³² And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,^{(A) 33} who by faith [that is, with an enduring trust in God and His promises] subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions,^{(B) 34} extinguished the power of [raging] fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became mighty and unbeatable in battle, putting enemy forces to flight.^{(C) 35} Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured [to death], refusing to accept release [offered on the condition of denying their faith], so that they would be resurrected to a better life;^{(D) 36} and others experienced the trial of mocking and scourging [amid torture], and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned [to death], they were sawn in two, they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith], they were put to death by the sword; they went about wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated ³⁸ (people of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and [living in] caves and holes in the ground.

³⁹ And all of these, though they gained [divine] approval through their faith, did not receive [the fulfillment of] what was promised, ⁴⁰ because God had us in mind and had something better for us, so that they [these men and women of authentic faith] would not be made perfect [that is, completed in Him] apart from us.