Hebrews 11
1 Faith is the assurance of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.
2 For by it the people of old received a good testimony.
3 By faith, we understand that the universe was formed by the word of God, so that what is seen did not come from what appears.
4 By faith, Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. Through it he received testimony that he was righteous, as God himself testified about his gifts; and through it, though dead, he still speaks.
5 By faith, Enoch was taken away so that he would not see death, and he was not found, because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he received testimony that he had pleased God.
6 Without faith it is impossible to please God. For anyone who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
7 By faith, Noah, warned by God about what could not yet be seen, built an ark with reverent fear to save his family. Through it he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called and left for the place he was to receive as an inheritance; he left without knowing where he was going.
9 By faith, he lived as a foreigner in the promised land, as in a land that was not his, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who shared the same inheritance promise with him.
10 For he was waiting for the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith, he also received power to father a child, together with Sarah herself, even though he was past the proper age, because he considered the one who had promised to be faithful.
12 So from one man, and one who was as good as dead, were born as many as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these died in faith without receiving the promises, but they saw them from far away and welcomed them, confessing that they were foreigners and strangers on the earth.
14 For those who speak this way show that they are seeking a homeland.
15 If they had been thinking of the one they had left, they would have had an opportunity to return.
16 But as it is, they long for a better homeland, that is, 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 he was put to the test, offered Isaac; the one who had received the promises was offering his only son.
18 He had been told, “Through Isaac your descendants will be named.”
19 He reasoned that God was able even to raise the dead; and from there he received him back, figuratively speaking.
20 By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
21 By faith, Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
22 By faith, Joseph, as his life was ending, spoke of the Israelites’ departure and gave instructions concerning his bones.
23 By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they did not fear the king’s decree.
24 By faith, Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than enjoy sin’s fleeting pleasure.
26 He considered the disgrace of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking toward the reward.
27 By faith, he left Egypt without fearing the king’s anger, for he persevered as one who sees the invisible one.
28 By faith, he celebrated the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them.
29 By faith, they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land; when the Egyptians tried to do the same, they were swallowed up.
30 By faith, the walls of Jericho fell after they had been circled for seven days.
31 By faith, Rahab the prostitute did not perish with the disobedient, because she welcomed the spies in peace.
32 And what more shall I say? Time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.
33 By faith, they conquered kingdoms, practiced righteousness, obtained promises, and shut the mouths of lions.
34 They quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.
35 Women received their dead back through resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection.
36 Still others endured mockery and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
37 They were stoned, put to the test, sawn in two, killed by the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, needy, afflicted, mistreated.
38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered through deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39 And all these, though they received a good testimony through faith, did not obtain the promise.
40 God had provided something better concerning us, so that they would not be made perfect apart from us.
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