Hebrews 11:10 (ASV)

Passage

for he looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Nearby Context

Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Hebrews 11:9 By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a [land] not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

Hebrews 11:10 for he looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Hebrews 11:11 By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised:

Hebrews 11:12 wherefore also there sprang of one, and him as good as dead, [so many] as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the sand, which is by the sea-shore, innumerable.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "looked", "city", "hath", "foundations", "whose", "builder", and "maker". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "looked" and "city", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "By faith he became a sojourner in..." into verse 11's "By faith even Sarah herself received power...", so "looked" and "city" belong inside that flow. In Hebrews context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "looked" and "city" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.