Hebrews 11:1–6

People Commended for Their Faith

11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. 11:2 For by it the people of old1 received God’s commendation.2 11:3 By 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 11:4 By 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. 11:5 By 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. 11:6 Now 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.

1	tn Or “the elders,” “the ancients.”
2	tn Grk “were attested,” “received commendation”; and Heb 11:4–6 shows this to be from God.
3	tn 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	tn Grk “by God’s word.”
5	sn 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	tn Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through which.”
7	tn Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through it.”