Hebrews 11:1-13

People Commended for Their Faith

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. 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was not to be found because God took him up. For before his removal he had been commended as having pleased God. 11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 11:7 By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen, with reverent regard ⁸  constructed an ark for the deliverance of his family. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going. 11:9 By faith he lived as a foreigner ⁹  in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs ¹⁰  of the same promise. 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, ¹¹  whose architect and builder is God. 11:11 By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, ¹²  he received the ability to procreate, ¹³  because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. 11:12 So in fact children ¹⁴  were fathered by one man – and this one as good as dead – like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand ¹⁵  on the seashore. ¹⁶  11:13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, ¹⁷  but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners ¹⁸  on the earth.

[11:2]  ¹ tn Or “the elders,” “the ancients.”

[11:2]  ² tn Grk “were attested,” “received commendation”; and Heb 11:4-6 shows this to be from God.

[11:3]  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.

[11:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “by God’s word.”

[11:3]  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.”

[11:4]  ⁶ tn Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through which.”

[11:4]  ⁷ tn Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through it.”

[11:7]  ⁸ tn Cf. BDAG 407 s.v. εὐλαβέομαι 2, “out of reverent regard (for God’s command).”

[11:9]  ⁹ tn Or “settled as a resident alien.”

[11:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “heirs with him.”

[11:10]  ¹¹ tn Grk “that has foundations.”

[11:11]  ¹² tn Grk “past the time of maturity.”

[11:11]  ¹³ tn Grk “power to deposit seed.” Though it is not as likely, some construe this phrase to mean “power to conceive seed,” making the whole verse about Sarah: “by faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and too old, she received ability to conceive, because she regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy.”

[11:12]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “these”; in the translation the referent (children) has been specified for clarity.

[11:12]  ¹⁵ tn Grk a collective “the sand.”

[11:12]  ¹⁶ sn An allusion to Gen 22:17 (which itself goes back to Gen 15:5).

[11:13]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the promises,” referring to the things God promised, not to the pledges themselves.

[11:13]  ¹⁸ tn Or “sojourners.”