And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
Parallel translations
- WEB and said, “I have sworn by myself, says Yahweh, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son,
- BSB saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son,
- NKJV and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—
- NASB and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son,
- NLT “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that
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
Yahweh swears by Himself because Abraham did not withhold his only son. God binds His promise with an oath, grounding it in His own unchanging character.
Overview
Because there is none greater, God swears by Himself, giving the strongest possible assurance of His covenant. Hebrews 6:13-18 cites this oath as the firm anchor of the believer's hope. Abraham's not withholding his only son echoes the Father who gave His only Son, the greater offering this scene anticipates.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Luke 1:73The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
- Heb 6:13–14For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
- Ps 105:9Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
- Jer 51:14The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.
- Rom 4:13–14For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
- Jer 49:13For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.
- Isa 45:23I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
- 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:
- Amos 6:8The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 22:16 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.