¹Now faith is the entitlement to things hoped for, the conviction of matters not seen. ²For by it the elders were attested to. ³By faith we understand that the ages have been arranged by the word of God, in such a way that the things seen did not come about from things appearing automatically. ⁴By faith Abel offered a greater sacrifice to God than Cain, through which he was attested to be righteous, God himself testifying about his gifts, and through it, although he has died, he is still adduced. ⁵By faith Enoch was translated so as not to see death, and he was not found anywhere, because God had translated him. After all, before his translation he had been attested to have pleased God. ⁶But without faith, it is impossible to please him. For he who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him out. ⁷By faith Noah, having been oracularly warned about things not yet seen, took devout heed and prepared an ark for the safety of his household, by which he condemned the world and became an heir to righteousness which is by faith. ⁸By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed in going out to the place which he was to receive as an inheritance, and he went out not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he lived as an emigrant in the land of the promise as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the fellow heirs of the same promise. ¹⁰For he was waiting for the city which has foundations, whose architect and craftsman is God. ¹¹By faith Sarah herself also received power to conceive seed, and when past the prime of life she gave birth, because she considered him who made the promise faithful, ¹²which is also why there were begotten from one – who was in these respects considered dead – as many as the stars of the sky in abundance and as the sand of the sea-shore which is uncountable. ¹³In faith these all died, not having received the promises, but having seen them from afar, and having embraced them, and they confessed that they were foreigners and outsiders on the earth. ¹⁴For those who say such things make it plain that they seek a homeland. ¹⁵And if they had kept thinking back to where they had come out from, they would have had an opportunity to turn back. ¹⁶But as it is, they aspire to a better homeland, that is to say, an upper-heavenly one. For that reason God is not ashamed of them to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. ¹⁷By faith Abraham offered Isaac when he was tested, and having received the promises, he was in the process of offering his only-begotten son, ¹⁸to whom it had been said, “Your seed will be called in the line of Isaac.” ¹⁹And he had considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from where he duly got him back in a symbolic way. ²⁰By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. ²¹By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshipped leaning on the top of his staff. ²²By faith Joseph, when dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave commandment concerning his bones. ²³By faith when he was born, Moses was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was good-looking, and they did not fear the king's edict. ²⁴By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to have short-lived enjoyment of sin, ²⁶considering the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he had the reward in view. ²⁷By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the anger of the king, for he was steadfast in the invisible one as if seeing him. ²⁸By faith he kept the Passover and the pouring of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them. ²⁹By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if crossing on dry land, but when the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up. ³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been surrounded for seven days. ³¹By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who disbelieved, because she received the spies in peace. ³²And what more can I say? For time is insufficient for me to go into detail about Gideon, Barak and Samson and Jephthah, David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³who through faith prevailed over kingdoms, practised righteousness, attained promises; stopped up the mouths of lions. ³⁴They quenched powerful fire, they escaped the blade of the sword, they were strengthened in weakness, they became strong in battle; they made foreigners' encampments give way. ³⁵Women received their dead back by resurrection; others were beaten to death but did not accept deliverance, in order that they might attain to a better resurrection, ³⁶whereas others received a trial of jeerings and lashes of the whip, even of bonds and imprisonment. ³⁷They were stoned, they were sawn apart, they underwent trials, they died in cases of murder by the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated – ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy – wandering in desert places and mountains and caves and the crevices of the world. ³⁹And these were all attested to through their faith, but they did not receive the promise, ⁴⁰God having provided something better for us in order that they should not be brought to perfection without us.

Reference(s) in Chapter 11: v.12 ↔ Genesis 15:5, Genesis 22:17, Genesis 26:4, Exodus 32:13 ● v.13 ↔ Genesis 23:4, Exodus 2:22, Psalm 39:13^MT (Psalm 39:12^AV), 1 Chronicles 29:15 ● v.17 ↔ Genesis 22:10 ● v.18 ↔ Genesis 21:12.