²⁴ And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but ^(A)God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land ^(B)of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” ²⁵ Then ^(C)Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely ^[a]visit you, and ^(D)you shall carry up my ^(E)bones from here.” ²⁶ So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

¹⁹ And Moses took the ^(A)bones of ^(B)Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, ^(C)“God will surely ^[a]visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”

The Heavenly Hope

¹³ These all died in faith, ^(A)not having received the ^(B)promises, but ^(C)having seen them afar off ^[a]were assured of them, embraced them and ^(D)confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ¹⁴ For those who say such things ^(E)declare plainly that they seek a homeland. ¹⁵ And truly if they had called to mind ^(F)that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed ^(G)to be called their God, for He has ^(H)prepared a city for them.

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

The Race of Faith

12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, ^(A)let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and ^(B)let us run ^(C)with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the ^[a]author and ^[b]finisher of our faith, ^(D)who for the joy that was set before Him ^(E)endured the cross, despising the shame, and ^(F)has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.