Hebrews 11:4 (WEB)

Passage

By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks.

Nearby Context

Hebrews 11:2 For by this, the elders obtained testimony.

Hebrews 11:3 By faith, we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.

Hebrews 11:4 By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks.

Hebrews 11:5 By faith, Enoch was taken away, so that he wouldn’t see death, and he was not found, because God translated him. For he has had testimony given to him that before his translation he had been well pleasing to God.

Hebrews 11:6 Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "abel", "offered", "excellent", "sacrifice", "than", "cain", and "through". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "abel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "By faith we understand that the universe..." into verse 5's "By faith Enoch was taken away so...", so "faith" and "abel" 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 "abel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.