Hebrews 11:15

Hebrews 11:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
• New International Version (NIV)If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.
• English Standard Version (ESV)If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.

Context of Hebrews 11:15

13All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 17It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac,

Hebrews 11:15 word by word

καὶ εἰ μὲν ἐκείνης ἐμνημόνευον ἀφ᾽ ἧς ἐξέβησαν, εἶχον ἂν καιρὸν ἀνακάμψαι·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• trulyμένmen · on the other handG3303
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• they had been mindfulμνημονεύωmnēmoneuō · to rememberG3421
• of thatἐκεῖνοςekeinos · thatG1565
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• whenceὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• they came outἐξέρχομαιexerchomai · to go outG1831
• they might have hadἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• ·ἄνan · ifG302
• opportunityκαιρόςkairos · time/right timeG2540
• to have returnedἀνακάμπτωanakamptō · to returnG344

Cross-references for Hebrews 11:15

• Genesis 11:31One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there.
• Genesis 12:10At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner.
• Genesis 24:6“No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there.
• Genesis 31:18and he drove all his livestock in front of him. He packed all the belongings he had acquired in Paddan-aram and set out for the land of Canaan, where his father, Isaac, lived.
• Genesis 32:9Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’

Commentaries on Hebrews 11:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15If they had been mindful of that country - They considered their right to the promises of God as dependent on their utter renunciation of Chaldea; and it was this that induced Abraham to cause his steward Eliezer to swear that he would not carry his son Isaac to Chaldea; see Genesis 24:5-8. There idolatry reigned; and God had called them to be the patriarchs and progenitors of a people among whom the knowledge of the true God, and the worship required by…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15And truly if they had been mindful of that country … - If they had remembered it with sufficient interest and affection to have made them desirous to return. They might have had opportunity to have returned - The journey was not so long or perilous that they could not have retraced their steps. It would have been no more difficult or dangerous for them to do that than it was to make the journey at first. This shows that their remaining as strangers and…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 11:15

• Backsliders
• Faith
• Immortality
• Obedience
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Builder
• Conceive
• Confess
• Cruel
• Faith
• Immortality
• 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