^22:16and said, “ ‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’³⁶ decrees the Lord,³⁷ ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ^22:17I will indeed bless you,³⁸ and I will greatly multiply³⁹ your descendants⁴⁰ so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession⁴¹ of the strongholds⁴² of their enemies.

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Footnotes

36 Heb “By myself I swear.”
37 Heb “the oracle of the Lord.” The phrase refers to a formal oracle or decree from the Lord.
38 The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.
39 Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative). I will greatly multiply. The Lord here ratifies his earlier promise to give Abram a multitude of descendants. For further discussion see R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35–54.
40 The Hebrew term זֶרַע (zera’) occurring here and in v. 18 may mean “seed” (for planting), “offspring” (occasionally of animals, but usually of people), or “descendants” depending on the context.
41 Or “inherit.”
42 Heb “gate,” which here stands for a walled city. To break through the gate complex would be to conquer the city, for the gate complex was the main area of defense (hence the translation “stronghold”).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,

NIVNew International Version (2011)

and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,

CSBChristian Standard Bible

and said, “By myself I have sworn,” this is the Lord’s declaration: “Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son, I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the city gates of their enemies.

NLTNew Living Translation

“This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And he said, “I swear by myself, declares Yahweh, that because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only child, that I will certainly bless you and greatly multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the shore of the sea. And your offspring will take possession of the gate of his enemies.

KJV 1900King James Version

And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

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