¹⁷ My point is this: the law, which came four hundred thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.^(A)

¹³ Then the Lord^[a] said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years,^(A)

²⁰ He was destined before the foundation of the world but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake.^(A)

¹¹ inquiring about the time and circumstances^[a] that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings intended for Christ and the subsequent glory.^{(A) 12} It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look!^(B)

³⁹ Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰ since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.^(A)

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son,^{(A) 18} of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.”^{(B) 19} He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.^(C)

¹³ All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth,^(A)

¹⁸ There is, on the one hand, the abrogation of an earlier commandment because it was weak and ineffectual^(A)

The Certainty of God’s Promise

¹³ When God made a promise to Abraham, because he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,^{(A) 14} saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply you.” ¹⁵ And thus Abraham,^[a] having patiently endured, obtained the promise. ¹⁶ Humans, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute among them.^{(B) 17} In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath,^{(C) 18} so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us.^(D)

⁴ I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments.