Discovery BoxHebrews 11:9-10 
Context11:9 By faith he lived as a foreigner 1 in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs 2 of the same promise. 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, 3 whose architect and builder is God.
Hebrews 11:12-16
Context11:12 So in fact children 4 were fathered by one man – and this one as good as dead – like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand 5 on the seashore. 6 11:13 These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, 7 but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners 8 on the earth. 11:14 For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 11:15 In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 11:16 But as it is, 9 they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
1 tn Or “settled as a resident alien.”
2 tn Or “heirs with him.”
3 tn Grk “that has foundations.”
4 tn Grk “these”; in the translation the referent (children) has been specified for clarity.
5 tn Grk a collective “the sand.”
6 sn An allusion to Gen 22:17 (which itself goes back to Gen 15:5).
7 tn Grk “the promises,” referring to the things God promised, not to the pledges themselves.
8 tn Or “sojourners.”
9 tn Grk “now.”
