Hebrews 11
1 Now faithfulness is the groundwork for the things being hoped for, a trial run of the circumstances that aren’t yeta seen. 2 With this, those who came before us were shown to be genuine.b 3 We recognize that with faithfulness the agesc have been arranged with a statementd from God for making what wasn’t clearly visible come to be seen.
4 With faithfulness, Abel presented a more significante sacrificial offering to God than Cain,f which showed him to be genuinely just, since his gift was reported to be genuine by God, and by it he still speaks after having died.
5 With faithfulness, Enoch was transferred—not seeing death—and he was never found because God transferred him.g You see, before the transfer he had been reported to be fully pleasing by God. 6 But without faithfulness, it is impossible to be fully pleasing. You see, it is necessary for the one who approaches God to be faithfulh because God isi and becomesj the one who compensates those who seek him out.
7 With faithfulness, Noah gave careful attention tok things that were not yetl seen, and acting with care for the protectionm of his household, he constructed and outfitted an ark,n with whicho he sentenced the world system to death, and he became an heir of the justness that is based on faithfulness.p
8 With faithfulness, Abraham listened when he was called to go out to a place that he was going to receive for an inheritance, and he went out not knowing where he was going.q
9 With faithfulness, he lived as an immigrant in the promised land, living in tents as in a place belonging to others with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise. 10 You see, he was waiting for the city that has foundations and whose architect and builder is God.
11 With faithfulness, Sarah, who was infertile, also herself received ability to conceive—when sher was at the age that she wass—since she considered the one who made the promise faithful.t 12 Because of this, descendants originatedu from one person—and thesev from someone who was nearing death—“just like the stars in the heavens in number and like the innumerable grains of sand along the seashore.”w
13 These people all died in a state of faithfulnessx without having received the things that were promised but, instead, having seen them at a distance and embracedy them, and they acknowledged that they were foreigners and immigrants in the land. 14 Those who speak the way they did make it clear that they are seeking out their homeland. 15 If they had been calling to mind the land they had come out of, then they would have had opportunity to go back. 16 Therefore, they reach out for a better one—that is, one that is of the heavens. Because of this, God is not shamed by them calling him their God.z So then, he has prepared a city for them.
17 With faithfulness, Abraham has offered Isaac when he was tested.aa He started to offer his only child after having received the promises 18 with which he had been told that “through Isaac, your descendantsbb will be identified,”cc 19 since he reasoned that God is able to raise him up from among the dead, and he did receive him back from there, in a way.dd
20 With faithfulness, Isaac also spoke well overee Jacob and Esau regarding what was coming.ff
21 With faithfulness, as he was dying, Jacob spoke well over each of Joseph’s sons and bowed down as he leaned on his staff.gg
22 With faithfulness, as he was approaching his end, Joseph gave consideration to the exodushh of Israel’s descendantsii and gave directions about his bones.jj
23 With faithfulness, after Moses was born he was hidden for three months by his parents because they looked at the beautiful child and were not afraid of the king’s mandate.kk
24 With faithfulness, Moses, after growing up, rejected being called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 preferring to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to have momentary enjoyment of deviation.ll 26 He considered the abuse received as an anointed onemm greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt because he focused intently on the payoff.
27 With faithfulness, he left Egypt behind without being afraid of the fury of the king because he persisted as if he could see the yetnn unseen.oo
28 With faithfulness, he carried out the Passover and pouring the blood so that the destroyer would not harm their firstborn children.pp
29 With faithfulness, as if across dry land, they crossed the Red Sea,qq and when the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up.rr
30 With faithfulness, the walls of Jericho fell after they were encircled for seven days.ss
31 With faithfulness, Rahab the sex worker was not destroyed with those who disregard the promisestt after receiving the spies with peace.uu
32 What else should I say? I’ll run out of time if I go into detail about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and also Samuel and the prophets. 33 They won out againstvv royal powers,ww performed justice,xx came upon the promises, closed up the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the bite of a sword, were empowered out from powerlessness,yy became strong in battle, and made enemy armies retreat. 35 Women received their dead because of a reawakening,zz but others were torturedaaa without expecting liberation by payment of the price for freedombbb so that they would hit the markccc of a better reawakening.ddd 36 Still others experienced tests of taunts and whips and also chains and imprisonment. 37 They were executed by being pelted with stones, sawed in half, murderedeee with a sword, and went around wearing a coatfff made of goatskin,ggg experiencing poverty, being oppressed, and being mistreated 38 (they didn’t fit in with the world system), wandering in the wilderness and mountains and caves and the crevices in the land.
39 Though these people were all shown to be genuine by faithfulness, they did not experience the Promise 40 of God, who foresaw something better concerning us, that they would not be made complete without us.
FOOTNOTES:
a The word ‘yet’ is added for clarity, but it is not present in the Greek.
b Literally, ‘attested.’ Traditionally, the Greek word is translated in most places as ‘born witness’ or ‘testified.’ In this verse, the NET reads, “received God’s commendation” though the word ‘God’ is not in the Greek. NRSV reads, “received approval.” KJV reads, “obtained a good report.”
c Traditionally, ‘worlds,’ but this is not kosmos (‘world system’ or ‘whole world’). Instead, this is aion, the word translated as ‘an age’ or ‘an eon’ or ‘a REALLY long time.’ It is often used to refer to the Age to come, the Age of the New Heavens and New Earth, and it can also refer to ‘this present age’ that is organized in a way that is counter to the teachings and example of Christ. Other translations use ‘world’ to mean ‘the way things are and all that is present during the age.’
d Traditionally, ‘word’ or ‘command.’ While ‘word’ is a reasonable translation, ‘command’ is not. It is the Greek word rhema, which refers to anything said by someone, a statement, advice, or speech as opposed to action. It is a different word from logos which is what appears in John 1:1.
e Literally, ‘larger’ or ‘more numerous’
f Reference to Genesis 4:2-5
g Reference to Genesis 5:24
h Traditionally, ‘to believe’
i Traditionally, ‘God exists.’ While it is possible to translate the Greek that way, it is not the primary way of translating the verb. The verb most often means ‘to be’ or ‘he is’ or ‘she is’ or ‘it is’ and requires another noun or adjective to complete the thought. In the cultural context, this book is written to Jews, explaining the significance and the hope that comes with the New Covenant. It has nothing to do with convincing people that did not believe God exists that Got does exist. The statement is a double statement, asserting that “God is the one who compensates those who seek him out” and that “God becomes the one who compensates those who seek him out.” The statement is not a command to believe God exists but an encouragement that God makes faithfulness to seek him worth it.
j Traditionally, this word is left out of many translations or is translated as ‘is’ instead of ‘becomes’ which is the more literal translation. The most literal phrase is ‘he becomes a compensator.’
k Or ‘deliberated on’ or ‘dealt with’
l The word ‘yet’ is added for clarity, but it is not in the Greek.
m Or ‘salvation’ or ‘rescue’ or ‘preservation’ or ‘liberation’
n Or ‘chest.’ This is the same word referring to the ‘ark of the covenant.’
o Most likely referring to ‘ark’ though this word grammatically could refer either to ‘faithfulness’ or to ‘ark.’
p Reference to Genesis 6-9
q Reference to Genesis 12:1-4
r The Greek here is feminine. However, some translations change it to be masculine, assuming it must be about Abraham, including the NET, the NIV, and the NRSV. Others stay faithful to the Greek grammar, including the NASB, the ESV, the CEB, and the KJV.
s Reference to Genesis 11:29-30; 17:15-21; 18:9-15; 21:1-7
t Or ‘trustworthy’
u Or ‘they were born’ or ‘they were conceived’ or ‘they were generated’
v The word ‘these’ is in a neuter form, which could mean ‘these things,’ as in the events and actions, or it could be implying the Greek word teknon, which is also neuter and means ‘offspring’ or ‘child/ren.’
w Reference to Genesis 22:17
x Literally, ‘during the time of faithfulness’
y Or ‘gladly welcomed’ or ‘cherished’
z Traditionally, the wording is more like “God is not ashamed to be called their God.” However, that translation does not account for the word autous in the Greek. The implication is that ‘they’ could have caused God to have a shameful reputation, but they didn’t and instead cause him to have an accurate reputation. It’s not about God’s feelings or opinion of them, it’s about the affect they have on how others see God.
aa Reference to Genesis 21:1-19
bb Literally, ‘a seed for you’
cc Quotation of Genesis 21:12
dd This is the word for ‘parable.’ Meaning that it illustrates or serves as a metaphor for receiving back from death though he did not literally die.
ee Traditionally, ‘blessed’ or ‘spoke a benediction over’
ff Reference to Genesis 27
gg Reference to Genesis 48
hh Literally, ‘way out’ or ‘departure’ or ‘evacuation’
ii Or ‘the children of Israel’ or ‘the sons of Israel’
jj Reference to Genesis 50:22-26
kk Reference to Exodus 1:22-2:2
ll Reference to Exodus 2:5-14
mm The word ‘anointed’ is what both the Greek christos (Christ) and Hebrew meshiah (Messiah) mean. ‘Anointed’ literally means having oil (or an ointment) applied. It was a symbolic gesture indicating having been selected for a special role in guiding the people of God. Moses is referred to as meshiah several times in the Hebrew Bible, and Clement of Alexandria, one of the earliest Christian writers outside the New Testament wrote, “Moses, too, was a Christ, being the first of the Hebrews to receive the anointing, that is, the adoption as a son” in his collection of writings called Stromata or Miscellanies. The context of this being about Moses makes it unlikely that christos here is referring to Jesus, though many translations read things like “suffered for Christ” (NET), “disgrace for the sake of Christ” (NIV), and “reproach of Christ” (NASB, ESV, KJV).
nn The word ‘yet’ is added for clarity. It is not in the Greek.
oo Reference to Exodus 2:15
pp Reference to Exodus 12:1-13
qq The Red Sea at the time this was written was the name of the Indian Ocean, including where it jutted inland in two places in what are now called the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.
rr Reference to Exodus 14
ss Reference to Joshua 6:1-21
tt Traditionally, ‘those who are disobedient.’ This word indicates a refusal to listen and follow through or care about what has been communicated, and the definition “refuse to be persuaded” is common in the lexicons. It is often used in a way that ‘disobedient is a good translation. However, it can also be used of someone disregarding a pledge. In this context, it seems appropriate to interpret it as a disregard for the promise to Abraham and the promised life-giving state of the world that the others in this list of faithful people are pursuing.
uu Reference to Joshua 2; 6:22-25
vv Traditionally, ‘conquered.’ However, the definitions include ‘won-out-against,’ ‘overcame,’ and ‘defeated.’ The English word ‘conquered’ implies being the aggressor and invading the homeland of other peoples. While that could be the context in which one defeats an opponent, it is not necessarily part of this word.
ww Traditionally, ‘kingdoms’ but while the country is sometimes what it means, more often than the land ruled by a king, it refers to the ruling power a monarch wields.
xx Some translations (NASB, KJV) use ‘righteousness’ or ‘acts of righteousness’ to translate this word—dikaiosune—while others (NET, NIV, ESV, NRSV, and CEB) translate it here as ‘justice.’
yy Traditionally, ‘weakness.’ The word can mean physical frailty, such as from illness or age, and it is sometimes used to mean having an illness. It is frequently also used to mean lack of power or resources in society, being disempowered or marginalized.
zz Traditionally ‘raised to life.’ Literally it is ‘get up’ or ‘raise up’ or ‘stand up’ or ‘stand again’ or ‘wake up’ or ‘wake again.’
aaa Literally, ‘drummed.’ They were stretched out in a wheel as if they were the head of the drum and beaten. The device was called a tympanum.
bbb The phrase “liberation by payment of the price for freedom” is traditionally ‘deliverance’ or ‘release.’ The word implies a payment of the price to buy an enslaved person or pay off the debt toward which the person works as an enslaved person in order to provide freedom from enslavement for them.
ccc Or ‘come upon’
ddd Traditionally ‘resurrection.’ Literally it is ‘getting up’ or ‘rising up’ or ‘standing up’ or ‘standing again’ or ‘waking up’ or ‘waking again.’
eee Literally, ‘died by murder’
fff Or ‘mantle’ or ‘sheepskin.’ The garment worn over the tunic was a ‘mantle’ or ‘coat’ that was draped over the shoulders. It was meant to be worn over other clothing to help keep warm. Possibly this verse is saying they wore only a mantle with no tunic underneath. The word literally means ‘sheepskin’ but most mantles were made of animal skin, so they were used interchangeably.
ggg The full phrase would be more literally “in a mantle, a goatskin skin” or “in a sheepskin, a goatskin skin.” The best way to make sense of this is that the word that can be translated as either ‘sheepskin’ or ‘mantle’ should be ‘mantle,’ and it emphasizes that the type of animal skin it was made of was goatskin.