The Certainty of God's Promise

¹³ For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, ^(A)he swore by himself, ¹⁴ saying, ^(B)“Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” ¹⁵ And thus Abraham,^{[a] (C)}having patiently waited, obtained the promise. ¹⁶ For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes ^(D)an oath is final for confirmation. ¹⁷ So when God desired to show more convincingly to ^(E)the heirs of the promise ^(F)the unchangeable character of his purpose, ^(G)he guaranteed it with an oath, ¹⁸ so that by two unchangeable things, in which ^(H)it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope ^(I)set before us.

⁴² then I will ^(A)remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will ^(B)remember the land.

²⁸ As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are ^(A)beloved for the sake of their forefathers.

⁶⁰ yet ^(A)I will remember my covenant with you ^(B)in the days of your youth, ^(C)and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant.

The Law and the Promise

^15 (A)To give a human example, brothers:^{[a] (B)}even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. ¹⁶ Now ^(C)the promises were made ^(D)to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, ^(E)“And to your offspring,” who is Christ. ¹⁷ This is what I mean: the law, which came ^(F)430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as ^(G)to make the promise void.