Hebrews 11:17
New International Version
By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,

New Living Translation
It 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,

English Standard Version
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,

Berean Standard Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,

Berean Literal Bible
By faith Abraham, being tested, has offered up Isaac. Even the one having received the promises was offering up his only begotten son,

King James Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

New King James Version
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

New American Standard Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and the one who had received the promises was offering up his only son;

NASB 1995
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;

NASB 1977
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;

Legacy Standard Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only son,

Amplified Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was tested [that is, as the testing of his faith was still in progress], offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises [of God] was ready to sacrifice his only son [of promise];

Christian Standard Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and yet he was offering his one and only son,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and he was offering his unique son,

American Standard Version
By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
By faith, Abraham offered Isaac during his testing, and laid his only son on the altar, whom he had received by The Promise.

Douay-Rheims Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered Isaac: and he that had received the promises, offered up his only begotten son;

English Revised Version
By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When God tested Abraham, faith led him to offer his son Isaac. Abraham, the one who received the promises from God, was willing to offer his only son as a sacrifice.

Good News Translation
It was faith that made Abraham offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice when God put Abraham to the test. Abraham was the one to whom God had made the promise, yet he was ready to offer his only son as a sacrifice.

International Standard Version
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac—he who had received the promises was about to offer his unique son in sacrifice,

Literal Standard Version
By faith Abraham has offered up Isaac, being tried, even the [one] having received the promises offered up his only begotten,

Majority Standard Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,

New American Bible
By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son,

NET Bible
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He had received the promises, yet he was ready to offer up his only son.

New Revised Standard Version
By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son,

New Heart English Bible
By faith, Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had gladly received the promises was offering up his one and only son;

Webster's Bible Translation
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only-begotten son,

Weymouth New Testament
Through faith Abraham, as soon as God put him to the test, offered up Isaac. Yes, he who had joyfully welcomed the promises was on the point of sacrificing his only son

World English Bible
By faith, Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. Yes, he who had gladly received the promises was offering up his only born son,

Young's Literal Translation
By faith Abraham hath offered up Isaac, being tried, and the only begotten he did offer up who did receive the promises,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Faith of Abraham and Sarah
16Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. 17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”…

Cross References
Genesis 22:1
Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he answered.

Genesis 22:9
When they arrived at the place God had designated, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, atop the wood.

Hebrews 11:13
All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

James 2:21
Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?

James 2:22
You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did.


Treasury of Scripture

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

faith.

Genesis 22:1-12
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am

James 2:21-24
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? …

when.

Deuteronomy 8:2
And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

2 Chronicles 32:31
Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.

Job 1:11,12
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face…

received.

Hebrews 7:6
But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.

offered.

2 Corinthians 8:12
For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

only.

Genesis 22:2,16
And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of…

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Jump to Previous
Abraham Agreement Begotten Body Faith Gladly Isaac Joyfully Offer Offered Offering Only-Begotten Point Promises Ready Receive Received Sacrificing Soon Test Tested Tried Welcomed
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Abraham Agreement Begotten Body Faith Gladly Isaac Joyfully Offer Offered Offering Only-Begotten Point Promises Ready Receive Received Sacrificing Soon Test Tested Tried Welcomed
Hebrews 11
1. What faith is.
6. Without faith we cannot please God.
7. The examples of faithfulness in the fathers of old time.














(17) The patriarchs displayed their faith in the attitude of their whole life, and in their death. This has been the thought of the preceding verses; the writer now passes to the lessons taught by particular actions and events.

Tried.--Genesis 22:1 : "God did tempt Abraham." The following word is in the Greek "hath offered up Isaac," and several other examples of a similar peculiarity will present themselves in this chapter. As in former cases (Hebrews 4:9; Hebrews 7:11; Hebrews 10:9) the reference is to the permanent record of Scripture, in which the fact related is ever present. Abraham stands before us there as having offered his son. It will be seen that the offering is spoken of as if consummated. As regards faith the sacrifice was indeed complete; the perfect surrender of will had been made, and the hand was stretched out for the deed.

And he that had received the promises offered up.--Rather, and he that had welcomed (gladly accepted) the promises was offering up. From the figurative accomplishment of the deed the writer passes to the historical narrative; hence we read, "he . . . was (in the act of) offering." This clause and Hebrews 11:18 set forth the greatness of the sacrifice (compare Genesis 22:2, in the literal rendering, "Take now thy son, thine only one, whom thou lovest, Isaac"); Hebrews 11:19 explains the operation of his faith. . . .

Verses 17-19. - By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up (literally, hath offered up, denoting an accomplished act of which the significance continues) Isaac: and he that had received (rather, accepted, implying his own assent and belief) the promises offered up his only begotten son, he to whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God is able to raise up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. The above rendering varies slightly from the A.V. in vers. 18, 19. For, in ver. 18, πρὸς ο{ν is more naturally connected with the immediate antecedent, ὁ ἀναδεξάμενος, than with μονογενῆ: and, in ver. 19, there is no need to supply "him" after ἐγείρειν: the Greek seems obviously to express belief in God's general power to raise from the dead, not his power in that instance only. The offering of Isaac (specially instanced also by St. James, if. 21), stands out as the crowning instance of Abraham's faith. The very son, so king expected, and at length, as it were, supernaturally given, - he in whose single life was bound up all hope of fulfillment of the promise, was to be sacrificed after all, and so seemingly all hope cut off. Yet Abraham is represented as not hesitating for a moment to do in simple faith what seemed God's will, and still not wavering in his hope of a fulfillment somehow. Such faith is here regarded as virtually faith in God's power even to raise the dead. (For a similar view of Abraham's faith as representing "the hope and resurrection of the dead," comp. Romans 4:17, 24.) The expression, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called" (literally, "In Isaac shall be called to thee a seed"), quoted from Genesis 21:12, means, not that the seed should be called after the name of Isaac, but that the seed to be called Abraham's should be in Isaac, i.e. his issue. The concluding phrase, "Whence also he received him in a figure" (literally, "in a parable," ἐν παραβολῇ), has been variously interpreted. Notwithstanding the authority of many modern common-taters, we may certainly reject the view of παραβολῇ carrying here the sense borne by the verb παραβάλλεσθαι, that of venturing or exposing one's self to risk, or that of the adverb παραβόλως, unexpectedly. Even if the noun παραβολή could be shown by any instance to bear such senses, its ordinary use in the New Testament as well as in the LXX. must surely be understood here. It expresses (under the idea of comparison, or setting one thing by the side of another) an illustration, representation, or figure of something. Its use in this sense in the Gospels is familiar to us all; elsewhere in the New Testament it occurs only in this Epistle, Hebrews 9:9, where the "first tabernacle" is spoken of as a παραβολή. Still, the question remains of the exact drift of this expression, ἐν παραβολῇ. It surely is, that, though Isaac did not really die, but only the ram in his stead, yet the transaction represented to Abraham an actual winning of iris son from the dead; he did so win him in the way of an acted parable, which confirmed his faith in God's power to raise the dead as much as if the lad had died. For such use of the preposition ἐν we may compare 1 Corinthians 13:12, βλέπομεν δἰ ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι, which may mean (notwithstanding the different view of it given doubtfully by the distinguished commentator on the Epistle in the 'Speaker's Commentary'), "We see, not actually, but in the way of an enigmatical representation, as through a mirror." The above seems a mere natural meaning of the phrase, ἐν παραβολῇ, than that of the commentators who interpret it "in such sort as to be a parable or type of something else to crone," viz. of the death and resurrection of Christ. It does not, of course, follow that the transaction was not typical of Christ, or that the writer does net so regard it; we are only considering what his language fit itself implies. Rendered literally, and with retention of the order of the words, the sentence runs: "From whence [i.e. from the dead] him [i.e. Isaac, αὐτόν being slightly emphatic, as is shown by its position in the sentence, equivalent to illum, not eum; and this suitably after the general proposition preceding] he did too in a parable win [ἐκομίσατο, equivalent to sibi acquisivit; cf. ver. 39, οὐκ ἐκομίσαντο τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν]." With regard to what we may call the moral aspect of this peculiar trial of Abraham's faith, a few words may be said, since a difficulty naturally suggests itself on the subject. How, it may be asked, is it consistent with our ideas of Divine righteousness, that even readiness to slay his son should be required of Abraham as a duty? How are we to account for this apparent sanction of the principle of human sacrifices? To the latter question we may reply, in the first place, that the narrative in Genesis, taken as a whole, affords no such sanction, but very much the contrary. All we are told is that the great patriarch, in the course of his religious training, was once divinely led to suppose such a sacrifice to be required of him. The offering of sons was not unusual in the ancient races among where Abraham lived; and, however shocking such a practice might be, and however condemned in later Scripture, it was due, we may say. to the perversion only of a true instinct of humanity - that which suggests the need of some great atonement, and the claim of the Giver of all to our best and dearest, if demanded from us. That Abraham should be even divinely led to suppose for a time that his God required him to express his acknowledgment of this need and this claim by not withholding from him as much as even the heathen were accustomed to offer to their gods, is consistent with God's general way of educating men to a full knowledge of the truth. But the sacrifice was ill the end emphatically forbidden by a voice from heaven; to Abraham thenceforth, and to his seed for ever, it was made dearly known that, though God does require atonement for sin and entire submission to his will, he does not require violence to be done to tender human feeling, or any cruel rites.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
By faith
Πίστει (Pistei)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4102: Faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.

Abraham,
Ἀβραὰμ (Abraam)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 11: Abraham, progenitor of the Hebrew race. Of Hebrew origin; Abraham, the Hebrew patriarch.

when he was tested,
πειραζόμενος (peirazomenos)
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3985: To try, tempt, test. From peira; to test, i.e. Endeavor, scrutinize, entice, discipline.

offered up
προσενήνοχεν (prosenēnochen)
Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4374: From pros and phero; to bear towards, i.e. Lead to, tender, treat.

Isaac [ on the altar ].
Ἰσαὰκ (Isaak)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2464: (Hebrew), Isaac, the patriarch. Of Hebrew origin; Isaac, the son of Abraham.

He who
(ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

had received
ἀναδεξάμενος (anadexamenos)
Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 324: To welcome, receive kindly; I undertake, assume the responsibility of. From ana and dechomai; to entertain.

the
τὰς (tas)
Article - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

promises
ἐπαγγελίας (epangelias)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 1860: A promise. From epaggello; an announcement.

was ready to offer
προσέφερεν (prosepheren)
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4374: From pros and phero; to bear towards, i.e. Lead to, tender, treat.

[his]
τὸν (ton)
Article - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

one and only son,
μονογενῆ (monogenē)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3439: Only, only-begotten; unique. From monos and ginomai; only-born, i.e. Sole.


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NT Letters: Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham being tested offered up (Heb. He. Hb)
Hebrews 11:16
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