The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.
Parallel translations
- WEB (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth.
- KJV (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
- NKJV of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
- NASB (people of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts, on mountains, and sheltering in caves and holes in the ground.
- NLT They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
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
The world was not worthy of these faithful sufferers, who wandered homeless in deserts, mountains, and caves. The world despised the very people God most honored.
Overview
In a striking reversal, the author declares that the world that rejected and exiled these believers was "not worthy" of them. Driven into wildernesses and caves, they were esteemed of little account by men but precious to God. This anticipates how the world treated Christ and warns believers that God's valuation often runs contrary to the world's.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 1 Kgs 18:4for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
- 1 Kgs 19:9There Elijah entered a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- 1 Sam 22:1So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.
- Isa 57:1The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, while no one considers that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil.
- 1 Sam 24:1–3After Saul had returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.”
- 1 Kgs 14:12–13As for you, get up and go home. When your feet enter the city, the child will die.
- 1 Kgs 18:13Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water.
- 1 Kgs 17:3“Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan.
- 1 Sam 26:1Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?”
- Ps 142:1–7A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer. I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift my voice to the LORD for mercy.
- 1 Sam 23:19Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon?
- 2 Kgs 23:25–29Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses.
- 1 Sam 23:23Observe and find out all the places where he hides. Then come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will search him out among all the clans of Judah.”
- 1 Sam 23:15While David was in Horesh in the Wilderness of Ziph, he saw that Saul had come out to take his life.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 11:38 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
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