And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.
Parallel translations
- WEB He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness.
- KJV And he believed in the LORD; and he counted 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.
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 says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God.
- Gal 3:6–14Even as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.”
- Rom 4:9Is this blessing then pronounced on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.
- Rom 4:20–25Yet, looking to the promise of God, he didn’t waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith, giving glory to God,
- Rom 4:3–6For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
- Ps 106:31That was credited to him for righteousness, for all generations to come.
- Heb 11:8By 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.
- Rom 4:11He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they might be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might also be accounted to them.
- 2 Cor 5:19namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.