Hebrews 11
11
Faith
1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3#Gen 1.1. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
4 #
Gen 4.3-10. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. 5#Gen 5.21-24. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 7#Gen 6.13-22. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
8 #
Gen 12.1-5. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9#Gen 35.27. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11#Gen 18.11-14; 21.2. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12#Gen 15.5; 22.17; 32.12. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable.
13 #
Gen 23.4. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them,#11.13 and were persuaded of them not found in best early manuscripts. and embraced#11.13 embraced, Greek greeted. them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
17 #
Gen 22.1-14. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18#Gen 21.12. of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. 20#Gen 27.27-29,39,40. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21#Gen 47.31—48.20. By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. 22#Gen 50.24,25; Exod 13.19. By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
23 #
Exod 2.2;
Exod 1.22. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. 24#Exod 2.10-12. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. 27#Exod 2.15. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 28#Exod 12.21-30. Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
29 #
Exod 14.21-31. By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. 30#Josh 6.12-21. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. 31#Josh 6.22-25; Josh 2.1-21. By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
32 #
Judg 6.11—8.32;
Judg 4.6—5.31;
Judg 13.2—16.31;
Judg 11.1—12.7;
1 Sam 16.1—1 Kgs 2.11;
1 Sam 1.1—25.1. And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33#Dan 6.1-27. who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34#Dan 3.1-30. quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35#1 Kgs 17.17-24; 2 Kgs 4.25-37. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36#1 Kgs 22.26,27; 2 Chr 18.25,26; Jer 20.2; 37.15; 38.6. and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37#2 Chr 24.21. they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38of whom the world was not worthy: they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
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Hebrews 11: KJVAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Hebrews 11
11
Faith of the Ancients. 1Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence#Faith is the realization…evidence: the author is not attempting a precise definition. There is dispute about the meaning of the Greek words hypostasis and elenchos, here translated realization and evidence, respectively. Hypostasis usually means “substance,” “being” (as translated in Heb 1:3), or “reality” (as translated in Heb 3:14); here it connotes something more subjective, and so realization has been chosen rather than “assurance” (RSV). Elenchos, usually “proof,” is used here in an objective sense and so translated evidence rather than the transferred sense of “(inner) conviction” (RSV). of things not seen.#1:3; 3:14; Rom 8:24; 2 Cor 4:18. 2Because of it the ancients were well attested. 3#Gn 1:3; Ps 33:6; Wis 9:1; Jn 1:3. By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God,#By faith…God: this verse does not speak of the faith of the Old Testament men and women but is in the first person plural. Hence it seems out of place in the sequence of thought. so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. 4#The “Praise of the Ancestors” in Sir 44:1–50:21 gives a similar list of heroes. The Cain and Abel narrative in Gn 4:1–16 does not mention Abel’s faith. It says, however, that God “looked with favor on Abel and his offering” (Gn 4:4); in view of Heb 11:6 the author probably understood God’s favor to have been activated by Abel’s faith. Though dead, he still speaks: possibly because his blood “cries out to me from the soil” (Gn 4:10), but more probably a way of saying that the repeated story of Abel provides ongoing witness to faith. By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain’s. Through this he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks.#12:24; Gn 4:4, 10. 5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and “he was found no more because God had taken him.” Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God.#Gn 5:24; Sir 44:16. 6#One must believe not only that God exists but that he is concerned about human conduct; the Old Testament defines folly as the denial of this truth; cf. Ps 52:2. But without faith it is impossible to please him,#Wis 4:10. for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith.#Gn 6:8–22; Sir 44:17–18; Mt 24:37–39; Lk 17:26–27; 1 Pt 3:20; 2 Pt 2:5.
8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go.#Gn 12:1–4; 15:7–21; Sir 44:19–22; Acts 7:2–8; Rom 4:16–22. 9By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;#Gn 12:8; 13:12; 23:4; 26:3; 35:27. 10for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God.#12:22; 13:14; Rev 21:10–22. 11By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age—and Sarah herself was sterile—for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.#Gn 17:19; 21:2; Rom 4:19–21 / 1 Cor 10:13. 12So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.#Gn 15:5; 22:17; 32:13; Ex 32:13; Dt 10:22; Dn 3:36 LXX.
13All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,#Gn 23:4; Ps 39:13. 14for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland. 15If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return. 16But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.#13:14; Ex 3:6.
17By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son,#Gn 22:1–10; Sir 44:20; 1 Mc 2:52; Jas 2:21. 18of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”#Gn 21:12 LXX; Rom 9:7. 19#As a symbol: Isaac’s “return from death” is seen as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection. Others understand the words en parabolē to mean “in figure,” i.e., the word dead is used figuratively of Isaac, since he did not really die. But in the one other place that parabolē occurs in Hebrews, it means symbol (Heb 9:9). He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead,#Rom 4:16–22. and he received Isaac back as a symbol. 20By faith regarding things still to come Isaac#Each of these three patriarchs, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, had faith in the future fulfillment of God’s promise and renewed this faith when near death. blessed Jacob and Esau.#Gn 27:27–40. 21By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and “bowed in worship, leaning on the top of his staff.”#Gn 27:38–40; 47:31 LXX; 48:15–16. 22By faith Joseph, near the end of his life, spoke of the Exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.#Gn 50:24–25.
23#Ex 2:2; Acts 7:20. By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24#The reason given for Moses’ departure from Egypt differs from the account in Ex 2:11–15. The author also gives a christological interpretation of his decision to share the trials of his people. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;#Ex 2:10–15; Acts 7:23–29. 25he chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. 26He considered the reproach of the Anointed greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the recompense. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s fury, for he persevered as if seeing the one who is invisible.#Ex 2:15; Acts 7:29. 28By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.#Ex 12:21–23; Wis 18:25; 1 Cor 10:10. 29By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted it they were drowned.#Ex 14:22–28. 30By faith the walls of Jericho fell after being encircled for seven days.#Jos 6:12–21. 31By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace.#Jos 2:1–21; 6:22–25; Jas 2:25.
32What more shall I say? I have not time to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,#Jgs 4:6–22; 6:11–8:32; 11:1–12:7. 33who by faith conquered kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions,#Dn 6:23. 34put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword; out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders.#Dn 3:22–25, 49–50. 35Women received back their dead through resurrection. Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection.#1 Kgs 17:17–24; 2 Kgs 4:18–37; 2 Mc 6:18–7:42. 36Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment.#2 Chr 36:16; Jer 20:2; 37:15. 37They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword’s point; they went about in skins of sheep or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented.#2 Chr 24:21. 38The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth.#1 Mc 2:28–30.
39Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. 40God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect.#So that without us they should not be made perfect: the heroes of the Old Testament obtained their recompense only after the saving work of Christ had been accomplished. Thus they already enjoy what Christians who are still struggling do not yet possess in its fullness.
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