Hebrews 11:33 (KJV)

Passage

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

Nearby Context

Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

Hebrews 11:32 And 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:

Hebrews 11:33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

Hebrews 11:34 Quenched 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.

Hebrews 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "through", "subdued", "kingdoms", "wrought", "righteousness", "obtained", and "promises". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "through", 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 more say for..." into verse 34's "Quenched the violence of fire escaped the...", so "faith" and "through" 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 "through" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.