| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. | 1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. |
| 2This is why the ancients were commended. | 2For by it the people of old received God's commendation. |
| 3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. | 3By faith we understand that the worlds were set in order at God's command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible. |
| 4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. | 4By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith he was commended as righteous, because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith he still speaks, though he is dead. |
| 5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. | 5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was not to be found because God took him up. For before his removal he had been commended as having pleased God. |
| 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. | 6Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. |
| 7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. | 7By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen, with reverent regard constructed an ark for the deliverance of his family. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. |
| 8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. | 8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going. |
| 9By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. | 9By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise. |
| 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. | 10For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God. |
| 11By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised. | 11By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, he received the ability to procreate, because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. |
| 12And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. | 12So in fact children were fathered by one man--and this one as good as dead--like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore. |
| 13All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. | 13These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth. |
| 14Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. | 14For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. |
| 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. | 15In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. |
| 16Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. | 16But as it is, they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. |
| 17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son, | 17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He had received the promises, yet he was ready to offer up his only son. |
| 18even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” | 18God had told him, "Through Isaac descendants will carry on your name," |
| 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death. | 19and he reasoned that God could even raise him from the dead, and in a sense he received him back from there. |
| 20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. | 20By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. |
| 21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. | 21By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped as he leaned on his staff. |
| 22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones. | 22By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave instructions about his burial. |
| 23By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were unafraid of the king’s edict. | 23By faith, when Moses was born, his parents hid him for three months, because they saw the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king's edict. |
| 24By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. | 24By faith, when he grew up, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, |
| 25He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. | 25choosing rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to enjoy sin's fleeting pleasure. |
| 26He valued disgrace for Christ above the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward. | 26He regarded abuse suffered for Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on the reward. |
| 27By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible. | 27By faith he left Egypt without fearing the king's anger, for he persevered as though he could see the one who is invisible. |
| 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel’s own firstborn. | 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the one who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. |
| 29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned. | 29By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry ground, but when the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up. |
| 30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. | 30By faith the walls of Jericho fell after the people marched around them for seven days. |
| 31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient. | 31By faith Rahab the prostitute escaped the destruction of the disobedient, because she welcomed the spies in peace. |
| 32And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, | 32And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. |
| 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, | 33Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, |
| 34quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight. | 34quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, |
| 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. | 35and women received back their dead raised to life. But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life. |
| 36Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. | 36And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. |
| 37They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. | 37They were stoned, sawed apart, murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated |
| 38The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground. | 38(the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth. |
| 39These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. | 39And these all were commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. |
| 40God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect. | 40For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us. |
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