Hebrews 11 · Verse 6

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Hebrews 11:6, King James Version

Hebrews 11:6 in other translations

BSB	And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
WEB	Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.
ASV	and without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him.
YLT	and apart from faith it is impossible to please well, for it behoveth him who is coming to God to believe that He is, and to those seeking Him He becometh a rewarder.
DARBY	But without faith it is impossible to please him. For he that draws near to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them who seek him out.
BBE	And without faith it is not possible to be well-pleasing to him, for it is necessary for anyone who comes to God to have the belief that God is, and that he is a rewarder of all those who make a serious search for him.
Webster	But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

What does Hebrews 11:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

6. without--Greek, "apart from faith": if one be destitute of faith (compare Ro 14:23). to please--Translate, as Alford does, the Greek aorist, "It is impossible to please God at all" (Ro 8:8). Natural amiabilities and "works done before the grace of Christ are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ; yea, rather, for that they are not done as God hath willed them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin" [Article XIII, Book of Common Prayer]. Works not rooted in God are splendid sins [Augustine]. he that cometh to God--as a worshipper (He 7:19). must believe--once for all: Greek aorist tense. that God is--is the true self-existing Jehovah (as contrasted with all so-called gods, not gods, Ga 4:8), the source of all being, though he sees Him not (He 11:1) as being "invisible" (He 11:27). So Enoch; this passage implies that he had not been favored with visible appearances of God, yet he believed in God's being, and in God's moral government, as the Rewarder of His diligent worshippers, in opposition to antediluvian skepticism. Also Moses was not so favored before he left Egypt the first time (He 11:27); still he believed. and ... is--a different Greek verb from the former "is." Translate, "is eventually"; proves to be; literally, "becomes." rewarder--renderer of reward [Alford]. So God proved to be to Enoch. The reward is God Himself diligently "sought" and "walked with" in partial communion here, and to be fully enjoyed hereafter. Compare Ge 15:1, "I am thy exceeding great reward." of them--and them only. diligently seek--Greek, "seek out" God. Compare "seek early," Pr 8:17. Not only "ask" and "seek," but "knock," Mt 7:7; compare He 11:12; Lu 13:24, "Strive" as in an agony of contest.

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

Barnes' Notes

Verse 6. But without faith it is impossible to please him. Without confidence in God--in his fidelity, his truth, his wisdom, his promises. And this is as true in other things as ill religion. It is impossible for a child to please his father unless he has confidence in him. It is impossible for a wife to please her husband, or a husband a wife, unless they have confidence in each other. If there is distrust and jealousy on either part, there is discord and misery. We cannot be pleased with a professed friend unless he has such confidence in us as to believe our declarations and promises, The same thing is true of God. He cannot be pleased with the man who has no confidence in him; who doubts the truth of his declarations and promises; who does not believe that his ways are right, or that he is qualified for universal empire. The requirement of faith or confidence in God is not arbitrary; it is just what we require of our children, and partners in life, and friends, as the indispensable condition of our being pleased with them.

For he that cometh to God. In any way--as a worshipper. This is alike required in public worship, in the family, and in secret devotion.

Must believe that he is. That God exists. This is the first thing required in worship. Evidently we cannot come to him in an acceptable manner if we doubt his existence. We do not see him, but we must believe that he is; we cannot form in our mind a correct image of God, but this should not prevent a conviction that there is such a Being. But the declaration here implies more than that there should be a general persuasion of the truth that there is a God. It is necessary that we have this belief in lively exercise in the act of drawing near to him, and that we should realize that we are actually in the presence of the all-seeing JEHOVAH.

And that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. This is equally necessary as the belief that he exists. If we could not believe that God would hear and answer our prayers, there could be no encouragement to call upon him. It is not meant here that the desire of the reward is to be the motive for seeking God--for the apostle makes no affirmation on that point; but that it is impossible to make an acceptable approach to him unless we have this belief.

(a) "him" Ps 105:21,22

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 6 He that cometh to God - The man who professes that it is his duty to worship God, must, if he act rationally, do it on the conviction that there is such a Being infinite, eternal, unoriginated, and self-existent; the cause of all other being; on whom all being depends; and by whose energy, bounty, and providence, all other beings exist, live, and are supplied with the means of continued existence and life. He must believe, also, that he rewards them that diligently seek him; that he is not indifferent about his own worship; that he requires adoration and religious service from men; and that he blesses, and especially protects and saves, those who in simplicity and uprightness of heart seek and serve him. This requires faith, such a faith as is mentioned above; a faith by which we can please God; and now that we have an abundant revelation, a faith according to that revelation; a faith in God through Christ the great sin-offering, without which a man can no more please him, or be accepted of him, than Cain was. As the knowledge of the being of God is of infinite importance in religion, I shall introduce at the end of this chapter a series of propositions, tending to prove the being of God, 1st, a priori; and 2dly, a posteriori; omitting the proofs that are generally produced on those points, for which my readers may refer to works in general circulation on this subject: and 3dly, I shall lay down some phenomena relative to the heavenly bodies, which it will be difficult to account for without acknowledging the infinite skill, power, and continual energy of God.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hebrews 11:4-7

Here follow some illustrious examples of faith from the Old Testament. Abel brought a sacrifice of atonement from the firstlings of the flock, acknowledging himself a sinner who deserved to die, and only hoping for mercy through the great Sacrifice. Cain's proud rage and enmity against the accepted worshipper of God, led to the awful effects the same principles have produced in every age; the cruel persecution, and…

Read the full comment on Hebrews 11:4-7 →

Hebrews 11:6 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.

χωρὶςchōrisWithoutG5565

δὲdenowG1161

πίστεωςpisteōsfaithG4102

ἀδύνατονadunaton[it is] impossibleG102

εὐαρεστῆσαι·euarestēsaito please [Him];G2100

πιστεῦσαιpisteusaiTo believeG4100

γὰρgarforG1063

δεῖdeiit behoovesG1163

τὸνtonthe oneG3588

προσερχόμενονproserchomenondrawing nearG4334

τῷtō<the>G3588

θεῷtheōto GodG2316

ὅτιhotithatG3754

ἔστινestinHe existsG1510

καὶkaiand [that]G2532

τοῖςtoisto thoseG3588

ἐκζητοῦσινekzētousinearnestly seeking outG1567

αὐτὸνautonHimG846

μισθαποδότηςmisthapodotēsa rewarderG3406

γίνεται.¶ginetaiHe becomes.G1096

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

Cross references for Hebrews 11:6

Proverbs 8:17
I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Jeremiah 29:13-14
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
1 Chronicles 28:9
And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
Psalms 105:3-4
Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore.
Luke 12:31
But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Psalms 119:10
With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 3:12
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Romans 10:14
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Psalms 73:28
But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

without.
3:12,18,19; 4:2,6; Nu 14:11; 20:12; Ps 78:22,32; 106:21,22,24
Isa 7:9; Mr 16:17; Joh 3:18,19; 8:24; Ga 5:6; Re 21:8
he that.
7:25; Job 21:14; Ps 73:28; Isa 55:3; Jer 2:31; Joh 14:6
must.
Ro 10:14
a rewarder.
26; Ge 15:1; Ru 2:12; Ps 58:11; Pr 11:18; Mt 5:12; 6:1,2,5,16
Mt 10:41,42; Lu 6:35
diligently.
1Ch 28:9; Ps 105:3,4; 119:10; Pr 8:17; So 3:1-4; Jer 29:13,14
Mt 6:33; Lu 12:31; 2Pe 1:5,10; 3:14

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

Context

Hebrews 11:5
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:7
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Read all of Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11:6 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Empero sin fe es imposible agradar á Dios; porque es menester que el que á Dios se allega, crea que le hay, y que es galardonador de los que le buscan.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Or, sans la foi il est impossible de lui plaire; car il faut que celui qui s’approche de Dieu croie que Dieu est, et qu’il est le rémunérateur de ceux qui le recherchent.
German Elberfelder 1871	Ohne Glauben aber ist es unmöglich, ihm wohlzugefallen; denn wer Gott naht, muß glauben, daß er ist, und denen, die ihn suchen, ein Belohner ist.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Sine fide autem impossibile est placere Deo. Credere enim oportet accedentem ad Deum quia est, et inquirentibus se remunerator sit.