Hebrews 11–12

By Faith We Understand

11Now faith is the ¹substance of things hoped for, the ²evidence ^aof things not seen. ²For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

³By faith we understand that ^bthe ³worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Faith at the Dawn of History

⁴By faith ^cAbel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still ^dspeaks.

⁵By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ^e“and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. ⁶But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

⁷By faith ^fNoah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, ^gprepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of ^hthe righteousness which is according to faith.

Faithful Abraham

⁸By faith ⁱAbraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, ^jdwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, ^kthe heirs with him of the same promise; ¹⁰for he waited for ^lthe city which has foundations, ^mwhose builder and maker is God.

¹¹By faith ⁿSarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and ^oshe ⁴bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him ^pfaithful who had promised. ¹²Therefore from one man, and him as good as ^qdead, were born as many as the ^rstars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

The Heavenly Hope

¹³These all died in faith, ^snot having received the ^tpromises, but ^uhaving seen them afar off ⁵were assured of them, embraced them and ^vconfessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ¹⁴For those who say such things ^wdeclare plainly that they seek a homeland. ¹⁵And truly if they had called to mind ^xthat country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed ^yto be called their God, for He has ^zprepared a city for them.

The Faith of the Patriarchs

¹⁷By faith Abraham, ^awhen he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, ¹⁸⁶of whom it was said, ^b“In Isaac your seed shall be called,” ¹⁹concluding that God ^cwas able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

²⁰By faith ^dIsaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, ^eblessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

²²By faith ^fJoseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

The Faith of Moses

²³By faith ^gMoses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s ^hcommand.

²⁴By faith ⁱMoses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the ⁷passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶esteeming ^jthe ⁸reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures ⁹in Egypt; for he looked to the ^kreward.

²⁷By faith ^lhe forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. ²⁸By faith ^mhe kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

²⁹By faith ⁿthey passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

By Faith They Overcame

³⁰By faith ^othe walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. ³¹By faith ^pthe harlot Rahab did not perish with those who ¹did not believe, when ^qshe had received the spies with peace.

³²And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of ^rGideon and ^sBarak and ^tSamson and ^uJephthah, also of ^vDavid and ^wSamuel and the prophets: ³³who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, ^xstopped the mouths of lions, ^34yquenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. ^35zWomen received their dead raised to life again.

Others were ^atortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and ^bof chains and imprisonment. ^37cThey were stoned, they were sawn in two, ²were tempted, were slain with the sword. ^dThey wandered about ^ein sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—³⁸of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, ^fin dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹And all these, ^ghaving obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, ⁴⁰God having provided something better for us, that they should not be ^hmade perfect apart from us.

The Race of Faith

12Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, ^alet us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and ^blet us run ^cwith endurance the race that is set before us, ²looking unto Jesus, the ¹author and ²finisher of our faith, ^dwho for the joy that was set before Him ^eendured the cross, despising the shame, and ^fhas sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Discipline of God

^3gFor consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, ^hlest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. ⁴ⁱYou have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. ⁵And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

^j“My son, do not despise the ³chastening of the Lord,

Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

⁶For ^kwhom the Lord loves He chastens,

And scourges every son whom He receives.”

^7lIf ⁴you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what ^mson is there whom a father does not chasten? ⁸But if you are without chastening, ⁿof which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. ⁹Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to ^othe Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, ^pthat we may be partakers of His holiness. ¹¹Now no ⁵chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields ^qthe peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Renew Your Spiritual Vitality

¹²Therefore ^rstrengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, ¹³and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

^14sPursue peace with all people, and holiness, ^twithout which no one will see the Lord: ¹⁵looking carefully lest anyone ^ufall short of the grace of God; lest any ^vroot of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; ¹⁶lest there be any ^wfornicator or ⁶profane person like Esau, ^xwho for one morsel of food sold his birthright. ¹⁷For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was ^yrejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

The Glorious Company

¹⁸For you have not come ⁷to ^zthe mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and ⁸darkness and tempest, ¹⁹and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it ^abegged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. ²⁰(For they could not endure what was commanded: ^b“And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned ⁹or shot with an arrow.” ²¹And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ^c“I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)

²²But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, ²³to the ¹general assembly and church of ^dthe firstborn ^ewho are registered in heaven, to God ^fthe Judge of all, to the spirits of just men ^gmade perfect, ²⁴to Jesus ^hthe Mediator of the new covenant, and to ⁱthe blood of sprinkling that speaks better things ^jthan that of Abel.

Hear the Heavenly Voice

²⁵See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For ^kif they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, ²⁶whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ^l“Yet once more I ²shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” ²⁷Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the ^mremoval of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we ³may ⁿserve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹For ^oour God is a consuming fire.