Hebrews 11
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Triumphs of Faith
11 Now faith is the [a](A)assurance of things [b](B)hoped for, the [c]conviction of (C)things not seen. 2 For by it the (D)men of old [d](E)gained approval.
3 By faith we understand that the [e](F)worlds were prepared (G)by the word of God, so that what is seen (H)was not made out of things which are visible. 4 By faith (I)Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he (J)obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying [f]about his (K)gifts, and through [g]faith, though (L)he is dead, he still speaks. 5 By faith (M)Enoch was taken up so that he would not (N)see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who (O)comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 7 By faith (P)Noah, being (Q)warned by God about (R)things not yet seen, [h](S)in reverence (T)prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of (U)the righteousness which is according to faith.
8 By faith (V)Abraham, when he was called, obeyed [i]by going out to a place which he was to (W)receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he lived as an alien in (X)the land of promise, as in a foreign land, (Y)dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, (Z)fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking for (AA)the city which has (AB)foundations, (AC)whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith even (AD)Sarah herself received [j]ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him (AE)faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and (AF)him as good as dead [k]at that, as many descendants (AG)as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
13 (AH)All these died in faith, (AI)without receiving the promises, but (AJ)having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and (AK)having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been [l]thinking of that country from which they went out, (AL)they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a (AM)heavenly one. Therefore (AN)God is not [m]ashamed to be (AO)called their God; for (AP)He has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith (AQ)Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had (AR)received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18 it was he to whom it was said, “(AS)In Isaac your [n]descendants shall be called.” 19 [o]He considered that (AT)God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back [p]as a (AU)type. 20 By faith (AV)Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. 21 By faith (AW)Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and (AX)worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22 By faith (AY)Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.
23 By faith (AZ)Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the (BA)king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, (BB)when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to (BC)endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 (BD)considering the reproach of [q]Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the (BE)reward. 27 By faith he (BF)left Egypt, not (BG)fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as (BH)seeing Him who is unseen. 28 By faith he [r](BI)kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that (BJ)he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 29 By faith they (BK)passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were [s]drowned.
30 By faith (BL)the walls of Jericho fell down (BM)after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith (BN)Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies [t]in peace.
32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of (BO)Gideon, (BP)Barak, (BQ)Samson, (BR)Jephthah, of (BS)David and (BT)Samuel and the prophets, 33 who by faith (BU)conquered kingdoms, (BV)performed acts of righteousness, (BW)obtained promises, (BX)shut the mouths of lions, 34 (BY)quenched the power of fire, (BZ)escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, (CA)became mighty in war, (CB)put foreign armies to flight. 35 (CC)Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their [u]release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; 36 and others [v]experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also (CD)chains and imprisonment. 37 They were (CE)stoned, they were (CF)sawn in two, [w]they were tempted, they were (CG)put to death with the sword; they went about (CH)in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, (CI)ill-treated 38 (men of whom the world was not worthy), (CJ)wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes [x]in the ground.
39 And all these, having [y](CK)gained approval through their faith, (CL)did not receive [z]what was promised, 40 because God had [aa]provided (CM)something better for us, so that (CN)apart from us they would not be made perfect.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 11:1 Or substance
- Hebrews 11:1 Or expected
- Hebrews 11:1 Or evidence
- Hebrews 11:2 Lit obtained a good testimony
- Hebrews 11:3 Lit ages
- Hebrews 11:4 I.e. by receiving his gifts
- Hebrews 11:4 Lit it
- Hebrews 11:7 Lit having become reverent
- Hebrews 11:8 Lit to go out
- Hebrews 11:11 Lit power for the laying down of seed
- Hebrews 11:12 Lit in these things
- Hebrews 11:15 Or remembering
- Hebrews 11:16 Lit ashamed of them, to be
- Hebrews 11:18 Lit seed
- Hebrews 11:19 Lit Considering
- Hebrews 11:19 Or figuratively speaking; lit in a parable
- Hebrews 11:26 I.e. the Messiah
- Hebrews 11:28 Lit has kept
- Hebrews 11:29 Lit swallowed up
- Hebrews 11:31 Lit with
- Hebrews 11:35 Lit redemption
- Hebrews 11:36 Lit received the trial of
- Hebrews 11:37 One early ms does not contain they were tempted
- Hebrews 11:38 Lit of
- Hebrews 11:39 Lit obtained a testimony
- Hebrews 11:39 Lit the promise
- Hebrews 11:40 Or foreseen
Hebrews 11
Complete Jewish Bible
11 Trusting[a] is being confident of what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see. 2 It was for this that Scripture attested the merit of the people of old.
3 By trusting, we understand that the universe was created through a spoken word of God, so that what is seen did not come into being out of existing phenomena.
4 By trusting, Hevel offered a greater sacrifice than Kayin; because of this, he was attested as righteous, with God giving him this testimony on the ground of his gifts. Through having trusted, he still continues to speak, even though he is dead.
5 By trusting, Hanokh was taken away from this life without seeing death — “He was not to be found, because God took him away” — for he has been attested as having been, prior to being taken away, well pleasing to God.[b] 6 And without trusting, it is impossible to be well pleasing to God, because whoever approaches him must trust that he does exist and that he becomes a Rewarder to those who seek him out.
7 By trusting, Noach, after receiving divine warning about things as yet unseen, was filled with holy fear and built an ark to save his household. Through this trusting, he put the world under condemnation and received the righteousness that comes from trusting.
8 By trusting, Avraham obeyed, after being called to go out[c] to a place which God would give him as a possession; indeed, he went out without knowing where he was going. 9 By trusting, he lived as a temporary resident in the Land of the promise, as if it were not his, staying in tents with Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, who were to receive what was promised along with him. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with permanent foundations, of which the architect and builder is God.
11 By trusting, he received potency to father a child, even when he was past the age for it, as was Sarah herself; because he regarded the One who had made the promise as trustworthy. 12 Therefore this one man, who was virtually dead, fathered descendants
as numerous as the stars in the sky,
and as countless as the grains of the sand on the seashore.[d]
13 All these people kept on trusting until they died, without receiving what had been promised. They had only seen it and welcomed it from a distance, while acknowledging that they were aliens and temporary residents on the earth.[e] 14 For people who speak this way make it clear that they are looking for a fatherland. 15 Now if they were to keep recalling the one they left, they would have an opportunity to return; 16 but as it is, they aspire to a better fatherland, a heavenly one. This is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
17 By trusting, Avraham, when he was put to the test, offered up Yitz’chak as a sacrifice. Yes, he offered up his only son, he who had received the promises, 18 to whom it had been said, “What is called your ‘seed’ will be in Yitz’chak.”[f] 19 For he had concluded that God could even raise people from the dead! And, figuratively speaking, he did so receive him.
20 By trusting, Yitz’chak in his blessings over Ya‘akov and Esav made reference to events yet to come.
21 By trusting, Ya‘akov, when he was dying, blessed each of Yosef’s sons, leaning on his walking-stick as he bowed in prayer.[g]
22 By trusting, Yosef, near the end of his life, remembered about the Exodus of the people of Isra’el and gave instructions about what to do with his bones.
23 By trusting, the parents of Moshe hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw that he was a beautiful child,[h] and they weren’t afraid of the king’s decree.
24 By trusting, Moshe, after he had grown up,[i] refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose being mistreated along with God’s people rather than enjoying the passing pleasures of sin. 26 He had come to regard abuse suffered on behalf of the Messiah as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he kept his eyes fixed on the reward.
27 By trusting, he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered as one who sees the unseen.
28 By trusting, he obeyed the requirements for the Pesach, including the smearing of the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Isra’el.
29 By trusting, they walked through the Red Sea as through dry land; when the Egyptians tried to do it, the sea swallowed them up.
30 By trusting, the walls of Yericho fell down — after the people had marched around them for seven days.
31 By trusting, Rachav the prostitute welcomed the spies and therefore did not die along with those who were disobedient.
32 What more should I say? There isn’t time to tell about Gid‘on, Barak, Shimshon, Yiftach, David, Sh’mu’el and the prophets; 33 who, through trusting, conquered kingdoms, worked righteousness, received what was promised, shut the mouths of lions,[j] 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, had their weakness turned to strength, grew mighty in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead resurrected; other people were stretched on the rack and beaten to death, refusing to be ransomed, so that they would gain a better resurrection. 36 Others underwent the trials of being mocked and whipped, then chained and imprisoned. 37 They were stoned, sawed in two, murdered by the sword; they went about clothed in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, mistreated, 38 wandering about in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the ground! The world was not worthy of them!
39 All of these had their merit attested because of their trusting. Nevertheless, they did not receive what had been promised, 40 because God had planned something better that would involve us, so that only with us would they be brought to the goal.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 11:1 Habakkuk 2:4
- Hebrews 11:5 Genesis 5:24
- Hebrews 11:8 Genesis 12:1
- Hebrews 11:12 Genesis 15:5–6; 22:17; 32:13(12); Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 1:10; 10:22
- Hebrews 11:13 1 Chronicles 29:15
- Hebrews 11:18 Genesis 21:12
- Hebrews 11:21 Genesis 47:31 (Septuagint)
- Hebrews 11:23 Exodus 2:2
- Hebrews 11:24 Exodus 2:11
- Hebrews 11:33 Daniel 6:23(22)
Hebrews 11
New Living Translation
Great Examples of Faith
11 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
4 It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.
5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.”[a] For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed[b] that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”[c] 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.
20 It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.
21 It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.
22 It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.
23 It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.
24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. 27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. 28 It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.
29 It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned.
30 It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.
31 It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
32 How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. 33 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. 35 Women received their loved ones back again from death.
But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half,[d] and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. 40 For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
