^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

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Footnotes

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.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead, raised to life again. Other people were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.

NLTNew Living Translation

By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. Women received their loved ones back again from death.

But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

who through faith conquered kingdoms, accomplished justice, obtained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, extinguished the effectiveness of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong from weakness, became mighty in battle, put to flight enemy battle lines. Women received back their dead by resurrection. But others were tortured, not accepting release, in order that they might gain a better resurrection. And others experienced mocking and flogging, and in addition bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by murder with a sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, impoverished, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about on deserts and mountains and in caves and in holes in the ground. And although they all were approved through their faith, they did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.

KJV 1900King James Version

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

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