11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. 11:2 For by it the people of old 1 received God’s commendation. 2 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds 3 were set in order at God’s command, 4 so that the visible has its origin in the invisible. 5 11:4 By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith 6 he was commended as righteous, because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith 7 he still speaks, though he is dead.
1 tn Or “the elders,” “the ancients.”
2 tn Grk “were attested,” “received commendation”; and Heb 11:4-6 shows this to be from God.
3 tn Grk “ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 1:2 for same usage.
4 tn Grk “by God’s word.”
5 sn The Greek phrasing emphasizes this point by negating the opposite: “so that what is seen did not come into being from things that are visible.”
6 tn Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through which.”
7 tn Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through it.”