Promises to Abram^(A)

12 Now the ^(B)Lord had said to Abram:

⁴ So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and ^(J)the ^[a]people whom they had acquired ^(K)in Haran, and they ^(L)departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. ⁶ Abram ^(M)passed through the land to the place of Shechem, ^(N)as far as ^[b]the terebinth tree of Moreh. ^(O)And the Canaanites were then in the land.

^7 (P)Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, ^(Q)“To your ^[c]descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an ^(R)altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

The Assurance of God’s Saving Work

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

By Faith We Understand

11 Now faith is the ^[a]substance of things hoped for, the ^[b]evidence ^(A)of things not seen. ² For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

³ By faith we understand that ^(B)the ^[c]worlds 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^(C)

⁴ By faith ^(D)Abel 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 ^(E)speaks.

⁵ By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ^(F)“and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. ⁶ But 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.

⁷ By faith ^(G)Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, ^(H)prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of ^(I)the righteousness which is according to faith.

Faithful Abraham^(J)

⁸ By faith ^(K)Abraham 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. ⁹ By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, ^(L)dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, ^(M)the heirs with him of the same promise; ¹⁰ for he waited for ^(N)the city which has foundations, ^(O)whose builder and maker is God.

¹¹ By faith ^(P)Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and ^(Q)she^[d] bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him ^(R)faithful who had promised. ¹² Therefore from one man, and him as good as ^(S)dead, were born as many as the ^(T)stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.