Lectionary Calendar
Wednesday, October 9th, 2024
the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
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Read the Bible

King James Version

Hebrews 11:2

For by it the elders obtained a good report.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Elder;   Faith;   Thompson Chain Reference - Ancient Heroes;   Battle of Life;   Faith;   Faith-Unbelief;   Heroes, Ancient;   Reputation;   The Topic Concordance - Faith/faithfulness;   Hope;   Substance;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Faith;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Faith;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Self-Denial;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Hebrews;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ethics;   Faith;   Hebrews, Epistle to;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Abel;   Honest;   Noah ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Cherubim;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Jephthah;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Presbyter;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for March 27;  

Parallel Translations

New American Standard Bible (1995)
For by it the men of old gained approval.
Legacy Standard Bible
For by it the men of old gained approval.
Simplified Cowboy Version
Back in the old days, this is what people lived by and that brought a smile to God's face.
Bible in Basic English
For by it our fathers had God's approval.
Darby Translation
For in [the power of] this the elders have obtained testimony.
World English Bible
For by this, the elders obtained testimony.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
Weymouth's New Testament
For by it the saints of old won God's approval.
King James Version (1611)
For by it the Elders obtained a good report.
Literal Translation
For by this the elders obtained witness.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
By it ye Elders were well reported of.
Mace New Testament (1729)
and it was for their faith that our fore-fathers acquired so great a reputation.
Amplified Bible
For by this [kind of] faith the men of old gained [divine] approval.
American Standard Version
For therein the elders had witness borne to them.
Revised Standard Version
For by it the men of old received divine approval.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
By it ye elders were well reported of.
Update Bible Version
For therein the elders had witness borne to them.
Webster's Bible Translation
For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Young's Literal Translation
for in this were the elders testified of;
New Century Version
Faith is the reason we remember great people who lived in the past.
New English Translation
For by it the people of old received God's commendation.
Berean Standard Bible
This is why the ancients were commended.
Contemporary English Version
It was their faith that made our ancestors pleasing to God.
Complete Jewish Bible
It was for this that Scripture attested the merit of the people of old.
English Standard Version
For by it the people of old received their commendation.
Geneva Bible (1587)
For by it our elders were wel reported of.
George Lamsa Translation
And in this way it became a testimonial of the elders.
Christian Standard Bible®
For our ancestors won God's approval by it.
Hebrew Names Version
For by this, the Zakenim obtained testimony.
International Standard Version
For by it our ancestors won approval.Hebrews 11:39;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
And for this was the testimony concerning the elders.
Murdock Translation
And for it the ancients are well testified of.
New King James Version
For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
New Living Translation
Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
New Life Bible
God was pleased with the men who had faith who lived long ago.
English Revised Version
For therein the elders had witness borne to them.
New Revised Standard
Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For, thereby, well-attested were the ancients.
Douay-Rheims Bible
For by this the ancients obtained a testimony.
Lexham English Bible
For by this the people of old were approved.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For by it, the elders obtayned a good report.
Easy-to-Read Version
God was pleased with the people who lived a long time ago because they had faith like this.
New American Standard Bible
For by it the people of old gained approval.
Good News Translation
It was by their faith that people of ancient times won God's approval.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And in this feith elde men han gete witnessyng.

Contextual Overview

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the elders: Hebrews 11:4-39

Reciprocal: Genesis 26:4 - multiply Joshua 2:9 - I know Ecclesiastes 7:1 - name Jeremiah 6:16 - Stand Luke 5:39 - General Acts 10:22 - of good Acts 16:2 - was Acts 22:12 - having Philippians 4:8 - are of Hebrews 11:39 - General Hebrews 12:1 - seeing

Cross-References

Genesis 10:10
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Genesis 11:9
Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Genesis 13:11
Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
Genesis 14:1
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;
Isaiah 11:11
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
Daniel 1:2
And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.
Zechariah 5:11
And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For by it the elders obtained a good report. By whom are meant, not merely old men, or elders in age, but such who lived in ancient times; some before the flood, and to a great age, and others who were in office, civil or ecclesiastical, and were the ancestors and predecessors of the Hebrews; who in general obtained or received a good report from God; that they were the chosen of God, and were justified and accepted with him; that they were the children and friends of God, and should be glorified; and from men, from good men, for their faith and holiness; and from evil men, for their good works: and these also believed the report of the Gospel, and gave a good report of God, and of the good land, and adorned their profession; particularly, Abel received a good report, that he was righteous; and Enoch, that he pleased God, and walked with him; and Noah, that he was a just man, perfect in his generation, and also walked with God; and Abraham, that he was a believer, a friend of God, and one that feared and obeyed him; and Job, that he was a man that feared God, and shunned evil; and Moses, that he was a meek man, and a faithful one; and David, that he was a man after God's own heart, and fulfilled his will; and so others: and they received this report by faith, and as a fruit of it; which shows that faith is no new thing, and that the character of a believer is an old and honourable one. The apostle mentions this, to take off the Hebrews from any esteem of their traditionary elders, who had got a name, not by their faith, but by their traditions; and to engage their imitation of men of antiquity, authority, and wisdom superior to them; and to let them know, unless they had the same faith with their ancestors, it would be a vain thing to boast of descent from them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For by it - That is, by that faith which gives reality to things hoped for, and a certain persuasion to the mind of the existence of those things which are not seen.

The elders - The ancients; the Hebrew patriarchs and fathers.

Obtained a good report - Literally, “were witnessed of;” that is, an honorable testimony was borne to them in consequence of their faith. The idea is, that their acting under the influence of faith, in the circumstances in which they were, was the ground of the honorable testimony which was borne to them in the Old Testament; see this use of the word in Hebrews 7:8, and in Hebrews 7:4 of this chapter. Also Luke 4:22; Acts 15:8. In the cases which the apostle proceeds to enumerate in the subsequent part of the chapter, he mentions those whose piety is particularly commended in the Old Testament, and who showed in trying circumstances that they had unwavering confidence in God.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Hebrews 11:2. For by it the elders obtained a good report. — By the elders are meant ancestors, forefathers, such as the patriarchs and prophets, several of whom he afterwards particularly names, and produces some fact from the history of their lives.

It is very remarkable that among the whole there is root one word concerning poor Adam and his wife, though both Abraham and Sarah are mentioned. There was no good report concerning them; not a word of their repentance, faith, or holiness. Alas! alas! did ever such bright suns set in so thick a cloud? Had there been any thing praiseworthy in their life after their fall, any act of faith by which they could have been distinguished, it had surely come out here; the mention of their second son Abel would have suggested it. But God has covered the whole of their spiritual and eternal state with a thick and impenetrable veil. Conjectures relative to their state would be very precarious; little else than hope can be exercised in their favour: but as to them the promise of Jesus was given, so we may believe they found redemption in that blood which was shed from the foundation of the world. Adam's rebellion against his Maker was too great and too glaring to permit his name to be ever after mentioned with honour or respect.

The word εμαρτυρηθησαν, which we translate obtained a good report, literally signifies, were witnessed of; and thus leads us naturally to GOD, who by his word, as the succeeding parts of the chapter show, bore testimony to the faith and holiness of his servants. The apostle does not mention one of whom an account is not given in the Old Testament. This, therefore, is God's witness or testimony concerning them.


 
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