Hebrews 11:33 (DRB)

Passage

Who by faith conquered kingdoms, wrought justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

Nearby Context

Hebrews 11:31 By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with the unbelievers, receiving the spies with peace.

Hebrews 11:32 And what shall I yet say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, Barac, Samson, Jephthe, David, Samuel, and the prophets:

Hebrews 11:33 Who by faith conquered kingdoms, wrought justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

Hebrews 11:34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, recovered strength from weakness, became valiant in battle, put to flight the armies of foreigners.

Hebrews 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again. But others were racked, not accepting deliverance, that they might find a better resurrection.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "conquered", "kingdoms", "wrought", "justice", "obtained", "promises", and "stopped". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "conquered", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 32's "And what shall I yet say For..." into verse 34's "Quenched the violence of fire escaped the...", so "faith" and "conquered" 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 "faith" and "conquered" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.