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]
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- 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 18:18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
18 now that he is to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth are to find blessing in him?(A)
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Genesis 22:18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
18 and in your descendants all the nations of the earth will find blessing, because you obeyed my command.”(A)
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Ben Sira 44:19-21
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
19 Abraham, father of many peoples,
kept his glory without stain:(A)
20 He observed the Most High’s command,
and entered into a covenant with him;
In his own flesh he incised the ordinance,[a]
and when tested was found loyal.(B)
21 For this reason, God promised him with an oath
to bless the nations through his descendants,
To make him numerous as grains of dust,
and to exalt his posterity like the stars,
Giving them an inheritance from sea to sea,
and from the River[b] to the ends of the earth.
Footnotes
- 44:20 In his own flesh…ordinance: the covenant of circumcision; cf. Gn 17:10–14. And when tested…loyal: Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac at the Lord’s command; cf. Gn 22:1–12.
- 44:21 The River: the Euphrates; cf. Gn 2:14.
Galatians 3:8-9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
8 Scripture, which saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, foretold the good news to Abraham, saying, “Through you shall all the nations be blessed.”(A) 9 Consequently, those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham who had faith.(B)
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