Hebrews 11:17-31

Contemporary English Version

^17-18^(A)^(B) Abraham had been promised that Isaac, his only son,^[a] would continue his family. But when Abraham was tested, he had faith and was willing to sacrifice Isaac, ¹⁹because he was sure that God could raise people to life. This was just like getting Isaac back from death.

²⁰^(C) Isaac had faith, and he promised blessings to Jacob and Esau. ²¹^(D) Later, when Jacob was about to die, he leaned on his walking stick and worshiped. Then because of his faith he blessed each of Joseph's sons. ²²^(E) And right before Joseph died, he had faith that God would lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. So he told them to take his bones with them.

²³^(F) Because Moses' parents had faith, they kept him hidden until he was three months old. They saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king's orders.^[b] ²⁴^(G) Then after Moses grew up, his faith made him refuse to be called the king's grandson. ²⁵^(H) He chose to be mistreated with God's people instead of having the good time that sin could bring for a little while. ²⁶Moses knew that the treasures of Egypt were not as wonderful as what he would receive from suffering for the Messiah,^[c] and he looked forward to his reward.

²⁷Because of his faith, Moses left Egypt. Moses had seen the invisible God and wasn't afraid of the king's anger. ²⁸^(I) His faith also made him celebrate Passover. He sprinkled the blood of animals on the doorposts, so that the first-born sons of the people of Israel would not be killed by the destroying angel.

²⁹^(J) Because of their faith, the people walked through the Red Sea^[d] on dry land. But when the Egyptians tried to do it, they were drowned.

³⁰^(K) God's people had faith, and when they had walked around the city of Jericho for seven days, its walls fell down.

³¹^(L) Rahab had been a prostitute, but she had faith and welcomed the spies. So she wasn't killed with the people who disobeyed.

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Footnotes

11.17,18 his only son: Although Abraham had a son by a slave woman, his son Isaac was considered his only son, because he was born as a result of God's promise to Abraham.
11.23 the king's orders: The king of Egypt ordered all Israelite baby boys to be left outside of their homes, so they would die or be killed.
11.26 the Messiah: Or “Christ.”
11.29 Red Sea: This name comes from the Bible of the early Christians, a translation made into Greek about 200 b.c. It refers to the body of water that the Israelites crossed and was one of the marshes or fresh water lakes near the eastern part of the Nile Delta, where they lived and where the towns of Exodus 13.17—14.9 were located.