By Faith We Understand
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidenceof things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained agoodtestimony.
3 By faith we understand thatthe worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
Faith at the Dawn of History
4 By faithAbel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead stillspeaks.
5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death,“and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6 But without faithitisimpossible to pleaseHim,for he who comes to God must believe that He is, andthatHe is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
7 By faithNoah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear,prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir ofthe righteousness which is according to faith.
Faithful Abraham
8 By faithAbraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise asina foreign country,dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob,the heirs with him of the same promise;
10 for he waited forthe city which has foundations,whose builder and makerisGod.
11 By faithSarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, andshe bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Himfaithful who had promised.
12 Therefore from one man, and him as good asdead, were bornasmanyas thestars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
The Heavenly Hope
13 These all died in faith,not having received thepromises, buthaving seen them afar off were assured of them, embracedthemandconfessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For those who say such thingsdeclare plainly that they seek a homeland.
15 And truly if they had called to mindthatcountryfrom which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenlycountry.Therefore God is not ashamedto be called their God, for He hasprepared a city for them.
The Faith of the Patriarchs
17 By faith Abraham,when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begottenson,
18 of whom it was said,“In Isaac your seed shall be called,”
19 concluding that Godwasable to raisehimup, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
20 By faithIsaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying,blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped,leaningon the top of his staff.
22 By faithJoseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.
The Faith of Moses
23 By faithMoses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they sawhewasa beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’scommand.
24 By faithMoses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
26 esteemingthe reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to thereward.
27 By faithhe forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
28 By faithhe kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
29 By faiththey passed through the Red Sea as by dryland, whereasthe Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.
By Faith They Overcame
30 By faiththe walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.
31 By faiththe harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, whenshe had received the spies with peace.
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell ofGideon andBarak andSamson andJephthah, alsoofDavid andSamuel and the prophets:
33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises,stopped the mouths of lions,
34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
35 Women received their dead raised to life again.
# Others weretortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.
36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, andof chains and imprisonment.
37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword.They wandered aboutin sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—
38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains,indens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these,having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,
40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not bemade perfect apart from us.