Hebrews 11:17 (YLT)

Passage

By faith Abraham hath offered up Isaac, being tried, and the only begotten he did offer up who did receive the promises,

Nearby Context

Hebrews 11:15 and if, indeed, they had been mindful of that from which they came forth, they might have had an opportunity to return,

Hebrews 11:16 but now they long for a better, that is, an heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for He did prepare for them a city.

Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham hath offered up Isaac, being tried, and the only begotten he did offer up who did receive the promises,

Hebrews 11:18 of whom it was said--`In Isaac shall a seed be called to thee;'

Hebrews 11:19 reckoning that even out of the dead God is able to raise up, whence also in a figure he did receive <FI>him<Fi> .

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "abraham", "hath", "offered", "isaac", "tried", "only", and "begotten". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "abraham", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "but now they long for a better..." into verse 18's "of whom it was said-- In Isaac...", so "faith" and "abraham" 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 "abraham" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.