¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised;^(A) they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,^(B) admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.^{(C) 14} People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.

¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.^(A) Therefore God is not ashamed^(B) to be called their God,^(C) for he has prepared a city^(D) for them.