Genesis 12:3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
3 (A)I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will find blessing in you.[a]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 12:3 Will find blessing in you: the Hebrew conjugation of the verb here and in 18:18 and 28:14 can be either reflexive (“shall bless themselves by you” = people will invoke Abraham as an example of someone blessed by God) or passive (“by you all the families of earth will be blessed” = the religious privileges of Abraham and his descendants ultimately will be extended to the nations). In 22:18 and 26:4, another conjugation of the same verb is used in a similar context that is undoubtedly reflexive (“bless themselves”). Many scholars suggest that the two passages in which the sense is clear should determine the interpretation of the three ambiguous passages: the privileged blessing enjoyed by Abraham and his descendants will awaken in all peoples the desire to enjoy those same blessings. Since the term is understood in a passive sense in the New Testament (Acts 3:25; Gal 3:8), it is rendered here by a neutral expression that admits of both meanings.
Genesis 12:3
New International Version
Genesis 22:17-18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
17 I will bless you and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; your descendants will take possession of the gates of their enemies,(A) 18 and in your descendants all the nations of the earth will find blessing, because you obeyed my command.”(B)
Read full chapter
Genesis 22:17-18
New International Version
17 I will surely bless you(A) and make your descendants(B) as numerous as the stars in the sky(C) and as the sand on the seashore.(D) Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,(E) 18 and through your offspring[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,[b](F) because you have obeyed me.”(G)
Footnotes
- Genesis 22:18 Or seed
- Genesis 22:18 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
Genesis 28:14
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and through them you will spread to the west and the east, to the north and the south. In you and your descendants all the families of the earth will find blessing.(A)
Read full chapter
Genesis 28:14
New International Version
14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you(A) will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.(B) All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.[a](C)
Footnotes
- Genesis 28:14 Or will use your name and the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
Exodus 32:13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,(A) ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’”
Read full chapter
Exodus 32:13
New International Version
13 Remember(A) your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self:(B) ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars(C) in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land(D) I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.