And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Parallel translations
- WEB All the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring, because you have obeyed my voice.”
- KJV And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
- NKJV In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
- NASB And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
- NLT And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”
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
All nations will be blessed through Abraham's offspring because he obeyed. This is the gospel promise that salvation reaches the whole world through his seed.
Overview
The climax of the oath universalizes the blessing: every nation will be blessed through Abraham's offspring. Paul identifies this singular 'offspring' as Christ (Galatians 3:16), through whom Gentiles are justified by faith. Abraham's obedience is the occasion, but Christ is the means by which the nations are blessed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Acts 3:25And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’
- Gen 12:3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
- Gal 3:16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.
- Gen 26:4–5I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,
- Gal 3:8–9The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
- Gen 18:18Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
- Jer 7:23but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.
- Ps 72:17May his name endure forever; may his name continue as long as the sun shines. In him may all nations be blessed; may they call him blessed.
- Eph 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
- Gal 3:28–29There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- Gal 3:18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God freely granted it to Abraham through a promise.
- Rom 1:3regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh,
- Heb 11:1–40Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.
- Gen 22:3So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated.
- Gen 22:10Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
- 1 Sam 2:30Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.
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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 22:18 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.