Hebrews 11
1 Now faith is being
sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command,
so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith
he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings.
And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience
death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before
he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who
comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who
earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built
an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became
heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive
as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where
he was going.
9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a
foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs
with him of the same promise.
10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect
and builder is God.
11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was
barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful
who had made the promise.
12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants
as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the
seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did
not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them
from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers
on earth.
14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country
of their own.
15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would
have had opportunity to return.
16 Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city
for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.
He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only
son,
18 even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring
will be reckoned."
19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking,
he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and
worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the
Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
23 By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born,
because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of
the king's edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son
of Pharaoh's daughter.
25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than
to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.
26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than
the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered
because he saw him who is invisible.
28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that
the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but
when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around
them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was
not killed with those who were disobedient.
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon,
Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets,
33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained
what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword;
whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle
and routed foreign armies.
35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured
and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.
36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and
put in prison.
37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by
the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted
and mistreated--
38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains,
and in caves and holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received
what had been promised.
40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with
us would they be made perfect.
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