Hebrews 11:38

Hebrews 11:38 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
• New International Version (NIV)the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
• English Standard Version (ESV)of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
• New Living Translation (NLT)They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

Context of Hebrews 11:38

36Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

Hebrews 11:38 word by word

ὧν οὐκ ἦν ἄξιος ὁ κόσμος· ἐπὶ ἐρημίαις πλανώμενοι καὶ ὄρεσιν καὶ σπηλαίοις καὶ ταῖς ὀπαῖς τῆς γῆς.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Of whomὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• the worldὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• notοὐou · noG3756
• worthyἄξιοςaxios · worthyG514
• they wanderedπλανάωplanaō · to lead astrayG4105
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• desertsἐρημίαerēmia · desertG2047
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• mountainsὄροςoros · mountainG3735
• densσπήλαιονspēlaion · caveG4693
• cavesὀπήopē · holeG3692
• of the earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093

Cross-references for Hebrews 11:38

• 1 Kings 14:12Arise therefore, go to your own house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die.
• 2 Kings 23:25Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.
• Isaiah 57:1The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, While no one considers That the righteous is taken away from evil.
• 1 Samuel 22:1David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him.
• 1 Samuel 23:15So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest.
• 1 Samuel 24:1Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.”
• 1 Samuel 26:1Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?”
• 1 Kings 17:3“Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
• 1 Kings 18:4For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.)
• 1 Kings 19:9And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
• Psalms 142:1I cry out to the Lord with my voice; With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.

Commentaries on Hebrews 11:38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 38Of whom the world was not worthy - Yet they were obliged to wander by day in deserts and mountains, driven from the society of men, and often obliged to hide by night in dens and caves of the earth, to conceal themselves from the brutal rage of men. Perhaps he refers here principally to the case of Elijah, and the hundred prophets hidden in caves by Obadiah, and fed with bread and water. See 1 Kings 18:4. David was often obliged thus to hide himself from…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 38Of whom the world was not worthy - The world was so wicked that it had no claim that such holy men should live in it. These poor, despised, and persecuted people, living as outcasts and wanderers, were of a character far elevated above the world. This is a most beautiful expression. It is at once a statement of their eminent holiness, and of the wickedness of the rest of mankind. They wandered in deserts … - On the Scripture meaning of the word “desert”…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 32-38Verses 32-38 After all our searches into the Scriptures, there is more to be learned from them. We should be pleased to think, how great the number of believers was under the Old Testament, and how strong their faith, though the objects of it were not then so fully made known as now. And we should lament that now, in gospel times, when the rule of faith is more clear and perfect, the number of believers should be so small, and their faith so weak. It is…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 38The world was not worthy of them: They placed their hope in God more than in the pleasures and comforts of life.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3838. Of whom the world was not worthy--So far from their being unworthy of living in the world, as their exile in deserts, &c., might seem to imply, "the world was not worthy of them." The world, in shutting them out, shut out from itself a source of blessing; such as Joseph proved to Potiphar (Ge 39:5), and Jacob to Laban (Ge 30:27). In condemning them, the world condemned itself. caves--literally, "chinks." Palestine, from its hilly character, abounds in…Read the comment

Topics related to Hebrews 11:38

• Cave
• Dens
• Faith
• Persecution

In the dictionaries

• Builder
• Conceive
• Confess
• Cruel
• Den
• Faith
• Impossible
• Proper
• Rewarder
• Trial

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