(Genesis 1:1–2; John 1:1–5)
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Now faith is [the] substance of things hoped for, [the] proof of matters not being seen,
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for by this, the elders were well-attested.
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By faith we understand the ages to have been prepared by a saying of God, in regard to the things seen having not come out of things appearing.
The Faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah
(Genesis 1:4–9)
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By faith Abel offered a better sacrifice to God than Cain, through which he was testified to be righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and through it, he being dead, yet speaks.
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By faith Enoch was translated—not to see death, and was not found, because God translated him; for before his translation he had been testified to—that he had pleased God well,
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and apart from faith it is impossible to please [Him], for it is required of him who is coming to God to believe that He exists and [that] He becomes a rewarder to those seeking Him.
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By faith Noah, having been divinely warned concerning the things not yet seen, having feared, prepared an ark to the salvation of his house, through which he condemned the world, and he became heir of the righteousness according to faith.
The Faith of Abraham and Sarah
(Genesis 15:1–22; Romans 4:1–12)
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By faith Abraham, being called, obeyed, to go forth into the place that he was about to receive for an inheritance, and he went forth, not knowing to where he goes.
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By faith he sojourned in the land of the promise as a strange country, having dwelt in dwelling places with Isaac and Jacob, fellow-heirs of the same promise,
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for he was looking for the city having the foundations, whose craftsman and constructor [is] God.
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And by faith Sarah, herself barren, received power to conceive seed even after the time of life, seeing she judged Him who promised faithful;
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for this reason, also, from one—and that of one who had become dead—were begotten as the stars of the sky in multitude, and innumerable as the sand that [is] by the seashore.
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All these died in faith, having not received the promises, but having seen them from afar, and having been persuaded, and having greeted [them], and having confessed that they are strangers and sojourners on the earth,
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for those saying such things make apparent that they seek a country;
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and if, indeed, they had been mindful of that from which they came forth, they might have had an opportunity to return,
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but now they long for better, that is, heavenly, for this reason God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for He prepared a city for them.
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By faith Abraham has offered up Isaac, being tried, even the [one] having received the promises offered up his only begotten,
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of whom it was said, “In Isaac will your Seed be called,”
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reckoning that God is even able to raise up out of the dead, from where also in a figurative sense he received [him].
The Faith of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph
(Genesis 27:1–46)
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By faith, concerning coming things, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.
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By faith Jacob, dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped on the top of his staff.
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By faith Joseph, dying, made mention concerning the outgoing of the sons of Israel, and gave command concerning his bones.
The Faith of Moses
(Exodus 2:1–15; Acts 7:20–22)
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By faith Moses, having been born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw the child beautiful, and were not afraid of the decree of the king.
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By faith Moses, having become great, refused to be called a son of the daughter of Pharaoh,
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having chosen rather to be afflicted with the people of God, than to have sin’s pleasure for a season,
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having reckoned the reproach of the Christ greater wealth than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the repayment of reward.
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By faith he left Egypt behind, having not been afraid of the wrath of the king, for as seeing the Invisible One—he endured.
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By faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, so that He who is destroying the firstborn might not touch them.
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By faith they passed through the Red Sea as through dry land, which having made an attempt [to cross], the Egyptians were swallowed up.
The Faith of Many
(Joshua 2:1–24)
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By faith the walls of Jericho fell, having been surrounded for seven days.
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By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who disbelieved, having received the spies with peace.
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And what yet will I say? For the time will fail me recounting about Gideon, also Barak, and Samson, and Jephthah, also David, and Samuel, and the prophets,
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who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped mouths of lions,
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quenched the power of fire, escaped the mouth of the sword, were made powerful out of weakness, became strong in battle, caused armies of the foreigners to give way;
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women received their dead by a resurrection, and others were tortured, not accepting the redemption, that they might receive a better resurrection,
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and others received trial of mockings and scourgings, and yet of bonds and imprisonment;
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they were stoned, they were sawn apart, they were tried; they died in the killing of the sword; they went around in sheepskins, in goatskins—being destitute, afflicted, injuriously treated,
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of whom the world was not worthy; wandering in deserts, and mountains, and caves, and the holes of the earth;
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and all these, having been testified to through faith, did not receive the promise,
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God, having provided something better for us, that apart from us they might not be made perfect.
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