1 Ora, a fé é a certeza daquilo que esperamos e a prova das coisas que não vemos.

2 Pois foi por meio dela que os antigos receberam bom testemunho.

3 Pela fé entendemos que o universo foi formado pela palavra de Deus, de modo que o que se vê não foi feito do que é visível.

4 Pela fé Abel ofereceu a Deus um sacrifício superior ao de Caim. Pela fé ele foi reconhecido como justo, quando Deus aprovou as suas ofertas. Embora esteja morto, por meio da fé ainda fala.

5 Pela fé Enoque foi arrebatado, de modo que não experimentou a morte; "ele já não foi encontrado porque Deus o havia arrebatado", pois antes de ser arrebatado recebeu testemunho de que tinha agradado a Deus.

6 Sem fé é impossível agradar a Deus, pois quem dele se aproxima precisa crer que ele existe e que recompensa aqueles que o buscam.

7 Pela fé Noé, quando avisado a respeito de coisas que ainda não se viam, movido por santo temor, construiu uma arca para salvar sua família. Por meio da fé ele condenou o mundo e tornou-se herdeiro da justiça que é segundo a fé.

8 Pela fé Abraão, quando chamado, obedeceu e dirigiu-se a um lugar que mais tarde receberia como herança, embora não soubesse para onde estava indo.

9 Pela fé peregrinou na terra prometida como se estivesse em terra estranha; viveu em tendas, bem como Isaque e Jacó, co-herdeiros da mesma promessa.

10 Pois ele esperava a cidade que tem alicerces, cujo arquiteto e edificador é Deus.

11 Pela fé, Abraão — e também a própria Sara, apesar de estéril e avançada em idade — recebeu poder para gerar um filho, porque considerou fiel aquele que lhe havia feito a promessa.

12 Assim, daquele homem já sem vitalidade originaram-se descendentes tão numerosos como as estrelas do céu e tão incontáveis como a areia da praia do mar.

13 Todos estes ainda viveram pela fé, e morreram sem receber o que tinha sido prometido; viram-nas de longe e de longe as saudaram, reconhecendo que eram estrangeiros e peregrinos na terra.

14 Os que assim falam mostram que estão buscando uma pátria.

15 Se estivessem pensando naquela de onde saíram, teriam oportunidade de voltar.

16 Em vez disso, esperavam eles uma pátria melhor, isto é, a pátria celestial. Por essa razão Deus não se envergonha de ser chamado o Deus deles, pois preparou-lhes uma cidade.

17 Pela fé Abraão, quando Deus o pôs à prova, ofereceu Isaque como sacrifício. Aquele que havia recebido as promessas estava a ponto de sacrificar o seu único filho,

18 embora Deus lhe tivesse dito: "Por meio de Isaque a sua descendência será considerada".

19 Abraão levou em conta que Deus pode ressuscitar os mortos; e, figuradamente, recebeu Isaque de volta dentre os mortos.

20 Pela fé Isaque abençoou Jacó e Esaú com respeito ao futuro deles.

21 Pela fé Jacó, à beira da morte, abençoou cada um dos filhos de José e adorou a Deus, apoiado na extremidade do seu bordão.

22 Pela fé José, no fim da vida, fez menção do êxodo dos israelitas do Egito e deu instruções acerca dos seus próprios ossos.

23 Pela fé Moisés, recém-nascido, foi escondido durante três meses por seus pais, pois estes viram que ele não era uma criança comum, e não temeram o decreto do rei.

24 Pela fé Moisés, já adulto, recusou ser chamado filho da filha do faraó,

25 preferindo ser maltratado com o povo de Deus a desfrutar os prazeres do pecado durante algum tempo.

26 Por amor de Cristo, considerou a desonra riqueza maior do que os tesouros do Egito, porque contemplava a sua recompensa.

27 Pela fé saiu do Egito, não temendo a ira do rei, e perseverou, porque via aquele que é invisível.

28 Pela fé celebrou a Páscoa e fez a aspersão do sangue, para que o destruidor não tocasse nos fihos mais velhos dos israelitas.

29 Pela fé o povo atravessou o mar Vermelho como em terra seca; mas, quando os egípcios tentaram fazê-lo, morreram afogados.

30 Pela fé caíram os muros de Jericó, depois de serem rodeados durante sete dias.

31 Pela fé a prostituta Raabe, por ter acolhido os espiões, não foi morta com os que haviam sido desobedientes.

32 Que mais direi? Não tenho tempo para falar de Gideão, Baraque, Sansão, Jefté, Davi, Samuel e os profetas,

33 os quais pela fé conquistaram reinos, praticaram a justiça, alcançaram o cumprimento de promessas, fecharam a boca de leões,

34 apagaram o poder do fogo e escaparam do fio da espada; da fraqueza tiraram força, tornaram-se poderosos na batalha e puseram em fuga exércitos estrangeiros.

35 Houve mulheres que, pela ressurreição, tiveram de volta os seus mortos. Alguns foram torturados e recusaram ser libertados, para poderem alcançar uma ressurreição superior.

36 Outros enfrentaram zombaria e açoites, outros ainda foram acorrentados e colocados na prisão,

37 apedrejados, serrados ao meio, postos à prova, mortos ao fio da espada. Andaram errantes, vestidos de pele de ovelhas e de cabras, necessitados, afligidos e maltratados.

38 O mundo não era digno deles. Vagaram pelos desertos e montes, pelas cavernas e grutas.

39 Todos estes receberam bom testemunho por meio da fé; no entanto, nenhum deles recebeu o que havia sido prometido.

40 Deus havia planejado algo melhor para nós, para que conosco fossem eles aperfeiçoados.

1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

3 By 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.

4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience 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.

6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.

10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she "considered him faithful who had made the promise.

12 And so from this 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.

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.

14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.

15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.

16 Instead, 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.

17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,

18 even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." [^3]

19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

23 By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. [^4]

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets,

33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,

34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.

36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

37 They were put to death by stoning; "they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated —

38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised,

40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.