Hebrews 11

1Now faith is the firm foundation of what we hope for, the proof of what we do not see.

2For through it the people of long ago were approved by God.

3By faith we understand that the universe was fashioned by God’s word, so that what is seen did not come into being from what is visible.

4By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received testimony that he was righteous, as God himself testified about his gifts. And through it he is still speaking, even though he is dead.

5By faith Enoch was carried away so that he would not see death. No one could find him, because God had carried him away. For before he was carried away, it was testified of him that he had pleased God.

6Without faith, pleasing him is impossible, because anyone who comes to God has to believe that he exists and that he gives a reward to those who search for him.

7By faith Noah, after God warned him about things not yet seen, with reverence built an ark to rescue his household. Through it he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that accords with faith.

8By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by setting out for a place he was to receive as an inheritance, and he left without knowing where he was headed.

9By faith he settled as an outsider in the land of promise, as though it belonged to others, and he dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, his fellow heirs of the same promise.

10For he was waiting for the city that has foundations, the city planned and built by God.

11By faith even Sarah, who was barren, was given power to conceive, though she was beyond the age for it, since she judged the one who made the promise to be trustworthy.

12That is why from one man, and a man as good as dead at that, there came offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as uncountable as the sand along the shore of the sea.

13All of these died in faith without receiving the promises. Instead, they saw them far off and greeted them, and they confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth.

14For those who speak this way show plainly that they are in search of a homeland.

15Had they been remembering the land they came out of, they would have had the chance to go back.

16But in fact they are reaching for a better homeland, one in heaven. For this reason God is not ashamed to be called their God, since he has made a city ready for them.

17By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered Isaac. The one who had welcomed the promises was offering his one and only son,

18the son of whom it had been said, “Through Isaac your offspring will be named.”

19He concluded that God could raise someone even from the dead, and in a symbolic sense that is how he got Isaac back.

20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things still to come.

21By faith Jacob, near death, gave a blessing to each of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

22By faith Joseph, as his life was ending, made mention of the exodus of the people of Israel and gave orders about his bones.

23By faith Moses, once he was born, was kept hidden three months by his parents, since they saw he was a fine child, and they had no fear of the king’s decree.

24By faith Moses, after he grew up, would not accept being called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

25He chose to share in the mistreatment of God’s people rather than have the brief enjoyment of sin.

26He judged that the disgrace of Christ was greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, because he kept his eyes on the reward.

27By faith he left Egypt without fear of the king’s fury, for he held firm as if seeing the one who cannot be seen.

28By faith he observed the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not lay a hand on them.

29By faith the people went across the Red Sea as though over dry ground, but the Egyptians were swallowed up when they tried it.

30By faith the walls of Jericho collapsed once they had been circled for seven days.

31By faith Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed along with those who disobeyed, since she had received the spies peacefully.

32What else should I say? I would run out of time if I told about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and Samuel, and the prophets,

33who by faith overcame kingdoms, brought about justice, received promises, closed the mouths of lions,

34put out the force of fire, escaped the sword’s edge, were given strength when they were weak, grew powerful in battle, and turned back armies of foreigners.

35Women got their dead back by resurrection, and others were tortured, turning down release so that they might obtain a better resurrection.

36Others experienced taunts and lashes, and even chains and prison.

37They were stoned, sawed apart, and cut down by the sword. They went around wearing sheepskins and goatskins, in need, afflicted, and ill-treated.

38The world did not deserve them. They were wanderers in deserts and mountains, in caves and in pits in the ground.

39All of these were given approval through their faith, yet they did not obtain the promise,

40because God had foreseen something better for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.