Bible Strands
Hebrews 11:39
These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The author addresses early believers, closing the catalog of Old Testament faithful to bridge directly to the fulfillment described in Hebrews 11:40.
The words — μαρτυρηθέντες (marturēthentes) translates to "having been commended," and οὐκ (ouk) negates the verb for receiving, forming the structural contrast of the verse.
The thread — The pattern of testimony without immediate fulfillment recurs in Hebrews 11:13 and Hebrews 11:2, while Luke 10:23 marks the disciples' privileged position within this same redemptive sequence.
Why it lands — The text states that these figures were commended through faith yet did not obtain the promised fulfillment. Readers must therefore accept that divine promises operate across generations rather than within a single visible lifetime.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Cross-references
- Luke 10:23 Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
- Hebrews 11:13 All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
- Hebrews 11:2 This is why the ancients were commended.
- 1 Peter 1:12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.