Hebrews 11

CHAPTER 11

By Faith

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

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

³By 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.

⁴By faith ^aAbel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he ^bwas approved as being righteous—God approving ¹his ^cgifts—and through ²faith, though ^dhe is dead, he still speaks.

⁵By faith ^aEnoch was taken up so that he would not ^bsee death; and he was not found because God took him up; for prior to being taken up, he was approved as being pleasing to God.

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

⁷By faith ^aNoah, being ^bwarned 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.

⁸By 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.

⁹By faith he sojourned in ^athe land of promise, as in a foreign land, ^bdwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, ^cfellow heirs of the same promise,

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

¹¹By faith even ^aSarah herself ¹received ²ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she regarded Him ^bfaithful who had promised.

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

^13aAll 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.

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

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

¹⁶But now, they aspire to a better country, that is, a ^aheavenly one. Therefore ^bGod is not ¹ashamed to be ^ccalled their God, for ^dHe prepared a city for them.

¹⁷By faith ^aAbraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had ^breceived the promises was offering up his only son,

¹⁸to whom it was said, “^aIn Isaac your seed shall be called.”

¹⁹¹He considered that ^aGod is able to raise people even from the dead, from which, ^2bfiguratively speaking, he also received him back.

²⁰By faith ^aIsaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.

²¹By faith ^aJacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and ^bworshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

²²By faith ^aJoseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave commands concerning his bones.

²³By faith ^aMoses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the ^bking’s edict.

²⁴By faith Moses, ^awhen he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,

²⁵choosing rather to ^abe mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

^26aregarding the reproach of ¹Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the ^breward.

²⁷By faith he ^aleft Egypt, not ^bfearing the rage of the king; for he endured, as ^cseeing Him who is unseen.

²⁸By faith he ^1akept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that ^bhe who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.

²⁹By faith they ^apassed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land, and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were ¹drowned.

³⁰By faith ^athe walls of Jericho fell down ^bafter they had been encircled for seven days.

³¹By faith ^aRahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after welcoming the spies ¹in peace.

³²And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I recount ^aGideon, ^bBarak, ^cSamson, ^dJephthah, as well as ^eDavid and ^fSamuel and the prophets,

³³who through faith ^aconquered kingdoms, ^bperformed righteousness, ^cobtained promises, ^dshut the mouths of lions,

^34aquenched the power of fire, ^bescaped the edge of the sword, were made strong from weakness, ^cbecame mighty in war, ^dput foreign armies to flight.

^35aWomen received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their ¹release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;

³⁶and others ¹experienced mockings and floggings, yes, also ^achains and imprisonment.

³⁷They were ^astoned, they were ^bsawn in two, ¹they were tempted, they were ^cput to death with the sword. They went about ^din sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ^emistreated

³⁸(of whom the world was not worthy), ^awandering in desolate places and mountains and caves and holes ¹in the ground.

³⁹And all these, having ^1agained approval through their faith, ^bdid not receive ²what was promised,

⁴⁰because God had ¹provided ^asomething better for us, so that ^bapart from us they would not be made perfect.