1 Troen er det vi håper på, det som gir visshet om ting vi ikke ser.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the sign that the things not seen are true.

2 For ved tro fikk våre forfedre Guds velbehag.

For by it our fathers had God's approval.

3 Ved tro forstår vi at universet ble skapt ved Guds ord, så det synlige ikke ble til av det som kan ses.

By faith it is clear to us that the order of events was fixed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made from things which only seem to be.

4 Ved tro ga Abel et bedre offer til Gud enn Kain, og han fikk vitnesbyrd om at han var rettferdig, fordi Gud godkjente hans gave. Gjennom sin tro taler han ennå, selv om han er død.

By faith Abel made a better offering to God than Cain, and he had witness through it of his righteousness, God giving his approval of his offering: and his voice still comes to us through it though he is dead.

5 Ved tro ble Enok tatt opp til himmelen uten å se døden; han ble ikke funnet, for Gud tok ham bort. Før han ble tatt bort, fikk han vitnesbyrd om å være til glede for Gud.

By faith Enoch was taken up to heaven so that he did not see death; he was seen no longer, for God took him away: for before he was taken, witness had been given that he was well-pleasing to God:

6 Uten tro er det umulig å være til glede for ham, for den som kommer til Gud, må tro at han finnes og lønner dem som søker ham oppriktig.

And without faith it is not possible to be well-pleasing to him, for it is necessary for anyone who comes to God to have the belief that God is, and that he is a rewarder of all those who make a serious search for him.

7 Ved tro bygde Noah, i gudsfrykt, en ark for å redde sin familie, etter at Gud hadde advart ham om ting som ennå ikke var synlige. Gjennom denne tro dømte han verden, og han ble arving til troens rettferdighet.

By faith Noah, being moved by the fear of God, made ready an ark for the salvation of his family, because God had given him news of things which were not seen at the time; and through it the world was judged by him, and he got for his heritage the righteousness which is by faith.

8 Ved tro adlød Abraham og dro ut til et land han skulle få i arv, og han dro av sted uten å vite hvor han kom.

By faith Abraham did as God said when he was ordered to go out into a place which was to be given to him as a heritage, and went out without knowledge of where he was going.

9 Ved tro bodde han som fremmed i det landet Gud hadde lovt ham, som i et fremmed land, bodde i telt med Isak og Jakob, som var medarvinger til det samme løftet.

By faith he was a wanderer in the land of the agreement, as in a strange land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who had a part with him in the same heritage:

10 For han så frem til den byen som har faste grunnvoller, den som Gud er byggmester og skaper av.

For he was looking for the strong town, whose builder and maker is God.

11 Ved tro fikk også Sara kraft til å bli mor, til tross for sin høye alder, fordi hun stolte på ham som hadde gitt løftet.

And by faith Sarah herself had power to give birth, when she was very old, because she had faith in him who gave his word;

12 Så fra en mann, som var så å si død, kom det et stort folk, like tallrikt som stjernene på himmelen eller som sanden ved sjøen, som ikke kan telles.

So that from one man, who was near to death, came children in number as the stars in heaven, or as the sand by the seaside, which may not be numbered.

13 Alle disse døde i tro, uten å ha fått det som var lovt, men de så det langt borte og hilste det, og bekjente at de var fremmede og utlendinger på jorden.

All these came to their end in faith, not having had the heritage; but having seen it with delight far away, they gave witness that they were wanderers and not of the earth.

14 De som sier slikt, gir klart uttrykk for at de søker et hjemland.

For those who say such things make it clear that they are searching for a country for themselves.

15 Hvis de hadde hatt det landet de forlot i tankene, hadde de hatt mulighet til å vende tilbake.

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

16 Men nå søker de et bedre land, det vil si et himmelsk. Derfor skammer Gud seg ikke over å bli kalt deres Gud, for han har forberedt en by for dem.

But now their desire is for a better country, that is to say, for one in heaven; and so it is no shame to God to be named their God; for he has made ready a town for them.

17 Ved tro ofret Abraham sin sønn Isak da han ble satt på prøve. Han som hadde fått løftet, ga sin eneste sønn som offer.

By faith Abraham made an offering of Isaac, when he was tested: and he with whom the agreement had been made gave up as an offering the only son of his body,

18 Han som det var sagt om: Det er fra Isak dine etterkommere skal nevnes.

Of whom it had been said, From Isaac will your seed take their name:

19 For han tenkte at Gud også kunne oppreise fra de døde; og i et bildespråk fikk han ham tilbake derfra.

Judging that God was able to give life even to the dead; and because of this he did get him back as if from death.

20 Ved tro velsignet Isak Jakob og Esau med tanke på det som skulle komme.

By faith Isaac, blessing Jacob and Esau, gave news of things to come.

21 Ved tro velsignet Jakob ved sin død hver av Josefs sønner og tilba, lent til toppen av sin stav.

By faith Jacob gave a blessing to the two sons of Joseph, when he was near to death; and gave God worship, supported by his stick.

22 Ved tro talte Josef, like før han døde, om Israels barns utgang fra Egypt, og ga ordre om hva som skulle skje med hans ben.

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, said that the children of Israel would go out of Egypt; and gave orders about his bones.

23 Ved tro ble Moses skjult av sine foreldre i tre måneder etter fødselen, fordi de så at gutten var velskapt; og de fryktet ikke kongens befaling.

By faith Moses was kept secretly by his father and mother for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a fair child; and they had no fear of the king's orders.

24 Ved tro nektet Moses, da han ble voksen, å kalles sønn av faraos datter.

By faith Moses, when he became a man, had no desire to be named the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

25 Han valgte å lide sammen med Guds folk fremfor å nyte syndens kortvarige gleder.

Feeling that it was better to undergo pain with the people of God, than for a short time to have a taste of the pleasures of sin;

26 Han aktet vanæringen for Kristi skyld som større rikdom enn skattene i Egypten, for han så mot belønningen.

Judging a part in the shame of Christ to be better than all the wealth of Egypt; for he was looking forward to his reward.

27 Ved tro forlot han Egypt uten frykt for kongens vrede, for han holdt ut som om han så den usynlige.

By faith he went out of Egypt, not being turned from his purpose by fear of the wrath of the king; for he kept on his way, as seeing him who is unseen.

28 Ved tro innstiftet han påsken og bestrykte blood på dørkarmene, for at ødeleggeren ikke skulle røre deres førstefødte.

By faith he kept the Passover, and put the sign of the blood on the houses, so that the angel of destruction might not put their oldest sons to death.

29 Ved tro gikk de gjennom Rødehavet som på tørt land, mens egypterne forsøkte og druknet.

By faith they went through the Red Sea as if it had been dry land, though the Egyptians were overcome by the water when they made an attempt to do the same.

30 Ved tro falt Jerikos murer etter å ha blitt omringet i syv dager.

By faith the walls of Jericho came down, after they had been circled for seven days.

31 Ved tro slapp Rahab, skjøgen, unna tilintetgjørelsen, siden hun hadde tatt imot speiderne med fred.

By faith Rahab, the loose woman, was not put to death with those who had gone against God's orders, because she had taken into her house in peace those sent to see the land.

32 Hva skal jeg si mer? For tiden ville ikke strekke til om jeg skulle fortelle om Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jefta, David, Samuel og profetene,

What more am I to say? For there would not be time to give the stories of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets:

33 som ved tro vant riker, utøvde rettferdighet, fikk løfter oppfylt, lukket løvers gap,

Who through faith overcame kingdoms, did righteousness, got their reward, kept the mouths of lions shut,

34 slokket ilds kraft, unnslapp sverdets egg, ble sterke etter svakhet, ble kraftfulle i kamp, satte hærer på flukt.

Put out the power of fire, got safely away from the edge of the sword, were made strong when they had been feeble, became full of power in war, and put to flight the armies of the nations.

35 Kvinner fikk sine døde tilbake ved oppstandelse; andre ble torturert og avslo å bli løslatt, så de kunne få en bedre oppstandelse.

Women had their dead given back to them living; others let themselves be cruelly attacked, having no desire to go free, so that they might have a better life to come;

36 Andre fikk erfare hån og pisking, ja, til og med lenker og fengsel.

And others were tested by being laughed at or by blows, and even with chains and prisons:

37 De ble steinet, de ble saget i to, de ble fristet, de ble drept med sverd; de gikk omkring i saueskinn og geiteskinn, dekket av nød og undertrykkelse.

They were stoned, they were cut up with knives, they were tested, they were put to death with the sword, they went about in sheepskins and in goatskins; being poor and in pain and cruelly attacked,

38 De vandret i ørkener, fjell og huler og jordhuler, for verden var ikke verd dem.

Wandering in waste places and in mountains and in holes in the rocks; for whom the world was not good enough.

39 Alle disse fikk vitnesbyrd for sin tro, men de oppnådde ikke løftet,

And not one of these got the good things of the agreement, though they all had a good record through faith,

40 fordi Gud hadde forberedt noe bedre for oss, slik at de ikke skulle bli fullkomne uten oss.

Because God had kept some better thing for us, so that it was not possible for them to become complete without us.