Hebrews 11:8–16

11:8 By 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. 11:9 By 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. 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations,11 whose architect and builder is God. 11:11 By 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. 11:12 So 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 11:13 These 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. 11:14 For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 11:15 In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 11:16 But 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.