And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
- BSB I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”
- NKJV And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
- NASB “I will make My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.”
- NLT I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”
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
God promised to confirm His covenant and multiply Abram exceedingly. The covenant relationship is reaffirmed and expanded.
Overview
God restates His intention to establish the covenant and greatly increase Abram's descendants, building on chapter 15. The repetition and intensification assure Abram that God's purpose stands firm despite the long delay. This faithful confirming of His promise displays God's steadfast covenant love, the same love that secures believers in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Gen 17:4–6As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
- Gen 12:2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
- Gen 15:18In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
- Ps 105:8–11He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
- Gen 13:16And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
- Gen 22:17That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
- Gal 3:17–18And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
- Gen 9:9And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
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 17:2 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.