Hebrews 11 · Verse 29

Hebrews 11:29

By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
Hebrews 11:29, King James Version

Hebrews 11:29 in other translations

BSBBy faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned.
WEBBy faith they passed through the Red Sea as on dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do so, they were swallowed up.
ASVBy faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were swallowed up.
YLTBy faith they did pass through the Red Sea as through dry land, which the Egyptians having received a trial of, were swallowed up;
DARBYBy faith they passed through the Red sea as through dry land; of which the Egyptians having made trial were swallowed up.
BBEBy faith they went through the Red Sea as if it had been dry land, though the Egyptians were overcome by the water when they made an attempt to do the same.
WebsterBy faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians essaying to do were drowned.

What does Hebrews 11:29 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
29. they--Moses and Israel. Red Sea--called so from its red seaweed, or rather from Edom (meaning "red"), whose country adjoined it. which ... assaying to do--Greek, "of which (Red Sea) the Egyptians having made experiment." Rashness and presumption mistaken by many for faith; with similar rash presumption many rush into eternity. The same thing when done by the believer, and when done by the unbeliever, is not the same thing [Bengel]. What was faith in Israel, was presumption in the Egyptians. were drowned--Greek, "were swallowed up," or "engulfed." They sank in the sands as much as in the waves of the Red Sea. Compare Ex 15:12, "the earth swallowed them."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 29. By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land. Ex 14:22,29. That is, it was only by confidence in God that they were able to do this. It was not by power which they had to remove the waters, and to make a passage for themselves; and it was not by the operation of any natural causes. It is not to be supposed that all who passed through the Red Sea had saving faith. The assertion of the apostle is, that the passage was made in virtue of strong confidence in God, that if it had not been for this confidence the passage could not have been made at all. Of this no one can entertain a doubt who reads the history of that remarkable transaction.

Which the Egyptians assaying to do, were drowned. Ex 14:27,28. Evidently referred to here as showing the effects of not having faith in God, and of what must inevitably have befallen the Israelites if they had had no faith. The destruction of the Egyptians by the return of the waters, in accordance with natural laws, showed that the Israelites would have been destroyed in the passage, if a Divine energy had not been employed to prevent it. On the passage through the Red Sea, see Robinson's Biblical Researches, vol..i., pp. 81--86.

(a) "passed through" Ex 14:22,29 (*) "assaying" "attempting"

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea - See the notes on Exo 14:22. The Egyptians thought they could walk through the sea as well as the Israelites; they tried, and were drowned; while the former passed in perfect safety. The one walked by faith, the other by sight; one perished, the other was saved.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hebrews 11:20-31

Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, concerning things to come. Things present are not the best things; no man knoweth love or hatred by having them or wanting them. Jacob lived by faith, and he died by faith, and in faith. Though the grace of faith is of use always through our whole lives, it is especially so when we come to die. Faith has a great work to do at last, to help the believer to die to the Lord, so as to…

Read the full comment on Hebrews 11:20-31 →

Hebrews 11:29 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ΠίστειPisteiBy faithG4102
διέβησανdiebēsanthey passed throughG1224
τὴνtēntheG3588
ἐρυθρὰνeruthranRedG2063
θάλασσανthalassanSeaG2281
ὡςhōsasG5613
διὰdiathroughG1223
ξηρᾶςxērasdryG3584
ἧςhēswhichG3739
πεῖρανpeiranan attemptG3984
λαβόντεςlabonteshaving madeG2983
οἱhoitheG3588
ΑἰγύπτιοιAiguptioiEgyptiansG124
κατεπόθησαν.¶katepothēsanwere swallowed up.G2666

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Hebrews 11:29

  • Exodus 14:13-15:21

    And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. …

  • Psalms 106:9-11

    He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.

  • Psalms 78:13

    He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.

  • Habakkuk 3:8-10

    Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation? Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.

  • Isaiah 63:11-16

    Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him? That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble? As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name. …

  • Isaiah 51:9-10

    Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?

  • Joshua 2:10

    For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

  • Psalms 66:6

    He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.

  • Psalms 114:1-5

    When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion. The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. …

  • Psalms 136:13-15

    To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever: And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever: But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.

  • Isaiah 11:15-16

    And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

  • Nehemiah 9:11

    And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ex 14:13-31; 15:1-21; Jos 2:10; Ne 9:11; Ps 66:6; 78:13; 106:9-11
Ps 114:1-5; 136:13-15; Isa 11:15,16; 51:9,10; 63:11-16; Hab 3:8-10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Hebrews 11:28

    Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

  • Hebrews 11:29

    By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

  • Hebrews 11:30

    By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.

Read all of Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11:29 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Por fe pasaron el mar Bermejo como por tierra seca: lo cual probando los Egipcios, fueron sumergidos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Par la foi, ils traversèrent la mer Rouge comme une terre sèche, ce que les Égyptiens ayant essayé, ils furent engloutis.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Durch Glauben gingen sie durch das Rote Meer wie durch trockenes Land, welches die Ägypter versuchten und verschlungen wurden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Fide transierunt mare Rubrum tamquam per aridam terram: quod experti Ægyptii, devorati sunt.