Passage

Hebrews 11.6

NASB95 text pending

The author of Hebrews places this verse at the hinge of his "faith hall of fame," between Enoch (v. 5) and Noah (v. 7), as the universal principle behind every name on the roll: pleasing God requires faith, and that faith has two propositional contents, that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. The verse is foundational for natural theology because it grounds the diligent-seeking motif that connects general revelation (Romans 1) and the Areopagus principle (Acts 17:27) into a unified scriptural warrant for apologetic engagement. ris3n's notes invoke it across the Bayesian Argument for Theism, Divine Hiddenness Objection Defeater, and Agnostic Retreat Defeater as the verse that authorizes, indeed commands, the rational pursuit of God.

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"4. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness in respect of his gifts: and through it he being dead yet speaketh. 5. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God translated him: for he hath had witness borne to him that before his translation he had been well-pleasing unto God:"

"6. 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."

"7. By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. 8. By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." (Hebrews 11:4-8, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"4. By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks. 5. By faith, Enoch was taken away, so that he wouldn’t see death, and he was not found, because God translated him. For he has had testimony given to him that before his translation he had been well pleasing to God."

"6. 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."

"7. By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. 8. By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went." (Hebrews 11:4-8, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"4. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. ^{yet: or, is yet spoken of} 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."

"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."

"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. ^{moved: or, being wary} 8. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." (Hebrews 11:4-8, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"4. by faith a better sacrifice did Abel offer to God than Cain, through which he was testified to be righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and through it, he being dead, doth yet speak. 5. By faith Enoch was translated, not to see death, and was not found, because God did translate him; for before his translation he had been testified to, that he had pleased God well,"

"6. 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."

"7. By faith Noah, having been divinely warned concerning the things not yet seen, having feared, did prepare an ark to the salvation of his house, through which he did condemn the world, and of the righteousness according to faith he became heir. 8. By faith Abraham, being called, did obey, to go forth to the place that he was about to receive for an inheritance, and he went forth, not knowing whither he doth go;" (Hebrews 11:4-8, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: unknown author (traditionally Paul; modern scholarship: possibly Apollos, Barnabas, Priscilla, or unknown)
Audience: Jewish-Christian community tempted to revert to Judaism under social and possibly legal pressure
Location: composition unknown (audience perhaps Rome or Jerusalem)
Time period: composed c. AD 60-69 (before the AD 70 temple destruction, given the present-tense temple-language)

Theological reading

The verse defines saving faith with two minimum cognitive contents. First, that God exists ("he that cometh to God must believe that he is"), which is propositional belief about ontology. Second, that He rewards the diligent seeker, which is a propositional belief about moral providence: God is not indifferent to the inquirer but responds. This bifold structure rebuts both atheist contention (content one) and deist absentee-landlord theology (content two).

For natural theology, Hebrews 11:6 is the textual warrant. Paul's parallel at Acts 17:27 says God ordered the nations "that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him," and Romans 1:20 makes general revelation universally accessible through the things that have been made. Hebrews 11:6 fuses these: seeking is commanded, finding is promised. The Bayesian apologist reads "rewarder" as God's commitment to evidential availability; the divine-hiddenness objector must explain why a God committed by this verse to reward seekers would leave seekers indefinitely in the dark.

The third pastoral reading: faith here is not bare credulity but the orientation of a will toward God as both real and good. Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham did not believe propositions in the abstract; they staked their lives on God's character. The apologetic and the pastoral converge: argue for God's existence, but argue for the God who rewards.

Key words

G4102 - pistis, pistis (Strong's G4102), faith / trust / faithfulness, the noun the chapter is built on.
G4100 - pisteuo, pisteuo (Strong's G4100), to believe / trust, the verb "must believe that He is."
G2316 - theos, theos (Strong's G2316), God, the object of approach and seeking.
G1096 - ginomai, ginomai (Strong's G1096), to become / come to be, "He becomes a rewarder" in YLT's literal reading.

Theological themes

Faith as approach. Coming to God presupposes belief in His existence; ontology grounds approach.
Reward as motivator. God's character is positively responsive to the seeker, not neutral.
Diligent seeking. KJV's "diligently seek" (Greek ekzeteo) frames inquiry as a sustained moral act.
Bridge to natural theology. This verse is the scriptural license for evidential and rational apologetics.
Universalism of pleasing. "Without faith it is impossible," covering Abel through Abraham and beyond, all on one principle.

Cross-references

Romans 1.20, general revelation as the universal evidential floor for "He is."
Acts 17.27, the Areopagus command to seek and grope for God.
Hebrews 11.1, faith defined as assurance of things hoped for.
Hebrews 11, the broader faith chapter this verse anchors.
Jeremiah 31.31, the new covenant promise that the seekers shall find Him.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.