Recounting History
Joshua 24
2 And Joshua
said to all the people, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago
your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates
and served other gods. 3 Then
I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I
gave him Isaac; 4 and
to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.
5 Then I sent Moses
and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt
with what I did in its midst; and afterwards I brought you out. 6 When I brought your
ancestors out of Egypt, you
came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and
horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 When they cried out to the
Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea come upon
them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. Afterwards you lived in the
wilderness a long time. 8 Then
I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan;
they fought with you, and I handed them over to you, and you took possession of
their land, and I destroyed them before you. 9 Then King Balak son of Zippor of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent and invited Balaam
son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed
you; so I rescued you out of his hand. 11 When you went over the Jordan
and came to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against
you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the
Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I
handed them over to you. 12 I
sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove out before you the two kings of the
Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and
towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of
vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plant.
1 Sam 12
(Samuel)
8 When Jacob
went into Egypt and the
Egyptians oppressed them, then your ancestors cried to the Lord and the Lord
sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your ancestors out of Egypt, and settled them in this
place. 9 But they
forgot the Lord their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of King Jabin
of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and
into the hand of the king of Moab;
and they fought against them. 10 Then
they cried to the Lord, and said, "We have sinned, because we have
forsaken the Lord, and have served the Baals and the Astartes; but now rescue us out of the hand of our enemies,
and we will serve you.' 11 And
the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak, and Jephthah, and Samson, and rescued you out of the hand of
your enemies on every side; and you lived in safety. 12 But when you saw that King Nahash
of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, "No, but a king shall
reign over us,' though the Lord your God was your king.
Neh 9
7 Thou art
the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest
him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; 8 And foundest his heart
faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him
to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites,
and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed,
and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous: 9 And didst see the
affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest
their cry by the Red sea; 10 And
shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all
his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest
that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is
this day. 11 And
thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of
the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest
into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters. 12 Moreover thou leddest them
in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give
them light in the way wherein they should go. 13 Thou camest down also upon
mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes
and commandments: 14 And
madest known unto them thy holy sabbath,
and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by
the hand of Moses thy servant: 15 And
gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their
thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to
possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
16 But they and our
fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy
commandments, 17 And
refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among
them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return
to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest
them not. 18 Yea,
when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought
thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; 19 Yet thou in thy manifold
mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the
pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way;
neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them
light, and the way wherein they should go. 20 Thou gavest also thy good
spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy
manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for
their thirst. 21 Yea,
forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing;
their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. 22 Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them
into corners: so they possessed the land
of Sihon,
and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og
king of Bashan. 23 Their children also multipliedst
thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into
the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to
their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. 24 So the children went in and possessed the land, and
thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the
land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their
hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with
them as they would. 25 And
they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all
goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat,
and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great
goodness. 26 Nevertheless
they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their
backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee,
and they wrought great provocations. 27 Therefore
thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies,
who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee,
thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy
manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours,
who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. 28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before
thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of
their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned,
and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven;
and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; 29 And testifiedst
against them, that thou mightest bring them again
unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments,
but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;)
and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. 30 Yet many years didst thou
forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy
spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. 31 Nevertheless for thy great
mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou
art a gracious and merciful God.
Psalm78
12 In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels in
the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. 13 He
divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a
heap. 14 In the
daytime he led them with a cloud, and all night long with a fiery light. 15 He split rocks open in the
wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. 16 He made streams come out
of the rock, and caused waters to flow down like rivers. 17 Yet they sinned still more
against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. 18 They tested God in their
heart by demanding the food they craved. 19 They spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a
table in the wilderness? 20 Even
though he struck the rock so that water gushed out and torrents overflowed, can
he also give bread, or provide meat for his people?" 21 Therefore, when the Lord
heard, he was full of rage; a fire was kindled against Jacob, his anger mounted
against Israel,
22 because they had
no faith in God, and did not trust his saving power. 23 Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors
of heaven; 24 he
rained down on them manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven. 25 Mortals ate of the bread
of angels; he sent them food in abundance. 26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by
his power he led out the south wind; 27 he
rained flesh upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas; 28 he let them fall within
their camp, all around their dwellings. 29 And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them
what they craved. 30 But
before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their
mouths, 31 the anger
of God rose against them and he killed the strongest of them, and laid low the
flower of Israel.
32 In spite of all
this they still sinned; they did not believe in his wonders. 33 So he made their days
vanish like a breath, and their years in terror. 34 When he killed them, they sought for him; they
repented and sought God earnestly. 35 They
remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer. 36 But they flattered him
with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. 37 Their heart was not
steadfast toward him; they were not true to his covenant. 38 Yet he, being
compassionate, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them; often he
restrained his anger, and did not stir up all his wrath. 39 He remembered that they
were but flesh, a wind that passes and does not come again. 40 How often they rebelled
against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert! 41 They tested God again and
again, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not keep in mind his power, or the day when
he redeemed them from the foe; 43 when
he displayed his signs in Egypt,
and his miracles in the fields of Zoan. 44 He turned their rivers to
blood, so that they could not drink of their streams. 45 He sent among them swarms
of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them. 46 He gave their crops to the
caterpillar, and the fruit of their labor to the locust. 47 He destroyed their vines
with hail, and their sycamores with frost. 48 He gave over their cattle to the hail, and their
flocks to thunderbolts. 49 He
let loose on them his fierce anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company
of destroying angels. 50 He
made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their
lives over to the plague. 51 He
struck all the firstborn in Egypt,
the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham. 52 Then he led out his people
like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. 53 He led them in safety, so
that they were not afraid; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 54 And he brought them to his
holy hill, to the mountain that his right hand had won. 55 He drove out nations
before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel
in their tents. 56 Yet
they tested the Most High God, and rebelled against him. They did not observe
his decrees, 57 but
turned away and were faithless like their ancestors; they twisted like a
treacherous bow. 58 For
they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy
with their idols. 59 When
God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel. 60 He abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mortals, 61 and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the
hand of the foe. 62 He
gave his people to the sword, and vented his wrath on his heritage. 63 Fire devoured their young
men, and their girls had no marriage song. 64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made
no lamentation. 65 Then
the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a warrior shouting because of wine. 66 He put his adversaries to
rout; he put them to everlasting disgrace. 67 He rejected the tent of Joseph, he did not choose the
tribe of Ephraim; 68 but
he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loves. 69 He built his sanctuary
like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever. 70 He chose his servant
David, and took him from the sheepfolds; 71 from tending the nursing ewes he brought him to be the
shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel, his inheritance. 72 With upright heart he
tended them, and guided them with skillful hand.
Psalm 105
8 He
is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a
thousand generations, 9 the
covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, 10 which he confirmed to
Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 saying, "To you I
will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance." 12 When they were few in
number, of little account, and strangers in it, 13 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another
people, 14 he
allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, 15 saying, "Do not touch
my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm." 16 When he summoned famine against the land, and broke
every staff of bread, 17 he
had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 18 His feet were hurt with
fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron; 19 until what he had said came to pass, the word of the
Lord kept testing him. 20 The
king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free. 21 He made him lord of his
house, and ruler of all his possessions, 22 to instruct his officials at his pleasure, and to
teach his elders wisdom. 23 Then
Israel came to Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham. 24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful, and made
them stronger than their foes, 25 whose
hearts he then turned to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants. 26 He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron whom he had chosen. 27 They
performed his signs among them, and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness,
and made the land dark; they rebelled against his words. 29 He turned their waters
into blood, and caused their fish to die. 30 Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of
their kings. 31 He spoke,
and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country. 32 He gave them hail for
rain, and lightning that flashed through their land. 33 He struck their vines and fig trees, and shattered the
trees of their country. 34 He
spoke, and the locusts came, and young locusts without number; 35 they devoured all the
vegetation in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground. 36 He struck down all the
firstborn in their land, the first issue of all their strength. 37 Then he brought Israel
out with silver and gold, and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it. 39 He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give
light by night. 40 They
asked, and he brought quails, and gave them food from heaven in abundance. 41 He opened the rock, and
water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river. 42 For he remembered his holy
promise, and Abraham, his servant. 43 So
he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing. 44 He gave them the lands of
the nations, and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples, 45 that they might keep his
statutes and observe his laws. Praise the Lord!
Psalm 106
Our
ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wonderful works; they did not remember the abundance of
your steadfast love, but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea. 8 Yet
he saved them for his name's sake, so that he might make known his mighty
power. 9 He rebuked
the Red Sea, and it became dry; he led them
through the deep as through a desert. 10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe, and
delivered them from the hand of the enemy. 11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them
was left. 12 Then
they believed his words; they sang his praise. 13 But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for
his counsel. 14 But
they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the
desert; 15 he gave
them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them. 16 They were jealous of Moses
in the camp, and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord. 17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and covered the faction of Abiram. 18 Fire also broke out in
their company; the flame burned up the wicked. 19 They made a calf at Horeb
and worshiped a cast image. 20 They
exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. 21 They forgot God, their
Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in
the land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. 23 Therefore he said he would
destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to
turn away his wrath from destroying them. 24 Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith
in his promise. 25 They
grumbled in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the Lord. 26 Therefore he raised his
hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness, 27 and would disperse their
descendants among the nations, scattering them over the lands. 28 Then they attached themselves
to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to
the dead; 29 they
provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and interceded, and the plague was
stopped. 31 And that
has been reckoned to him as righteousness from generation to generation
forever. 32 They
angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah, and it
went ill with Moses on their account; 33 for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke words
that were rash.
34 They
did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them, 35 but they mingled with the
nations and learned to do as they did. 36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed
their sons and their daughters to the demons; 38 they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their
sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
and the land was polluted with blood. 39 Thus they became unclean by their acts, and
prostituted themselves in their doings. 40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his
people, and he abhorred his heritage; 41 he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that
those who hated them ruled over them. 42 Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought
into subjection under their power. 43 Many
times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes, and were
brought low through their iniquity. 44 Nevertheless
he regarded their distress when he heard their cry. 45 For their sake he remembered his covenant, and showed
compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 46 He caused them to be
pitied by all who held them captive.
Psalm 136
5 who by understanding made the heavens, for his
steadfast love endures forever; 6 who
spread out the earth on the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever; 7 who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever; 8 the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love
endures forever; 9 the
moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever; 10 who struck Egypt through
their firstborn, for his steadfast love endures forever; 11 and brought Israel out
from among them, for his steadfast love endures forever; 12 with a strong hand and an
outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures forever; 13 who divided the Red Sea in
two, for his steadfast love endures forever; 14 and made Israel pass through the midst of it, for his
steadfast love endures forever; 15 but
overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for his steadfast love endures
forever; 16 who led
his people through the wilderness, for his steadfast love endures forever; 17 who struck down great
kings, for his steadfast love endures forever; 18 and killed famous kings, for his steadfast love
endures forever; 19 Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his steadfast love endures
forever; 20 and Og, king of Bashan, for his steadfast love endures forever;
21 and gave their
land as a heritage, for his steadfast love endures forever; 22 a heritage to his servant
Israel, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Acts 7
2 And Stephen replied: "Brothers and fathers,
listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in
Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
3 and said to him,
"Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show
you.' 4 Then he left
the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him
move from there to this country in which you are now living. 5 He did not give him any of
it as a heritage, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as
his possession and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child. 6 And God spoke in these
terms, that his descendants would be resident aliens in a country belonging to
others, who would enslave them and mistreat them during four hundred years. 7 "But I will judge the
nation that they serve,' said God, "and after that they shall come out and
worship me in this place.' 8 Then
he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of
Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of
Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. 9 "The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into
Egypt; but God was with him, 10 and
rescued him from all his afflictions, and enabled him to win favor and to show
wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler
over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan,
and great suffering, and our ancestors could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that
there was grain in Egypt,
he sent our ancestors there on their first visit. 13 On the second visit Joseph made himself known to his
brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14 Then Joseph sent and
invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five in
all; 15 so Jacob
went down to Egypt.
He himself died there as well as our ancestors, 16 and their bodies were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a
sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. 17 "But
as the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to
Abraham, our people in Egypt
increased and multiplied 18 until
another king who had not known Joseph ruled over Egypt. 19 He dealt craftily with our race and forced our
ancestors to abandon their infants so that they would die. 20 At this time Moses was
born, and he was beautiful before God. For three months he was brought up in
his father's house; 21 and
when he was abandoned, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her
own son. 22 So Moses
was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his words
and deeds. 23 "When
he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his relatives, the
Israelites. 24 When
he saw one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him
by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He
supposed that his kinsfolk would understand that God through him was rescuing
them, but they did not understand. 26 The
next day he came to some of them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile
them, saying, "Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong each other?' 27 But the man who was
wronging his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying, "Who made you a ruler
and a judge over us? 28 Do
you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?' 29 When he heard this, Moses
fled and became a resident alien in the land of Midian.
There he became the father of two sons. 30 "Now
when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was
amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the
Lord: 32 "I am
the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses began
to tremble and did not dare to look. 33 Then
the Lord said to him, "Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place
where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who
are in Egypt
and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I
will send you to Egypt.'
35 "It was this
Moses whom they rejected when they said, "Who made you a ruler and a
judge?' and whom God now sent as both ruler and liberator through the angel who
appeared to him in the bush. 36 He
led them out, having performed wonders and signs in Egypt,
at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for
forty years. 37 This
is the Moses who said to the Israelites, "God will raise up a prophet for
you from your own people as he raised me up.' 38 He is the one who was in the congregation in the
wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai,
and with our ancestors; and he received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our ancestors were
unwilling to obey him; instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts they
turned back to Egypt, 40 saying
to Aaron, "Make gods for us who will lead the way for us; as for this
Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened
to him.' 41 At that
time they made a calf, offered a sacrifice to the idol, and reveled in the
works of their hands. 42 But
God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the host of heaven,
as it is written in the book of the prophets: "Did you offer to me slain
victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43 No; you took
along the tent of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan,
the images that you made to worship; so I will remove you beyond Babylon.' 44 "Our ancestors had
the tent of testimony in the wilderness, as God directed when he spoke to
Moses, ordering him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. 45 Our ancestors in turn
brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out
before our ancestors. And it was there until the time of David, 46 who found favor with God
and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who
built a house for him. 48 Yet
the Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands; as the prophet
says, 49 "Heaven
is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build
for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? 50 Did not my hand make all
these things?'
Acts 13 (Paul)
17 The God of
this people Israel chose our
ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt,
and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. 18 For about forty years he put up with them in the
wilderness. 19 After
he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan,
he gave them their land as an inheritance 20 for about four hundred fifty years. After that he gave
them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. 21 Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son
of Kish, a man
of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. 22 When he had removed him,
he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, "I have
found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all
my wishes.'
Hebrews 11
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. 4 By faith Abel offered unto
God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he
was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. 5 By
faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found,
because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this
testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But
without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek him. 7 By
faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear,
prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the
world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when he
was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an
inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in
the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with
Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city
which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11 Through faith also Sara
herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when
she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore sprang there
even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in
multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. 13 These all died in faith,
not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were
persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For
they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had
been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had
opportunity to have returned. 16 But
now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not
ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. 17 By faith Abraham, when he
was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up
his only begotten son, 18 Of
whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was
able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a
figure. 20 By faith
Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he
was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the
top of his staff. 22 By
faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel;
and gave commandment concerning his bones. 23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months
of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not
afraid of the king's commandment. 24 By
faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of
Pharaoh's daughter; 25 Choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season; 26 Esteeming
the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had
respect unto the recompence of the reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt,
not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is
invisible. 28 Through
faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of
blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. 29 By faith they passed
through the Red sea as by dry land: which the
Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed
about seven days. 31 By
faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that
believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. 32 And what shall I more say?
for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of
Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also,
and Samuel, and of the prophets
Synopsis
of History
Call
of Abraham 4
Moses/Out
of Egypt 10
Fire/Cloud 3
Mt. Sinai 1
Golden
Calf 3
Wilderness 2
Manna 3
Water
from Rock 3
Into
Canaan 4
Philistine
Domination 3
Judges 3
The
Kings 2