Hebrews 11:38 (ASV)

Passage

(of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and the holes of the earth.

Nearby Context

Hebrews 11:36 and others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

Hebrews 11:37 they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword: they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated

Hebrews 11:38 (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and the holes of the earth.

Hebrews 11:39 And these all, having had witness borne to them through their faith, received not the promise,

Hebrews 11:40 God having provided some better thing concerning us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "worthy", "wandering", "deserts", "mountains", "caves", "holes", and "earth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "worthy", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 37's "they were stoned they were sawn asunder..." into verse 39's "And these all having had witness borne...", so "world" and "worthy" 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 "world" and "worthy" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.