Chapter 11

The Triumphs of Faith

1 Now faith is the 1aassurance of things 2bhoped for, the 3conviction of cthings not seen.

2 For by it the amen of old 1bgained approval.

3 By faith we understand that the 1aworlds were prepared bby the word of God, so that what is seen cwas not made out of things which are visible.

4 By faith aAbel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he bobtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying 1about his cgifts, and through 2faith, though dhe is dead, he still speaks.

5 By faith aEnoch was taken up so that he would not bsee death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.

6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who acomes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

7 By faith aNoah, being bwarned by God about cthings not yet seen, 1din reverence eprepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of fthe righteousness which is according to faith.

8 By faith aAbraham, when he was called, obeyed 1by going out to a place which he was to breceive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

9 By faith he lived as an alien in athe land of promise, as in a foreign land, bdwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, cfellow heirs of the same promise;

10 for he was looking for athe city which has bfoundations, cwhose architect and builder is God.

11 By faith even aSarah herself received 1ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him bfaithful who had promised.

12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and ahim as good as dead 1at that, as many descendants bas the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

13 aAll these died in faith, bwithout receiving the promises, but chaving seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and dhaving confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.

15 And indeed if they had been 1thinking of that country from which they went out, athey would have had opportunity to return.

16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a aheavenly one. Therefore bGod is not 1ashamed to be ccalled their God; for dHe has prepared a city for them.

17 By faith aAbraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had breceived the promises was offering up his only begotten son;

18 it was he to whom it was said, “aIn Isaac your 1descendants shall be called.”

19 1He considered that aGod is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back 2as a btype.

20 By faith aIsaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.

21 By faith aJacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and bworshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

22 By faith aJoseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.

23 By faith aMoses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the bking’s edict.

24 By faith Moses, awhen he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,

25 choosing rather to aendure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

26 aconsidering the reproach of 1Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the breward.

27 By faith he aleft Egypt, not bfearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as cseeing Him who is unseen.

28 By faith he 1akept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that bhe who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.

29 By faith they apassed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were 1drowned.

30 By faith athe walls of Jericho fell down bafter they had been encircled for seven days.

31 By faith aRahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies 1in peace.

32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of aGideon, bBarak, cSamson, dJephthah, of eDavid and fSamuel and the prophets,

33 who by faith aconquered kingdoms, bperformed acts of righteousness, cobtained promises, dshut the mouths of lions,

34 aquenched the power of fire, bescaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, cbecame mighty in war, cput foreign armies to flight.

35 aWomen received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their 1release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;

36 and others 1experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also achains and imprisonment.

37 They were astoned, they were bsawn in two, 1they were tempted, they were cput to death with the sword; they went about din sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, eill-treated

38 (men of whom the world was not worthy), awandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes 1in the ground.

39 And all these, having 1agained approval through their faith, bdid not receive 2what was promised,

40 because God had 1provided asomething better for us, so that bapart from us they would not be made perfect.

Chapter 12

Jesus, the Example

1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also alay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us brun with cendurance the race that is set before us,

2 1fixing our eyes on Jesus, the 2aauthor and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him bendured the cross, cdespising the shame, and has dsat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For aconsider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary 1band lose heart.

A Father’s Discipline

4 aYou have not yet resisted 1bto the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;

5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“aMy son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

Nor bfaint when you are reproved by Him;

6 aFor those bwhom the Lord loves He disciplines,

And He scourges every son whom He receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you endure; aGod deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

8 But if you are without discipline, aof which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

9 Furthermore, we had 1earthly fathers to discipline us, and we arespected them; shall we not much rather be subject to bthe Father of 2spirits, and clive?

10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, aso that we may share His holiness.

11 All discipline afor the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the bpeaceful fruit of righteousness.

12 Therefore, 1astrengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble,

13 and amake straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather bbe healed.

14 aPursue peace with all men, and the bsanctification without which no one will csee the Lord.

15 See to it that no one acomes short of the grace of God; that no broot of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be cdefiled;

16 that there be no aimmoral or bgodless person like Esau, cwho sold his own birthright for a single meal.

17 For you know that even afterwards, awhen he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

Contrast of Sinai and Zion

18 aFor you have not come to ba mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,

19 and to the ablast of a trumpet and the bsound of words which sound was such that those who heard cbegged that no further word be spoken to them.

20 For they could not bear the command, “aIf even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.”

21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “aI am full of fear and trembling.”

22 But ayou have come to Mount Zion and to bthe city of cthe living God, dthe heavenly Jerusalem, and to emyriads of 1angels,

23 to the general assembly and achurch of the firstborn who bare enrolled in heaven, and to God, cthe Judge of all, and to the dspirits of the righteous made perfect,

24 and to Jesus, the amediator of a new covenant, and to the bsprinkled blood, which speaks better than cthe blood of Abel.

The Unshaken Kingdom

25 aSee to it that you do not refuse Him who is bspeaking. For cif those did not escape when they drefused him who ewarned them on earth, 1much less will we escape who turn away from Him who ewarns from heaven.

26 And aHis voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “bYet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.”

27 This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes athe removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we receive a akingdom which cannot be shaken, let us 1show gratitude, by which we may boffer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;

29 for aour God is a consuming fire.

Chapter 13

The Changeless Christ

1 Let alove of the brethren continue.

2 Do not neglect to ashow hospitality to strangers, for by this some have bentertained angels without knowing it.

3 aRemember bthe prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.

4 aMarriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; bfor fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

5 Make sure that your character is afree from the love of money, bbeing content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “cI will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

6 so that we confidently say,

“aThe Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.

What will man do to me?”

7 Remember athose who led you, who spoke bthe word of God to you; and considering the 1result of their conduct, cimitate their faith.

8 aJesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

9 aDo not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to bbe strengthened by grace, not by cfoods, dthrough which those who 1were so occupied were not benefited.

10 We have an altar afrom which those bwho serve the 1tabernacle have no right to eat.

11 For athe bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp.

12 Therefore Jesus also, athat He might sanctify the people bthrough His own blood, suffered coutside the gate.

13 So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, abearing His reproach.

14 For here awe do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking bthe city which is to come.

God-pleasing Sacrifices

15 aThrough Him then, let us continually offer up a bsacrifice of praise to God, that is, cthe fruit of lips that 1give thanks to His name.

16 And do not neglect doing good and asharing, for bwith such sacrifices God is pleased.

17 aObey your leaders and submit to them, for bthey keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. 1Let them do this with joy and not 2with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

18 aPray for us, for we are sure that we have a bgood conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.

19 And I urge you all the more to do this, aso that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Benediction

20 Now athe God of peace, who bbrought up from the dead the cgreat Shepherd of the sheep 1through dthe blood of the eeternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,

21 aequip you in every good thing to do His will, bworking in us that cwhich is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, dto whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

22 But aI urge you, bbrethren, 1bear with 2this bword of exhortation, for cI have written to you briefly.

23 1Take notice that aour brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you.

24 Greet aall of your leaders and all the 1bsaints. Those from cItaly greet you.

25 aGrace be with you all.