Hebrews 11:15

Simplified Cowboy Version

If they hadn't, they'd have ridden back to the sorry ranch they came from and forgot all about what was to come.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return.

King James Version (1611)
And truly if they had been mindfull of that countrey, from whence they came out, they might haue had opportunitie to haue returned:

King James Version
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

English Standard Version
If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.

New American Standard Bible
And indeed if they had been thinking of that country which they left, they would have had opportunity to return.

New Century Version
If they had been thinking about the country they had left, they could have gone back.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.

Legacy Standard Bible
And indeed if they had been remembering that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.

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

Contemporary English Version
If they had been talking about the land where they had once lived, they could have gone back at any time.

Complete Jewish Bible
Now if they were to keep recalling the one they left, they would have an opportunity to return;

Darby Translation
And if they had called to mind that from whence they went out, they had had opportunity to have returned;

Easy-to-Read Version
If they were thinking about the country they had left, they could have gone back.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And if they had bene mindfull of that countrey, from whence they came out, they had leasure to haue returned.

George Lamsa Translation
And if they had a desire for that very country from which they went out, they had time to return to it again.

Good News Translation
They did not keep thinking about the country they had left; if they had, they would have had the chance to return.

Lexham English Bible
And if they remember that land from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.

Literal Translation
And truly if they remembered that from which they came out, they had time to return.

Amplified Bible
And if they had been thinking of that country from which they departed [as their true home], they would have had [a continuing] opportunity to return.

American Standard Version
And if indeed they had been mindful of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.

Bible in Basic English
And truly if they had kept in mind the country from which they went out, they would have had chances of turning back.

Hebrew Names Version
If indeed they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had enough time to return.

International Standard Version
If they had been thinking about what they had left behind, they would have had an opportunity to go back.

Etheridge Translation
But if that city from which they had gone out they desired, they had opportunity to return and go to it.

Murdock Translation
But if they had been seeking that city from which they came out, they had opportunity to return again and go to it.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Also yf they had ben myndfull of that [countrey] from whence they came out, they had leasure to haue returned:

English Revised Version
And if indeed they had been mindful of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.

World English Bible
If indeed they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had enough time to return.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And truly if they had been mindful of that from which they came out, they might have had opportunity to return.

Weymouth's New Testament
And if they had cherished the remembrance of the country they had left, they would have found an opportunity to return;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
`If thei hadden hadde mynde of the ilke, of which thei wenten out, thei hadden tyme of turnyng ayen;

Update Bible Version
And if indeed they had been mindful of that [country] from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.

Webster's Bible Translation
And truly, if they had been mindful of that [country] from whence they came, they might have had opportunity to return.

New English Translation
In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.

New King James Version
And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.

New Living Translation
If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.

New Life Bible
They did not think about the country they had come from. If they had, they might have gone back.

New Revised Standard
If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, if indeed of that they had been mindful, from which they had come out, they might, in that case, have had an opportunity, to return;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And truly, if they had been mindful of that from whence they came out, they had doubtless, time to return.

Revised Standard Version
If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Also yf they had bene myndfull of that countre from whence they came oute they had leasure to have returned agayne.

Young's Literal Translation
and if, indeed, they had been mindful of that from which they came forth, they might have had an opportunity to return,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And doutles yf they had bene myndefull off that countre from whence they came out, they had leysure to haue returned agayne.

Mace New Testament (1729)
and truly, if that had been in their view, they might have had an opportunity of returning to the place from whence they came.

Contextual Overview

⁴It was Abel's heapin' of faith that helped him bring a sacrifice to God that was worthy of what it was supposed to be. Cain's was not. Abel's sacrifice showed his faith in God and God showed his approval. Even though Abel has long been in the grave, his example still speaks. ⁵It was because Enoch had a heapin' of faith that he was taken up to heaven without dying. Before he left, he had a reputation as being someone God admired. ⁶You can't please the Boss without a heapin' of faith, because in order to knock on his door you must believe that he's there and he surely gives favors to those who know where to look and who to ask. ⁷It was by a heapin' of faith that Noah built him a big boat for his family to ride out the storm that wiped everyone else out. It was as simple as listening to God and doing what he said—even though no one had even heard of such a thing happening before. Noah's faith was the dividing line between who was saved and who was lost. ⁸It was by a heapin' of faith that Abraham saddled up and rode off to new country like God told him to. God said there was a great inheritance waitin' on him. He rode off without a clue as to where he was going. ⁹Even when he rode in to the new country, he lived there purely by faith in their cowboy teepees. Same goes for his kids, Isaac and Jake. They received the same promise their daddy had. ¹⁰But what ol' Abe was really waiting on was a city with foundations that would last forever built by God's own hands. ¹¹It was by a heapin' of faith that Abe's wife Sarah was able to have a kid. She was way too long in the tooth and she was dry to boot. A child had to come from God and she believed that God keeps his word. ¹²A whole new nation came from one old cowboy with one foot in the grave. This new people, God's own people, numbered more than the rocks in the rivers and the stars in the sky. You couldn't have counted them any easier than counting every blade of grass in a hundred years' worth of hay bales. ¹³All of them died, but they died with God's promise of a better life on their lips. They didn't get it in their lifetime, but they got to see it and it made them glad. They knew they were just day hands on this earth and that their home was in the next life.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

mindful: Genesis 11:31, Genesis 12:10, Genesis 24:6-8, Genesis 31:18, Genesis 32:9-11

Reciprocal: Genesis 30:25 - and to Numbers 14:4 - General Isaiah 51:13 - feared

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And truly if they had been mindful of that country,.... Chaldea, which was Abraham's country:

from whence they came out; as Abraham and Sarah did, in person, and their posterity in them:

they might have had opportunity to have returned: for the way from Canaan or Egypt, where they sojourned, was short and easy: and though Abraham sent his servant thither to take a wife for his son Isaac, yet he would not go thither himself, nor suffer his son; nay, made his servant swear that he would not bring him thither, if even the woman should refuse to come; so unmindful was he of that country; so little did he regard it; yea, so much did he despise it: so when men are called by grace, and converted, they come out of a country, this world, which is a land of sin and iniquity, of great folly and ignorance, of darkness, and of the shadow of death; a desert, a mere wilderness; a country where Satan reigns, full of wicked and ungodly men; and which is the land of their nativity, as to their first birth: and they may be said to come out of it, not in a natural and civil sense, but in a spiritual one; and it is the character of a converted man, or one that is come out of the world, and is separated from it, to be unmindful of it; not so as not to consider from whence he came out, as owing to rich grace; nor so as not to lament the iniquities of it; nor so as not to pray for the conversion of the inhabitants of it; but he is unmindful of it, so as to be desirous of the company of the men of it, or to have the affections set upon it, and the heart tickled with the pleasures of it, or so as to desire to return to it, for which there is a great deal of reason: for this country is not worth minding; and there is much in it to set a gracious mind against it; a good man has better things to mind; and it is below, and unworthy of a Christian, to mind the world; and besides, worldly mindedness is attended with bad consequences. Moreover, though the saints have opportunities of returning, yet they do not; they are near it, and the country they are seeking is afar off: many things in it are alluring and ensnaring; a corrupt and deceitful heart often lingers after them, and Satan is not wanting to tempt unto, and by them. And yet they do not return; some that bear the name of Christians, but are not truly such, may wholly return, and never come back more; and true believers may strangely go back again in some instances; but they shall not return finally and totally: for they are held and drawn with the cords of love; they are in the hands of Christ, and are secured in the covenant of grace; they are returned to Christ, in the effectual calling, who will keep them; they are of the household of God, and shall be no more foreigners; should they return in such sense, they would be condemned with the world, which cannot be.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And truly if they had been mindful of that country ... - If they had remembered it with sufficient interest and affection to have made them desirous to return.

They might have had opportunity to have returned - The journey was not so long or perilous that they could not have retraced their steps. It would have been no more difficult or dangerous for them to do that than it was to make the journey at first. This shows that their remaining as strangers and sojourners in the land of Canaan was voluntary. They preferred it, with all its inconveniences and hardships, to a return to their native land. The same thing is true of all the people of God now. If they choose to return to the world, and to engage again in all its vain pursuits, there is nothing to hinder them. There are “opportunities” enough. There are abundant inducements held out. There are numerous frivolous and worldly friends who would regard it as a matter of joy and triumph to have them return to vanity and folly again. They would welcome them to their society; rejoice to have them participate in their pleasures; and be willing that they should share in the honors and the wealth of the world. And they might do it. There are multitudes of Christians who could grace, as they once did, the ball-room: who could charm the social party by song and wit; who could rise to the highest posts of office, or compete successfully with others in the race for the acquisition of fame. They have seen and tasted enough of the vain pursuits of the world to satisfy them with their vanity; they are convinced of the sinfulness of making these things the great objects of living; their affections are now fixed on higher and nobler objects, and they “choose” not to return to those pursuits again, but to live as strangers and sojourners on the earth - for there is nothing more “voluntary” than religion.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 15. If they had been mindful of that country — They considered their right to the promises of God as dependent on their utter renunciation of Chaldea; and it was this that induced Abraham to cause his steward Eliezer to swear that he would not carry his son Isaac to Chaldea; see Genesis 24:5-8. There idolatry reigned; and God had called them to be the patriarchs and progenitors of a people among whom the knowledge of the true God, and the worship required by him, should be established and preserved.