Hebrews 11:38

38 The world was not good enough for them! They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the earth.

Hebrews 11:38 Meaning and Commentary

Hebrews 11:38

Of whom the world was not worthy
These words are inserted in a parenthesis, to remove or prevent such objections as these; that they were restless and unquiet persons, that made disturbance in the world, and so unfit to live in it; and that they were deservedly punished for crimes they were guilty of; and to show the great worth and inestimable value of the people of God, which exceeds that of the whole world; and to intimate the removal of them out of the world, or from dwelling among the men of it, is by way of punishment to it:

they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of
the earth;
as Elijah did; ( 1 Kings 18:4 ) ( 1 Kings 19:9 1 Kings 19:10 ) , and many in the times of the Maccabees;

``And they kept the eight days with gladness, as in the feast of the tabernacles, remembering that not long afore they had held the feast of the tabernacles, when as they wandered in the mountains and dens like beasts.'' (2 Maccabees 10:6)

Hebrews 11:38 In-Context

36 Some were laughed at and beaten. Others were put in chains and thrown into prison.
37 They were stoned to death, they were cut in half, and they were killed with swords. Some wore the skins of sheep and goats. They were poor, abused, and treated badly.
38 The world was not good enough for them! They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the earth.
39 All these people are known for their faith, but none of them received what God had promised.
40 God planned to give us something better so that they would be made perfect, but only together with us.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.