1 Faith is the firm ground of what we hope for, the proof of realities we do not see.
2 For by it the people of old received God's approval.
3 By faith we perceive that the ages were fashioned by God's word, so that what we see did not come to be out of things that appear.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a fuller sacrifice than Cain, and by it he received the testimony that he was righteous, God bearing witness over his gifts; and by it, having died, he speaks still.
5 By faith Enoch was transferred so as not to see death, and he was not to be found, since God had transferred him; for before his removal he had this testimony, that he had pleased God.
6 And apart from faith no one can be pleasing to him; for whoever draws near to God must believe that he is, and that he proves to be the rewarder of those who seek him out.
7 By faith Noah, having been warned by God about what was still unseen, in reverent awe constructed an ark to save his house; by this he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that accords with faith.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out without knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he lived as a foreigner in the land of promise, as though in a land not his own, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who shared the same promise as heirs.
10 for he was awaiting the city that has the foundations, of which God is the craftsman and maker.
11 By faith Sarah herself also received power to conceive seed, and she bore a child beyond the normal age, because she judged the one who had promised to be faithful.
12 So from one man—and he as good as dead—there were born as many as the stars of the sky in number, and as the sand along the edge of the sea, beyond counting.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them from afar and been persuaded of them and embraced them, they confessed that they were strangers and temporary residents on the earth.
14 For those who speak like this make it clear that they are seeking a fatherland.
15 And if they had kept in mind the one they had come out from, they would have had time to turn back.
16 But in fact they desire a better one, that is, a heavenly one. For this reason God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, since he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered up Isaac; he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only begotten son,
18 the one to whom it had been said, "Through Isaac your seed will be named."
19 He reasoned that God could even raise him from the dead, and in a figure, he did receive him back from there.
20 By faith Isaac invoked blessings on Jacob and Esau with regard to things to come.
21 By faith Jacob, at the point of death, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and bowed down in worship upon the head of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, as his life was ending, called to mind the going out of the children of Israel and gave command concerning his bones.
23 By faith Moses, after his birth, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's decree.
24 By faith Moses, once he was grown, declined to be called a son of Pharaoh's daughter,
25 choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to have the brief enjoyment of sin,
26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures in Egypt, for he was looking away to the reward.
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the king's rage, for he stood firm as though he saw the Invisible One.
28 By faith he has kept the Passover and the pouring of the blood, so that the one destroying the firstborn would not touch them.
29 By faith they went through the Red Sea as over dry ground, and the Egyptians, attempting it, were swallowed up.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after being encircled for seven days.
31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish along with the disobedient, because she had given the spies a friendly welcome.
32 And why should I go on? Time would give out if I were to recount Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, David as well, and Samuel and the prophets,
33 who through faith overcame kingdoms, did what was right, won promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 extinguished the power of fire, fled from the edge of the sword, were given strength out of weakness, grew mighty in war, turned back armies of foreigners.
35 Women got their dead back by resurrection; but others were beaten to death, not accepting the release offered them, so that they might attain a better resurrection.
36 Others again experienced mockery and whips, and further, bonds and prison.
37 They were stoned, they were sawn apart, they were tested, they died by the slaughter of the sword; they roamed about in sheepskins and goatskins, in want, in affliction, in ill-treatment—
38 men the world was not worthy of—straying in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in the holes of the earth.
39 And though these all had testimony borne to them through their faith, they did not obtain the promise,
40 since God had provided something better concerning us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.