²⁹  Because of their faith, the people walked through the Red Sea on dry land. But when the Egyptians tried to do it, they were drowned.  ³⁰  God’s people had faith, and when they had walked around the city of Jericho for seven days, its walls fell down.  ³¹  Rahab had been a prostitute, but she had faith and welcomed the spies. So she wasn’t killed with the people who disobeyed.

³²  What else can I say? There isn’t enough time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. ³³  Their faith helped them conquer kingdoms, and because they did right, God made promises to them. They closed the jaws of lions ³⁴  and put out raging fires and escaped from the swords of their enemies. Although they were weak, they were given the strength and power to chase foreign armies away.

³⁵  Some women received their loved ones back from death. Many of these people were tortured, but they refused to be released. They were sure they would get a better reward when the dead are raised to life. ³⁶  Others were made fun of and beaten with whips, and some were chained in jail. ³⁷  Still others were stoned to death or sawed in two or killed with swords. Some had nothing but sheep skins or goat skins to wear. They were poor, mistreated, and tortured. ³⁸ The world did not deserve these good people, who had to wander in deserts and on mountains and had to live in caves and holes in the ground.

³⁹ All of them pleased God because of their faith! But still they died without being given what had been promised. ⁴⁰ This was because God had something better in store for us. And he did not want them to reach the goal of their faith without us.

A Large Crowd of Witnesses

12  Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us.
²  We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side of God’s throne!

Contemporary English Version (CEV) - for other versions see BibleGateway.com