Hebrews 11:8-19

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 ¹  in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs ²  of the same promise. 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, ³  whose architect and builder is God. 11:11 By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, ⁴  he received the ability to procreate, ⁵  because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. 11:12 So in fact children ⁶  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 ⁷  on the seashore. ⁸  11:13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, ⁹  but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners ¹⁰  on the earth. 11:14 For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 11:15 In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 11:16 But as it is, ¹¹  they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He had received the promises, ¹²  yet he was ready to offer up ¹³  his only son. 11:18 God had told him, “Through Isaac descendants will carry on your name,” ¹⁴  11:19 and he reasoned ¹⁵  that God could even raise him from the dead, and in a sense ¹⁶  he received him back from there.

[11:9]  ¹ tn Or “settled as a resident alien.”

[11:9]  ² tn Or “heirs with him.”

[11:10]  ³ tn Grk “that has foundations.”

[11:11]  ⁴ tn Grk “past the time of maturity.”

[11:11]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “these”; in the translation the referent (children) has been specified for clarity.

[11:12]  ⁷ tn Grk a collective “the sand.”

[11:12]  ⁸ sn An allusion to Gen 22:17 (which itself goes back to Gen 15:5).

[11:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “the promises,” referring to the things God promised, not to the pledges themselves.

[11:13]  ¹⁰ tn Or “sojourners.”

[11:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “now.”

[11:17]  ¹² tn Here “received the promises” refers to the pledges themselves, not to the things God promised.

[11:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “he was offering up.” The tense of this verb indicates the attempt or readiness to sacrifice Isaac without the actual completion of the deed.

[11:18]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “in Isaac seed will be named for you.”

[11:19]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “having reasoned,” continuing the ideas of v. 17.

[11:19]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “in/by a symbol.”