1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of realities not seen.
2. For by it the elders received commendation.
3. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen did not come from anything visible.
4. By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain. Through faith he was commended as righteous when God approved of his gifts. And through faith he still speaks, although he is dead.
5. By faith Enoch was taken so as not to see death, and he was not found because God took him. For before he was taken, he was commended as pleasing to God.
6. Now without faith it is impossible to please God. For the one who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
7. By faith Noah, when warned about events not yet seen, in holy fear prepared an ark for the safety of his household. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he was to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going.
9. By faith he migrated to the land of promise as if it were foreign, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob—fellow heirs of the same promise.
10. For he was waiting for the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive when she was barren and past the age, since she considered the One who had made the promise to be faithful.
12. So from one—and him as good as dead—were fathered offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and as uncountable as the sand on the seashore.
13. These all died in faith without receiving the things promised—but they saw them and welcomed them from afar, and they confessed that they were strangers and sojourners on the earth.
14. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.