The Certainty of God’s Promise

¹³ When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,^(A)

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord^(A) called to Abraham from heaven^(B) a second time ¹⁶ and said, “I swear by myself,^(C) declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,^{(D) 17} I will surely bless you^(E) and make your descendants^(F) as numerous as the stars in the sky^(G) and as the sand on the seashore.^(H) Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,^{(I) 18} and through your offspring^[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,^[b](J) because you have obeyed me.”^(K)

¹⁶ People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.^{(A) 17} Because God wanted to make the unchanging^(B) nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised,^(C) he confirmed it with an oath. ¹⁸ God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,^(D) we who have fled to take hold of the hope^(E) set before us may be greatly encouraged.