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.

The Heavenly Hope

¹³ These all died in faith, ^(U)not having received the ^(V)promises, but ^(W)having seen them afar off ^[e]were assured of them, embraced them and ^(X)confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ¹⁴ For those who say such things ^(Y)declare plainly that they seek a homeland. ¹⁵ And truly if they had called to mind ^(Z)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 ^(AA)to be called their God, for He has ^(AB)prepared a city for them.

The Faith of the Patriarchs^(AC)

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, ^(AD)when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, ^18 [f]of whom it was said, ^(AE)“In Isaac your seed shall be called,” ¹⁹ concluding that God ^(AF)was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

²⁰ By faith ^(AG)Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

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

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

The Firstborn Consecrated

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ^2 (A)“Consecrate^[a] to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread^(B)

³ And Moses said to the people: ^(C)“Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of ^[b]bondage; for ^(D)by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. ^(E)No leavened bread shall be eaten. ^4 (F)On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. ⁵ And it shall be, when the Lord ^(G)brings you into the ^(H)land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He ^(I)swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, ^(J)that you shall keep this service in this month. ^6 (K)Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. ⁷ Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And ^(L)no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. ⁸ And you shall ^(M)tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ ⁹ It shall be as ^(N)a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. ^10 (O)You shall therefore keep this ^[c]ordinance in its season from year to year.

The Law of the Firstborn

¹¹ “And it shall be, when the Lord ^(P)brings you into the land of the ^(Q)Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, ^12 (R)that you shall ^[d]set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s. ¹³ But ^(S)every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons ^(T)you shall redeem. ^14 (U)So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ^(V)‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that ^(W)the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶ It shall be as ^(X)a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

The Wilderness Way^(Y)

¹⁷ Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people ^(Z)change their minds when they see war, and ^(AA)return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God ^(AB)led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.

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

²⁰ So ^(AF)they took their journey from ^(AG)Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ And ^(AH)the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. ²² He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

The Red Sea Crossing

14 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Speak to the children of Israel, ^(AI)that they turn and camp before ^(AJ)Pi Hahiroth, between ^(AK)Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. ³ For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ^(AL)‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ ⁴ Then ^(AM)I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I ^(AN)will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, ^(AO)that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.

⁵ Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and ^(AP)the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” ⁶ So he ^[f]made ready his chariot and took his people with him. ⁷ Also, he took ^(AQ)six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. ⁸ And the Lord ^(AR)hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and ^(AS)the children of Israel went out with boldness. ⁹ So the ^(AT)Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.

¹⁰ And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel ^(AU)cried out to the Lord. ^11 (AV)Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? ^12 (AW)Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

¹³ And Moses said to the people, ^(AX)“Do not be afraid. ^(AY)Stand still, and see the ^(AZ)salvation^[g] of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall ^(BA)see again no more forever. ^14 (BB)The Lord will fight for you, and you shall ^(BC)hold^[h] your peace.”

¹⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ But ^(BD)lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. ¹⁷ And I indeed will ^(BE)harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will ^(BF)gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁸ Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

¹⁹ And the Angel of God, ^(BG)who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. ²⁰ So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and ^(BH)made the sea into dry land, and the waters were ^(BI)divided. ²² So ^(BJ)the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were ^(BK)a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. ²³ And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

²⁴ Now it came to pass, in the morning ^(BL)watch, that ^(BM)the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He ^[i]troubled the army of the Egyptians. ²⁵ And He ^[j]took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord ^(BN)fights for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” ²⁷ And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea ^(BO)returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord ^(BP)overthrew^[k] the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. ²⁸ Then ^(BQ)the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. ²⁹ But ^(BR)the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰ So the Lord ^(BS)saved^[l] Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel ^(BT)saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ Thus Israel saw the great ^[m]work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and ^(BU)believed the Lord and His servant Moses.

The Peril of Adultery