Psalms 55:5

55:5 Fear and panic overpower me; ¹ 

terror overwhelms ²  me.

Genesis 17:13-14

17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, ³  whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant ⁴  will be visible in your flesh as a permanent ⁵  reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male ⁶  who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off ⁷  from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” ⁸ 

Genesis 17:2

17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant ⁹  between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” ¹⁰ 

Genesis 23:5

23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, ¹¹ 

Psalms 105:10

105:10 He gave it to Jacob as a decree,

to Israel as a lasting promise, ¹² 

Jeremiah 50:5

50:5 They will ask the way to Zion;

they will turn their faces toward it.

They will come ¹³  and bind themselves to the Lord

in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten. ¹⁴ 

Ezekiel 37:26

37:26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them. ¹⁵  I will establish them, ¹⁶  increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them forever.

Hebrews 13:20

Benediction and Conclusion

13:20 Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹ tn Heb “fear and trembling enter into me.”

² tn Heb “covers.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the descriptive (present progressive) force of the preceding imperfect.

³ tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.

⁴ tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.

⁵ tn Or “an eternal.”

⁵ tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.

⁶ tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁷ tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.

⁷ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative indicates consequence. If Abram is blameless, then the Lord will ratify the covenant. Earlier the Lord ratified part of his promise to Abram (see Gen 15:18-21), guaranteeing him that his descendants would live in the land. But the expanded form of the promise, which includes numerous descendants and eternal possession of the land, remains to be ratified. This expanded form of the promise is in view here (see vv. 2b, 4-8). See the note at Gen 15:18 and R. B. Chisholm, “Evidence from Genesis,” A Case for Premillennialism, 35-54.

⁸ tn Heb “I will multiply you exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

⁹ tn Heb “answered Abraham saying to him.”

¹¹ tn Or “eternal covenant.”

¹³ tc The translation here assumes that the Hebrew בֹּאוּ (bo’u; a Qal imperative masculine plural) should be read בָּאוּ (ba’u; a Qal perfect third plural). This reading is presupposed by the Greek version of Aquila, the Latin version, and the Targum (see BHS note a, which mistakenly assumes that the form must be imperfect).

¹⁴ sn See Jer 32:40 and the study note there for the nature of this lasting agreement.

¹⁵ sn See Isa 24:5; 55:3; 61:8; Jer 32:40; 50:5; Ezek 16:60, for other references to perpetual covenants.

¹⁶ tn Heb “give them.”