³ Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God ^(A)Almighty appeared to me at ^(B)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me,

¹¹ Also God said to him: ^(A)“I am God Almighty. ^(B)Be fruitful and multiply; ^(C)a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.

¹⁷ blessing I will ^(A)bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants ^(B)as the stars of the heaven ^(C)and as the sand which is on the seashore; and ^(D)your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. ^18 (E)In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, ^(F)because you have obeyed My voice.”

The Sign of the Covenant^(A)

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord ^(B)appeared to Abram and said to him, ^(C)“I am ^[a]Almighty God; ^(D)walk before Me and be ^(E)blameless. ² And I will make My ^(F)covenant between Me and you, and ^(G)will multiply you exceedingly.” ³ Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: ⁴ “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be ^(H)a father of ^[b]many nations. ⁵ No longer shall ^(I)your name be called ^[c]Abram, but your name shall be ^[d]Abraham; ^(J)for I have made you a father of ^[e]many nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make ^(K)nations of you, and ^(L)kings shall come from you.

¹⁶ And ^(A)I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.

God’s Promise to Noah

9 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: ^(A)“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ^(A)“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and ^(B)subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that ^[a]moves on the earth.”

¹⁴ And may God ^(A)Almighty ^(B)give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. ^(C)If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”