could be more general and mean “did what was righteous.”
37 Grk “obtained promises,” referring to the things God promised, not to the pledges themselves. Gained what was promised. They saw some of God’s promises fulfilled, even though the central promise remained unfulfilled until Christ came (cf. vv. 39–40).
38 Grk “quenched the power of fire.”
39 Or “recovered from sickness.”
40 Grk “received back their dead from resurrection.”
41 Grk “to obtain a better resurrection.”
42 The reading ἐπρίσθησαν (ejpristhēsan, “they were sawed apart”) is found in some important witnesses (𝔓46 [D* twice reads ἐπίρσθησαν, “they were burned”?] syp sa Orpt Eus). Other have ἐπειράσθησαν (ejpeirasthēsan, “they were tempted”), either before “sawed apart” ([א] L P [048] 33 81 326 1505 syh), after “sawed apart” (𝔓13vid A D1 Ψ 1739 1881 𝔐 lat bo Orpt), or altogether in place of “sawed apart” (0150 vgmss Cl). Since the two words ἐπρίσθησαν and ἐπειράσθησαν are so much alike in sight and sound, and since the position of “they were tempted” varies in the , it seems best to say that ἐπειράσθησαν is an accidental corruption of ἐπρίσθησαν or an intentional change to a more common word (the root of ἐπρίσθησαν [πρίζω, prizō] occurs only here in the NT, while the root of ἐπειράσθησαν [πειράζω, peirazō] occurs 38 times). The best reading here seems to be “sawed apart” without any addition before or after. (See , for a discussion of emendations that scholars have proposed for this difficult problem.)
43 The expression these all were commended forms an inclusio with Heb 11:2: The chapter begins and ends with references to commendation for faith.
44 Grk “the promise,” referring to the thing God promised, not to the pledge itself.
45 The Greek phrasing emphasizes this point by negating the opposite: “so that they would not be made perfect without us.”
1 Grk “having such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.”
2 An allusion to Ps 110:1.
3 Grk “until blood.”
4 Or “disregard,” “think little of.”
5 Or “reproves,” “rebukes.” The Greek verb ἐλέγχω (elenchō) implies exposing someone’s sin in order to bring correction.
6 A quotation from Prov 3:11–12.
7 Grk “endure,” with the object (“your suffering”) understood from the context.
8 Or “in order to become disciplined.”
9 Grk “you are without discipline.”
10 Grk “all”; “sons” is implied by the context.
11 Grk “we had our earthly fathers as discipliners.”
12 Grk “the fathers of our flesh.” In Hebrews, “flesh” is a characteristic way of speaking about outward, physical, earthly life (cf. Heb 5:7; 9:10, 13), as opposed to the inward or spiritual dimensions of life.
13 Grk “and live.” Submit ourselves … to the Father of spirits and receive life. This idea is drawn from Proverbs, where the Lord’s discipline brings life, while resistance to it leads to death (cf. Prov 4:13; 6:23; 10:17; 16:17).
14 Grk “all discipline at the time does not seem to be of joy, but of sorrow.”
15 Grk “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
16 Or “straighten.”
17 A quotation from Isa 35:3. Strengthen your listless hands and your weak knees refers to the readers’ need for renewed resolve and fresh strength in their struggles (cf. Heb 10:36–39; 12:1–3).
18 A quotation from Prov 4:26. The phrase make straight paths for your feet is figurative for “stay on God’s paths.”
19 The references to peace and holiness show the close connection between this paragraph and the previous one. The pathway toward “holiness” and the need for it is cited in Heb 12:10 and 14. More importantly Prov 4:26–27 sets up the transition from one paragraph to the next: It urges people to stay on godly paths (Prov 4:26, quoted here in v. 13) and promises that God will lead them in peace if they do so (Prov 4:27 [], quoted in v. 14).
20 Grk “that there not be any root of bitterness,” but referring figuratively to a person who causes trouble (as in Deut 29:17 [] from which this is quoted). An allusion to Deut 29:18.
21 Grk “that there not be any,” continuing from v. 15.
22 An allusion to Gen 27:34–41.
23 Or a command: “for understand that.”
24 Grk “it,” referring either to the repentance or the blessing. But the account in Gen 27:34–41 (which the author appeals to here) makes it clear that the blessing is what Esau sought. Thus in the translation the referent (the blessing) is specified for clarity.
25 This describes the nation of Israel approaching God on Mt. Sinai (Exod 19). There is a clear contrast with the reference to Mount Zion in v. 22, so this could be translated “a mountain that can be touched.” But the word “mountain” does not occur here and the more vague description seems to be deliberate.
26 Grk “a voice of words.”
27 Grk “a voice … from which those who heard begged that a word not be added to them.”
28 A quotation from Exod 19:12–13.
29 Grk “that which appeared.”
30 Grk “I am terrified and trembling.” A quotation from Deut 9:19.
31 Grk “and the city”; the conjunction is omitted in translation since it seems to be functioning epexegetically—that is, explaining further what is meant by “Mount Zion.”
32 The Greek word μεσίτης (mesitēs, “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms.
33 Abel’s shed blood cried out to the Lord for justice and judgment, but Jesus’ blood speaks of redemption and forgiveness, something better than Abel’s does (Gen 4:10; Heb 9:11–14; 11:4).
34 A quotation from Hag 2:6.
35 A quotation from Deut 4:24; 9:3.