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quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
Hebrews 11:34 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, grew mighty in war, and caused foreign armies to flee.
  • KJV 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.
  • BSB quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.
  • NKJV quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
  • NLT quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

By faith they quenched fire, escaped the sword, were made strong out of weakness, and routed armies. God turned the weak into the mighty through their trust in him.

Overview

Continuing the catalog of faith's victories—echoing Daniel's friends in the furnace (Daniel 3) and many deliverances—the author stresses that strength came from God to those who were weak. Faith does not rely on natural ability but on divine power that transforms weakness into strength, a truth fully displayed in the cross, where weakness became victory in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 29

  • 1 Sam 17:51–52Then David ran, stood over the Philistine, took his sword, drew it out of its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
  • 2 Kgs 6:16–18He answered, “Don’t be afraid; for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
  • Judg 15:8He struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cave in Etam’s rock.
  • Ps 144:10You are he who gives salvation to kings, who rescues David, his servant, from the deadly sword.
  • 2 Chr 32:20–22Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz, prayed because of this, and cried to heaven.
  • 2 Cor 12:9–10He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.
  • 1 Kgs 19:3When he saw that, he arose, and ran for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
  • 1 Sam 14:13–15Jonathan climbed up on his hands and on his feet, and his armor bearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armor bearer killed them after him.
  • Jer 26:24But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
  • 2 Kgs 6:32But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Then the king sent a man from before him; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Behold, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold the door shut against him. Isn’t the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”
  • Judg 15:14–20When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. Then Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burned with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.
  • Judg 8:4–10Gideon came to the Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men who were with him, faint, yet pursuing.
  • Judg 7:19–25So Gideon, and the hundred men who were with him, came to the outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly set the watch. Then they blew the trumpets, and broke in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands.
  • 2 Sam 8:1–18After this, David struck the Philistines and subdued them; and David took the bridle of the mother city out of the hand of the Philistines.
  • 2 Sam 10:15–19When the Syrians saw that they were defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together.
  • Dan 3:19–28Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
  • Job 42:10Yahweh turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends. Yahweh gave Job twice as much as he had before.
  • 1 Pet 4:12Beloved, don’t be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you, to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you.
  • Job 5:20In famine he will redeem you from death; in war, from the power of the sword.
  • 2 Chr 16:1–9In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
  • 2 Chr 14:11–14Asa cried to Yahweh his God, and said, “Yahweh, there is no one besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, Yahweh our God; for we rely on you, and in your name are we come against this multitude. Yahweh, you are our God. Don’t let man prevail against you.”
  • 2 Chr 20:6–25and he said, “Yahweh, the God of our fathers, aren’t you God in heaven? Aren’t you ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in your hand, so that no one is able to withstand you.
  • Ps 66:12You allowed men to ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water, but you brought us to the place of abundance.
  • Ps 6:8Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for Yahweh has heard the voice of my weeping.
  • Isa 43:2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.
  • 2 Kgs 20:7–11Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” They took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
  • Judg 16:19–30She made him sleep on her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
  • 2 Sam 21:16–17and Ishbibenob, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being armed with a new sword, thought he would kill David.
  • 1 Sam 20:1David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? What is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Hebrews videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Hebrews 11:34YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on HebrewsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Hebrews is sustained worship of Christ: better than angels, Moses, and the priests; the great High Priest after Melchizedek who by one sacrifice perfects forever those he saves.

How Hebrews 11:34 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.