Hebrews 11:20-12:29

New King James Version

²⁰ By faith ^(A)Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, ^(B)blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

²² By faith ^(C)Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

The Faith of Moses^(D)

²³ By faith ^(E)Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s ^(F)command.

²⁴ By faith ^(G)Moses, 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 ^[a]passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶ esteeming ^(H)the ^[b]reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures ^[c]in Egypt; for he looked to the ^(I)reward.

²⁷ By faith ^(J)he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith ^(K)he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

²⁹ By faith ^(L)they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

By Faith They Overcame

³⁰ By faith ^(M)the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. ³¹ By faith ^(N)the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who ^[d]did not believe, when ^(O)she had received the spies with peace.

³² And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of ^(P)Gideon and ^(Q)Barak and ^(R)Samson and ^(S)Jephthah, also of ^(T)David and ^(U)Samuel and the prophets: ³³ who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, ^(V)stopped the mouths of lions, ^34 (W)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 (X)Women received their dead raised to life again.

Others were ^(Y)tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and ^(Z)of chains and imprisonment. ^37 (AA)They were stoned, they were sawn in two, ^[e]were tempted, were slain with the sword. ^(AB)They wandered about ^(AC)in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, ^(AD)in dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹ And all these, ^(AE)having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, ⁴⁰ God having provided something better for us, that they should not be ^(AF)made perfect apart from us.

The Race of Faith

12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, ^(AG)let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and ^(AH)let us run ^(AI)with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the ^[f]author and ^[g]finisher of our faith, ^(AJ)who for the joy that was set before Him ^(AK)endured the cross, despising the shame, and ^(AL)has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Discipline of God^(AM)

^3 (AN)For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, ^(AO)lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. ^4 (AP)You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. ⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

^7 (AS)If^[i] you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what ^(AT)son is there whom a father does not chasten? ⁸ But if you are without chastening, ^(AU)of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. ⁹ Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to ^(AV)the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, ^(AW)that we may be partakers of His holiness. ¹¹ Now no ^[j]chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields ^(AX)the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Renew Your Spiritual Vitality^(AY)

¹² Therefore ^(AZ)strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, ¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

^14 (BA)Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, ^(BB)without which no one will see the Lord: ¹⁵ looking carefully lest anyone ^(BC)fall short of the grace of God; lest any ^(BD)root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; ¹⁶ lest there be any ^(BE)fornicator or ^[k]profane person like Esau, ^(BF)who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. ¹⁷ For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was ^(BG)rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

The Glorious Company

¹⁸ For you have not come ^[l]to ^(BH)the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and ^[m]darkness and tempest, ¹⁹ and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it ^(BI)begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. ²⁰ (For they could not endure what was commanded: ^(BJ)“And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned ^[n]or shot with an arrow.” ²¹ And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ^(BK)“I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)

²² But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, ²³ to the ^[o]general assembly and church of ^(BL)the firstborn ^(BM)who are registered in heaven, to God ^(BN)the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men ^(BO)made perfect, ²⁴ to Jesus ^(BP)the Mediator of the new covenant, and to ^(BQ)the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things ^(BR)than that of Abel.

Hear the Heavenly Voice

²⁵ See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For ^(BS)if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, ²⁶ whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ^(BT)“Yet once more I ^[p]shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” ²⁷ Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the ^(BU)removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we ^[q]may ^(BV)serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For ^(BW)our God is a consuming fire.