And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Parallel translations
- WEB He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness.
- BSB Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
- NKJV And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
- NASB Then he believed in the Lord; and He credited it to him as righteousness.
- NLT And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Abram believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. This is the Bible's foundational statement of justification by faith.
Overview
This pivotal verse declares that Abram was counted righteous not by works but by trusting God's promise. Paul cites it in Romans 4 and Galatians 3 as proof that justification has always been by faith, and James 2 shows such faith is living and active. It points directly to the gospel: sinners are reckoned righteous through faith in Christ, the promised seed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jas 2:23And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
- Gal 3:6–14Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
- Rom 4:9Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
- Rom 4:20–25He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
- Rom 4:3–6For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
- Ps 106:31And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.
- Heb 11:8By 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.
- Rom 4:11And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
- 2 Cor 5:19To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 15:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.