Hebrews 11:14

Hebrews 11:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
• New International Version (NIV)People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.

Context of Hebrews 11:14

12Abraham was so old that he was almost like a dead man. But from this one man there came very many grandchildren. His family became so large that nobody could count them. They were like the number of stars in the sky. They were as many as the bits of sand on the shore of the sea. 13All these people continued to believe God until they died. But they did not receive all the things that God had promised to give them. They were like people who saw those things far away. That made them happy. These people understood that they lived as strangers and travellers on the earth. People who live in that way show that they expect to live somewhere else one day. That is the place where they will really be at home. 15They were not thinking about the country that they had left. They could have gone back there if they really wanted to. 16No, they wanted very much to go to a better place, in heaven. For that reason, God is not ashamed for them to call him their God. He has already prepared a city for them to live in.

Hebrews 11:14 word by word

οἱ γὰρ τοιαῦτα λέγοντες ἐμφανίζουσιν ὅτι πατρίδα ἐπιζητοῦσιν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• they that sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• such thingsτοιοῦτοςtoioutos · such as thisG5108
• declare plainlyἐμφανίζωemphanizō · to showG1718
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• they seekἐπιζητέωepizēteō · to seek afterG1934
• a countryπατρίςpatris · fatherlandG3968
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588

Cross-references for Hebrews 11:14

• Hebrews 11:16No, they wanted very much to go to a better place, in heaven. For that reason, God is not ashamed for them to call him their God. He has already prepared a city for them to live in.
• Hebrews 13:14Here on earth, we who are believers do not have a city that will always be our home. But we are waiting for God's city that will come.
• Romans 8:23It is the same for us who are believers. We have received God's Spirit as the first of his gifts to us, but we also cry inside ourselves. We are waiting for the time when God will finish his great work. Then we will belong to him completely as his children. Our bodies will be free from the power of sin.
• 2 Corinthians 4:18So we do not look at the things that we can see in this world. Instead, we look at the things that people cannot see. The things that we can see are only here for a short time. But the things that we cannot see will continue for ever.
• 2 Corinthians 5:1Our bodies are like a tent that we live in here on earth. One day, that home will come to an end. But we know that God will give us a new home. It is not a house that a human builder has built. God has built it for us in heaven and we will live there for ever.
• Philippians 1:23Both of them seem very good to me. I want to leave this world so that I can be with Christ. That is a much better thing.

Commentaries on Hebrews 11:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Declare plainly that they seek a country - A man's country is that in which he has constitutional rights and privileges; no stranger or sojourner has any such rights in the country where he sojourns. These, by declaring that they felt themselves strangers and sojourners, professed their faith in a heavenly country and state, and looked beyond the grave for a place of happiness. No intelligent Jew could suppose that Canaan was all the rest which God had…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14For they that say such things … - That speak of themselves as having come into a land of strangers; and that negotiate for a small piece of land, not to cultivate, but to bury their dead. So we should think of any strange people coming among us now - who lived in tents; who frequently changed their residence; who became the purchasers of no land except to bury their dead, and who never spake of becoming permanent residents. We should think that they were…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-19Verses 8-19 We are often called to leave worldly connexions, interests, and comforts. If heirs of Abraham's faith, we shall obey and go forth, though not knowing what may befall us; and we shall be found in the way of duty, looking for the performance of God's promises. The trial of Abraham's faith was, that he simply and fully obeyed the call of God. Sarah received the promise as the promise of God; being convinced of that, she truly judged that he both…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-16Abraham's family clearly did not want to return to their homeland. If they did, they could have gone back. Their faith showed they longed for a better place. They hoped in God, who rewarded their faith by preparing a heavenly city for them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1613-16. Summary of the characteristic excellencies of the patriarchs' faith died in faith--died as believers, waiting for, not actually seeing as yet their good things promised to them. They were true to this principle of faith even unto, and especially in, their dying hour (compare He 11:20). These all--beginning with "Abraham" (He 11:8), to whom the promises were made (Ga 3:16), and who is alluded to in the end of He 11:13 and in He 11:15 [Bengel and…Read the comment

Topics related to Hebrews 11:14

• Backsliders
• Faith
• Immortality
• Obedience

In the dictionaries

• Builder
• Conceive
• Confess
• Cruel
• Faith
• Heaven
• Immortality
• Impossible
• Proper
• Rewarder

Commentaries on Hebrews 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings