የእምነት ቋሚ ምስክሮች
1እምነት ተስፋ ያደረግነው ነገር እንደሚፈጸም ርግጠኛ የምንሆንበት፣ የማናየውም ነገር እውን መሆኑን የምንረዳበት ነው። 2አባቶችም የተመሰከረላቸው በዚሁ ነው።
3ዓለማት በእግዚአብሔር ቃል እንደ ተፈጠሩ በእምነት እንረዳለን፤ ስለዚህ የሚታየው ነገር የተፈጠረው ከሚታየው እንዳልሆነ እንገነዘባለን።
4አቤል ከቃየል ይልቅ የበለጠ መሥዋዕት ለእግዚአብሔር በእምነት አቀረበ። እግዚአብሔር ስለ ስጦታው በተናገረለት ጊዜ፣ እርሱ በእምነት ጻድቅ እንደ ሆነ ተመሰከረለት፤ ቢሞትም እንኳ እስከ አሁን በእምነቱ ይናገራል።
5ሄኖክ ሞትን እንዳያይ ከዚህ ዓለም በእምነት ተወሰደ፤ እግዚአብሔርም ስለ ወሰደው አልተገኘም፤ ከመወሰዱም በፊት እግዚአብሔርን ደስ እንዳሰኘ ተመስክሮለታልና። 6ደግሞም ያለ እምነት እግዚአብሔርን ደስ ማሰኘት አይቻልም፤ ምክንያቱም ወደ እግዚአብሔር የሚቀርብ ሁሉ እግዚአብሔር መኖሩንና ከልብ ለሚሹትም ዋጋ እንደሚሰጥ ማመን አለበት።
7ኖኅ ገና ስለማይታየው ነገር እግዚአብሔር ባስጠነቀቀው ጊዜ፣ እግዚአብሔርን ፈርቶ ቤተ ሰዎቹን ለማዳን መርከብን በእምነት ሠራ፤ በእምነቱ ዓለምን ኰነነ፤ በእምነትም የሚገኘውን ጽድቅ ወራሽ ሆነ።
8አብርሃም ርስት አድርጎ ወደሚቀበለው ስፍራ እንዲሄድ በተጠራ ጊዜ በእምነት ታዘዘ፤ ወዴት እንደሚሄድ ባያውቅም፣ እሺ ብሎ ሄደ። 9በባዕድ አገር እንዳለ መጻተኛ በተስፋዪቱ ምድር በእምነት ተቀመጠ፤ የተስፋውን ቃል አብረውት እንደሚወርሱት እንደ ይስሐቅና እንደ ያዕቆብ በድንኳን ኖረ፤ 10ምክንያቱም መሠረት ያላትን፣ እግዚአብሔር የሠራትንና የፈጠራትን ከተማ ይጠባበቅ ነበር።
11አብርሃም ምንም እንኳ ዕድሜው ቢገፋም፣ ሣራም ራሷ መካን ብትሆንም፣ ተስፋን የሰጠውን ታማኝ አድርጎ ስለ ቈጠረ11፥11 ወይም ሣራ፣ ተስፋን የሰጠውን ታማኝ አድርጋ ስለ ቈጠረች ለመፅነስ ኀይል አገኘች። በእምነት የልጅ አባት ለመሆን በቃ። 12ስለዚህ እንደ ሞተ ሰው ከሚቈጠር ከዚህ ከአንድ ሰው፣ እንደ ሰማይ ከዋክብት የበዛና እንደ ባሕር ዳር አሸዋ ተቈጥሮ የማያልቅ ዘር ተገኘ።
13እነዚህ ሁሉ የተሰጣቸውን የተስፋ ቃል ሳያገኙ እምነታቸውን እንደ ጠበቁ ሞቱ፤ ሆኖም ከሩቅ አይተው ሰላም አሉት፤ በዚህ ምድር ሲኖሩ መጻተኞችና እንግዶች መሆናቸውን ተገንዝበው ነበርና። 14እንደዚህ የሚሉት ሰዎች የራሳቸው የሆነውን አገር እንደሚጠባበቁ ያሳያሉ። 15ትተውት የወጡትን አገር ቢያስቡ ኖሮ፣ ወደዚያ የመመለስ ዕድል ነበራቸው። 16አሁን ግን ከዚህ የሚበልጠውን ሰማያዊ አገር ይናፍቃሉ፤ ስለዚህ እግዚአብሔር አምላካቸው ተብሎ ሊጠራ አላፈረም፤ ከተማን አዘጋጅቶላቸዋልና።
17አብርሃም እግዚአብሔር በፈተነው ጊዜ፣ ይስሐቅን መሥዋዕት አድርጎ በእምነት አቀረበ፤ የተስፋን ቃል የተቀበለው እርሱ፣ አንድ ልጁን ሊሠዋ ዝግጁ ነበር፤ 18ይህም እግዚአብሔር፣ “ዘርህ በይስሐቅ ይጠራል” ያለለት ነበር። 19አብርሃም እግዚአብሔር ሙታንን ሊያስነሣ እንደሚችል ተገንዝቦ ነበር፤ ይስሐቅንም ከሞት የመነሣት አምሳያ ሆኖ አገኘው።
20ይስሐቅ ወደ ፊት የሚሆነውን ዐስቦ ያዕቆብንና ዔሳውን በእምነት ባረካቸው።
21ያዕቆብ በሚሞትበት ጊዜ እያንዳንዳቸውን የዮሴፍን ልጆች በእምነት ባረካቸው፤ በበትሩም ጫፍ ዘንበል ብሎ ሰገደ።
22ዮሴፍ ሊሞት በተቃረበ ጊዜ፣ ስለ እስራኤል ሕዝብ ከግብፅ መውጣት በእምነት ተናገረ፤ ስለ ዐፅሙም ትእዛዝ ሰጠ።
23ሙሴ ከተወለደ በኋላ፣ ወላጆቹ መልከ መልካም ሕፃን መሆኑን ስላዩ በእምነት ሦስት ወር ሸሸጉት፤ የንጉሡንም ዐዋጅ አልፈሩም።
24ሙሴ ካደገ በኋላ፣ የፈርዖን የልጅ ልጅ መባልን በእምነት እንቢ አለ። 25ለጥቂት ጊዜ በኀጢአት ከሚገኝ ደስታ ይልቅ፣ ከእግዚአብሔር ሕዝብ ጋር መከራን መቀበል መረጠ። 26ከግብፅ ሀብት ይልቅ ስለ ክርስቶስ መከራን መቀበል እጅግ የሚበልጥ ሀብት መሆኑን ተገነዘበ፤ ወደ ፊት የሚቀበለውን ብድራት ከሩቅ ተመልክቷልና። 27የንጉሡን ቍጣ ሳይፈራ ግብፅን ለቅቆ በእምነት ወጣ፤ የማይታየውንም እንዳየው አድርጎ በመቍጠር በዐሳቡ ጸና። 28በኵሮች የሆኑትን የሚገድለው ቀሣፊ የእስራኤልን በኵር ልጆች እንዳይገድል ፋሲካን በእምነት አደረገ፤ ደምንም ረጨ።
29ሕዝቡ በደረቅ መሬት እንደሚኬድ ቀይ ባሕርን በእምነት ተሻገሩ፤ ግብፃውያን ግን እንደዚሁ ለማድረግ ሲሞክሩ ሰጠሙ።
30ሕዝቡ የኢያሪኮን ግንብ ሰባት ቀን ከዞሩት በኋላ፣ በእምነት ወደቀ።
31ዝሙት ዐዳሪዋ ረዓብ፣ ሰላዮቹን በሰላም ስለ ተቀበለቻቸው ከማይታዘዙት11፥31 ወይም ከማያምኑት ጋር ያልጠፋችው በእምነት ነው።
32እንግዲህ ከዚህ በላይ ምን ልበል? ስለ ጌዴዎን፣ ስለ ባርቅ፣ ስለ ሳምሶን፣ ስለ ዮፍታሔ፣ ስለ ዳዊት፣ ስለ ሳሙኤል፣ እንዲሁም ስለ ነቢያት እንዳልተርክ ጊዜ የለም። 33እነዚህ በእምነት መንግሥታትን ድል ነሡ፤ በቅን ፈረዱ፤ የተሰጠውን የተስፋ ቃል ተቀበሉ፤ የአንበሶችን አፍ ዘጉ፤ 34የእሳትን ኀይል አጠፉ፤ ከሰይፍ ስለት አመለጡ፤ ከድካማቸው በረቱ፤ በጦርነት ኀያል ሆኑ፤ ባዕዳን ወታደሮችን አባረሩ። 35ሴቶች፣ ሙታናቸው ተነሡላቸው። ሌሎቹ ደግሞ የተሻለውን ትንሣኤ ለማግኘት ሲሉ፣ መትረፍን ንቀው ለሞት ለሚዳርግ ሥቃይ ራሳቸውን ሰጡ፤ ከዚህም ነጻ ለመውጣት አልፈለጉም። 36አንዳንዶቹ መዘባበቻ ሆኑ፤ ተገረፉ። ሌሎቹ ደግሞ ታስረው ወደ ወህኒ ተጣሉ፤ 37በድንጋይ ተወገሩ፤ በመጋዝ ለሁለት ተሰነጠቁ፤11፥37 አንዳንድ የጥንት ቅጆች በድንጋይ ተወገሩ፤ ለፈተና ዐልፈው ተሰጡ፤ በሰይፍ ተወግተው ሞቱ፤ እየተጐሳቈሉ፣ እየተሰደዱና እየተንገላቱ የበግና የፍየል ቈዳ ለብሰው ዞሩ፤ 38ዓለም ለእነርሱ አልተገባቻቸውምና። በየበረሓውና በየተራራው፣ በየዋሻውና በየጕድጓዱ ተንከራተቱ።
39እነዚህ ሁሉ ስለ እምነታቸው የተመሰከረላቸው ቢሆኑም፣ ከእነርሱ ማንም የተስፋውን ቃል የተቀበለ የለም፤ 40እግዚአብሔር ለእኛ የሚበልጥ ነገር ስላዘጋጀ፣ ያለ እኛ ፍጹማን ሊሆኑ አልቻሉምና።
1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 4By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. 5By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 7By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. 8By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. 13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. 17By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. 20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. 22By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones. 23By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. 24By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 25Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 27By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 28Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. 29By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. 30By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. 31By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. 32And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
