Hebrews 11:11-13

11:11 By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, ¹  he received the ability to procreate, ²  because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. 11:12 So in fact children ³  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 ⁴  on the seashore. ⁵  11:13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, ⁶  but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners ⁷  on the earth.

[11:11]  ¹ tn Grk “past the time of maturity.”

[11:11]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “these”; in the translation the referent (children) has been specified for clarity.

[11:12]  ⁴ tn Grk a collective “the sand.”

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

[11:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “the promises,” referring to the things God promised, not to the pledges themselves.

[11:13]  ⁶ tn Or “sojourners.”