¹⁶ and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son,^{(A) 17} I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies,^{(B) 18} and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.”^(C)

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)

⁵ that I may perform the oath that I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.’ ” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”^(A)

Blessings for Obedience

¹² “If you heed these ordinances by diligently observing them, the Lord your God will maintain with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to your ancestors;^(A)

¹⁶ Humans, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute among them.^{(A) 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,^(B)

⁸ It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.^(A)

³ Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.^(A)

⁷ The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.^(A)