Hebrews 11:3-4

11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds ¹  were set in order at God’s command, ²  so that the visible has its origin in the invisible. ³  11:4 By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith ⁴  he was commended as righteous, because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith ⁵  he still speaks, though he is dead.

---

¹ tn Grk “ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 1:2 for same usage.

² tn Grk “by God’s word.”

³ sn The Greek phrasing emphasizes this point by negating the opposite: “so that what is seen did not come into being from things that are visible.”

⁴ tn Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through which.”

⁵ tn Or “through his sacrifice”; Grk “through it.”