Hebrews 11:3

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

By faith we understand that the worlds were set in order at God’s command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Πίστει νοοῦμεν κατηρτίσθαι τοὺς αἰῶνας ῥήματι Θεοῦ, εἰς τὸ μὴ ἐκ φαινομένων τά βλεπόμενα γεγονέναι.

Transliteration

By pistei we nooumen katērtisthai the aiōnas by rhēmati of Theou, so that mē from phainomenōn the blepomena gegonenai.

Grammar Details

• *pistei*: dative, feminine, singular - by faith
• *nooumen*: present active indicative, 1st plural - we understand/perceive
• *katērtisthai*: perfect passive infinitive - to have been framed/prepared/created
• *aiōnas*: accusative, masculine, plural - ages/worlds
• *rhēmati*: dative, neuter, singular - word/utterance/command
• *Theou*: genitive, masculine, singular - of God
• *mē*: negative particle - not
• *phainomenōn*: present passive participle, genitive, plural - things appearing/visible
• *blepomena*: present passive participle, accusative, neuter, plural - things seen/visible
• *gegonenai*: perfect active infinitive - to have come into being/been made

Word Meanings

• *nooumen*: understand/perceive mentally
• *katērtisthai*: framed/prepared/created/put in order/furnished
• *aiōnas*: ages/worlds/universes/epoch
• *rhēmati*: word/utterance/command/spoken word
• *phainomenōn*: appearing/visible/manifest
• *gegonenai*: have come into being/been made/become

Referenced Verses

• Rom 4:17 : 17 (as it is written,“I have made you the father of many nations”). He is our father in the presence of God whom he believed– the God who makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do.
• Rev 4:11 : 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, since you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created!”
• 2 Pet 3:5 : 5 For they deliberately suppress this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water.
• Ps 33:6 : 6 By the LORD’s decree the heavens were made; and by the breath of his mouth all the starry hosts.
• John 1:3 : 3 All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.
• Acts 14:15 : 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men, with human natures just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you, so that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.
• Acts 17:24 : 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands,
• Rom 1:19-21 : 19 because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes– his eternal power and divine nature– have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened.
• Isa 40:26 : 26 Look up at the sky! Who created all these heavenly lights? He is the one who leads out their ranks; he calls them all by name. Because of his absolute power and awesome strength, not one of them is missing.
• Gen 1:1-2:1 : 1 ¶ The Creation of the World In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water. 3 God said,“Let there be light.” And there was light! 4 God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light“day” and the darkness“night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. 6 God said,“Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so. 8 God called the expanse“sky.” There was evening, and there was morning, a second day. 9 God said,“Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear.” It was so. 10 God called the dry ground“land” and the gathered waters he called“seas.” God saw that it was good. 11 God said,“Let the land produce vegetation: plants yielding seeds and trees on the land bearing fruit with seed in it, according to their kinds.” It was so. 12 The land produced vegetation– plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good. 13 There was evening, and there was morning, a third day. 14 God said,“Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs to indicate seasons and days and years, 15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so. 16 God made two great lights– the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also. 17 God placed the lights in the expanse of the sky to shine on the earth, 18 to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 19 There was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day. 20 God said,“Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21 God created the great sea creatures and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said,“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” 23 There was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day. 24 God said,“Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” It was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said,“Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.” 27 God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them,“Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said,“I now give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground– everything that has the breath of life in it– I give every green plant for food.” It was so. 31 God saw all that he had made– and it was very good! There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day. 1 The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them.
• Heb 1:2 : 2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world.
• Jer 10:11 : 11 You people of Israel should tell those nations this:‘These gods did not make heaven and earth. They will disappear from the earth and from under the heavens.’
• Jer 10:16 : 16 The LORD, who is the inheritance of Jacob’s descendants, is not like them. He is the one who created everything. And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own. His name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.”