Hebrews 11:20

THE MESSAGE

By an act of faith, Isaac reached into the future as he blessed Jacob and Esau.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

King James Version (1611)
By faith Isaac blessed Iacob and Esau concerning things to come.

King James Version
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

English Standard Version
By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.

New American Standard Bible
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.

New Century Version
It was by faith that Isaac blessed the future of Jacob and Esau.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.

Legacy Standard Bible
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.

Berean Standard Bible
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.

Contemporary English Version
Isaac had faith, and he promised blessings to Jacob and Esau.

Complete Jewish Bible
By trusting, Yitz'chak in his blessings over Ya‘akov and Esav made reference to events yet to come.

Darby Translation
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

Easy-to-Read Version
Isaac blessed the future of Jacob and Esau. He did that because he had faith.

Geneva Bible (1587)
By faith Isaac blessed Iacob and Esau, concerning things to come.

George Lamsa Translation
By faith in the things to come Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.

Good News Translation
It was faith that made Isaac promise blessings for the future to Jacob and Esau.

Lexham English Bible
By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things that were going to happen.

Literal Translation
By faith concerning things to come Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.

Amplified Bible
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau [believing what God revealed to him], even regarding things to come.

American Standard Version
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come.

Bible in Basic English
By faith Isaac, blessing Jacob and Esau, gave news of things to come.

Hebrew Names Version
By faith, Yitzchak blessed Ya`akov and Esav, even concerning things to come.

International Standard Version
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.Genesis 27:27,39;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
By faith in that which was to come, Ishok blessed Jakub and Isu.

Murdock Translation
By faith in what was to be, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
By fayth did Isaac blesse Iacob and Esau, concernyng thynges to come.

English Revised Version
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come.

World English Bible
By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, concerning things to come.

Weymouth's New Testament
Through faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even in connexion with things soon to come.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Bi feith also of thingis to comynge, Ysaac blesside Jacob and Esau.

Update Bible Version
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come.

Webster's Bible Translation
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

New English Translation
By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.

New King James Version
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

New Living Translation
It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.

New Life Bible
Because Isaac had faith, he said that good would come to Jacob and Esau in the future.

New Revised Standard
By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
By faith, even concerning things to come, did Isaac bless Jacob and Esau.

Douay-Rheims Bible
By faith also of things to come Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.

Revised Standard Version
By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
In fayth Isaac blessed Iacob and Esau concerninge thinges to come.

Young's Literal Translation
By faith, concerning coming things, Isaac did bless Jacob and Esau;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
By faith Isaac blessed Iacob and Esau, concernynge thinges to come.

Mace New Testament (1729)
By faith Isaac predicted the future fortunes of Jacob and Esau.

Simplified Cowboy Version
It was through a heapin' of faith that Isaac blessed his sons, Jake and Esau.

Contextual Overview

⁴ By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That's what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice. ⁵By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. "They looked all over and couldn't find him because God had taken him." We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken "he pleased God." It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. ⁷ By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn't see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God. ⁸By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God's call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God. ¹¹By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said. That's how it happened that from one man's dead and shriveled loins there are now people numbering into the millions. ¹³Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that—heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them. ¹⁷By faith, Abraham, at the time of testing, offered Isaac back to God. Acting in faith, he was as ready to return the promised son, his only son, as he had been to receive him—and this after he had already been told, "Your descendants shall come from Isaac." Abraham figured that if God wanted to, he could raise the dead. In a sense, that's what happened when he received Isaac back, alive from off the altar. ²⁰ By an act of faith, Isaac reached into the future as he blessed Jacob and Esau. ²¹ By an act of faith, Jacob on his deathbed blessed each of Joseph's sons in turn, blessing them with God's blessing, not his own—as he bowed worshipfully upon his staff. ²² By an act of faith, Joseph, while dying, prophesied the exodus of Israel, and made arrangements for his own burial.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Genesis 27:27-40, Genesis 28:2, Genesis 28:3

Reciprocal: Genesis 27:4 - that my Genesis 27:23 - he blessed Genesis 27:28 - of the dew Genesis 27:33 - yea Genesis 27:39 - Behold Numbers 6:23 - General Hebrews 7:7 - the less

Gill's Notes on the Bible

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau,.... The history of this is in Genesis 27:33. The former of these was a good man, and, though the youngest son, he is set before, and was blessed before the eldest; and the latter was a wicked man, and yet had a blessing; for temporal blessings are enjoyed in common: and this blessing was prophetic, it was concerning things to come. Jacob's blessing was plenty of temporal things, and under which may be signified the dews of divine grace, the fatness of God's house, the bread of life, and wine of divine love, which true Israelites partake of; also dominion over his brother, and government over nations, which had their accomplishment in his posterity; and may be expressive of the spiritual reign of the saints, and their dominion, by grace; and of the kingdom that shall hereafter be put to their hands; and of the extensiveness of Christ's kingdom in the latter day, who was to spring front him. Esau's blessings were merely temporal ones, and respected things future, which were fulfilled in his posterity; and these several blessings Isaac pronounced upon them by faith, believing they would be bestowed upon them; and so his faith answered to the account of faith in Hebrews 11:1. It may be asked, how Isaac can be said to have blessed Jacob by faith, when he was deceived by him? It is certain he took him to be Esau, when he blessed him, wherefore it was not the design of Isaac, though it was the will of God that he should bless him, Genesis 27:18, but yet notwithstanding this, Isaac might do it in faith, believing that the person he blessed would be blessed, though he was mistaken in him; and which he confirmed when he did know him, Genesis 27:33 to which the apostle may have respect; and besides, he blessed him after this,

Genesis 28:1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come - see Genesis 27:26-40. The meaning is, that he pronounced a blessing on them in respect to their future condition. This was by faith in God who had communicated it to him, and in full confidence that he would accomplish all that was here predicted. The act of faith here was simply what believes that all that God says is true. There were no human probabilities at the time when these prophetic announcements were made, which could have been the basis of his calculation, but all that he said must have rested merely on the belief that God had revealed it to him. A blessing was pronounced on each, of a very different nature, but Isaac had no doubt that both would be fulfilled.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 20. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau — He believed that God would fulfil his promise to his posterity; and God gave him to see what would befall them in their future generations. The apostle does not seem to intimate that one should be an object of the Divine hatred, and the other of Divine love, in reference to their eternal states. This is wholly a discovery of later ages. For an ample consideration of this subject, see the notes on Genesis 27:0.