Hebrews 11:3 (YLT)

Passage

by faith we understand the ages to have been prepared by a saying of God, in regard to the things seen not having come out of things appearing;

Nearby Context

Hebrews 11:1 And faith is of things hoped for a confidence, of matters not seen a conviction,

Hebrews 11:2 for in this were the elders testified of;

Hebrews 11:3 by faith we understand the ages to have been prepared by a saying of God, in regard to the things seen not having come out of things appearing;

Hebrews 11:4 by faith a better sacrifice did Abel offer to God than Cain, through which he was testified to be righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and through it, he being dead, doth yet speak.

Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated--not to see death, and was not found, because God did translate him; for before his translation he had been testified to--that he had pleased God well,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "understand", "ages", "been", "prepared", "saying", "regard", and "things". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "understand", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "for in this were the elders testified..." into verse 4's "by faith a better sacrifice did Abel...", so "faith" and "understand" 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 "understand" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.