Hebrews 11:13 (KJV)

Passage

These 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.

Nearby Context

Hebrews 11:11 Through 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.

Hebrews 11:12 Therefore 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.

Hebrews 11:13 These 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.

Hebrews 11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

Hebrews 11:15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "died", "having", "received", "promises", "seen", and "afar". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "died", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Therefore sprang there even of one and..." into verse 14's "For they that say such things declare...", so "faith" and "died" 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 "died" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.