Hebrews 11–12

Chapter 11

The Triumphs of Faith

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

²For by it the ^amen of old ^1bgained 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 ^bobtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying ¹about his ^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 he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.

⁶And 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.

⁷By 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.

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 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;

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

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

¹²Therefore 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.

^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 ¹thinking of that country from which they went out, ^athey would have had opportunity to return.

¹⁶But 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.

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

¹⁸it was he to whom it was said, “^aIn Isaac your ¹descendants shall be called.”

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

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 orders 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 ^aendure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

^26aconsidering 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 wrath 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 she had welcomed the spies ¹in peace.

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

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

^34aquenched the power of fire, ^bescaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, ^cbecame mighty in war, put 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 scourgings, 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, ^eill-treated

³⁸(men of whom the world was not worthy), ^awandering in deserts 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.

Chapter 12

Jesus, the Example

¹Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also ^alay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us ^brun with ^cendurance the race that is set before us,

²¹fixing our eyes on Jesus, the ^2aauthor and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him ^bendured the cross, ^cdespising the shame, and has ^dsat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³For ^aconsider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary ^1band lose heart.

A Father’s Discipline

^4aYou have not yet resisted ^1bto the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;

⁵and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“^aMy son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

Nor ^bfaint when you are reproved by Him;

^6aFor those ^bwhom the Lord loves He disciplines,

And He scourges every son whom He receives.”

⁷It is for discipline that you endure; ^aGod deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

⁸But if you are without discipline, ^aof which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

⁹Furthermore, we had ¹earthly fathers to discipline us, and we ^arespected them; shall we not much rather be subject to ^bthe Father of ²spirits, and ^clive?

¹⁰For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, ^aso that we may share His holiness.

¹¹All discipline ^afor the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the ^bpeaceful fruit of righteousness.

¹²Therefore, ^1astrengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble,

¹³and ^amake straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather ^bbe healed.

^14aPursue peace with all men, and the ^bsanctification without which no one will ^csee the Lord.

¹⁵See to it that no one ^acomes short of the grace of God; that no ^broot of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be ^cdefiled;

¹⁶that there be no ^aimmoral or ^bgodless person like Esau, ^cwho sold his own birthright for a single meal.

¹⁷For you know that even afterwards, ^awhen he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

Contrast of Sinai and Zion

^18aFor you have not come to ^ba mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,

¹⁹and to the ^ablast of a trumpet and the ^bsound of words which sound was such that those who heard ^cbegged that no further word be spoken to them.

²⁰For they could not bear the command, “^aIf even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.”

²¹And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “^aI am full of fear and trembling.”

²²But ^ayou have come to Mount Zion and to ^bthe city of ^cthe living God, ^dthe heavenly Jerusalem, and to ^emyriads of ¹angels,

²³to the general assembly and ^achurch of the firstborn who ^bare enrolled in heaven, and to God, ^cthe Judge of all, and to the ^dspirits of the righteous made perfect,

²⁴and to Jesus, the ^amediator of a new covenant, and to the ^bsprinkled blood, which speaks better than ^cthe blood of Abel.

The Unshaken Kingdom

^25aSee to it that you do not refuse Him who is ^bspeaking. For ^cif those did not escape when they ^drefused him who ^ewarned them on earth, ¹much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven.

²⁶And ^aHis voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “^bYet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.”

²⁷This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes ^athe removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸Therefore, since we receive a ^akingdom which cannot be shaken, let us ¹show gratitude, by which we may ^boffer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;

²⁹for ^aour God is a consuming fire.