Psalms 25:13

25:13 They experience his favor; ¹ 

their descendants ²  inherit the land. ³ 

Psalms 37:26

37:26 All day long he shows compassion and lends to others, ⁴ 

and his children ⁵  are blessed.

Psalms 102:28

102:28 The children of your servants will settle down here,

and their descendants ⁶  will live securely in your presence.” ⁷ 

Genesis 17:7

17:7 I will confirm ⁸  my covenant as a perpetual ⁹  covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 22:17-18

22:17 I will indeed bless you, ¹¹  and I will greatly multiply ¹²  your descendants ¹³  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 possession ¹⁴  of the strongholds ¹⁵  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ¹⁶  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ¹⁷  using the name of your descendants.’”

Proverbs 20:7

20:7 The righteous person ¹⁸  behaves in integrity; ¹⁹ 

blessed are his children after him. ²⁰ 

Jeremiah 32:39

32:39 I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for ²¹  their own good and the good of the children who descend from them.

Acts 2:39

2:39 For the promise ²²  is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”

¹ tn Heb “his life in goodness dwells.” The singular is representative (see v. 14).

² tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

³ tn Or “earth.”

⁴ tn The active participles describe characteristic behavior.

⁵ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

⁶ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

⁷ tn Heb “before you will be established.”

⁸ tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).

⁹ tn Or “as an eternal.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”

¹¹ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form (either an imperfect or cohortative) emphasizes the certainty of the blessing.

¹² tn Here too the infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the following finite verb (either an imperfect or cohortative).

¹³ tn 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.

¹⁴ tn Or “inherit.”

¹⁵ tn 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”).

¹⁶ tn In the Hebrew text this causal clause comes at the end of the sentence. The translation alters the word order for stylistic reasons.

¹⁷ tn Traditionally the verb is taken as passive (“will be blessed”) here, as if Abraham’s descendants were going to be a channel or source of blessing to the nations. But the Hitpael is better understood here as reflexive/reciprocal, “will bless [i.e., pronounce blessings on] themselves/one another” (see also Gen 26:4). Elsewhere the Hitpael of the verb “to bless” is used with a reflexive/reciprocal sense in Deut 29:18; Ps 72:17; Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2. Gen 12:2 predicts that Abram will be held up as a paradigm of divine blessing and that people will use his name in their blessing formulae. For examples of blessing formulae utilizing an individual as an example of blessing see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11. Earlier formulations of this promise (see Gen 12:2; 18:18) use the Niphal stem. (See also Gen 28:14.)

¹⁸ sn Two terms describe the subject of this proverb: “righteous” and “integrity.” The first describes the person as a member of the covenant community who strives to live according to God’s standards; the second emphasizes that his lifestyle is blameless.

¹⁹ tn Heb “walks in his integrity” (so NASB); cf. NIV “leads a blameless life.” The Hitpael participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) means “to walk about; to walk to and fro.” The idiom of walking representing living is intensified here in this stem. This verbal stem is used in scripture to describe people “walking with” God.

²⁰ sn The nature and the actions of parents have an effect on children (e.g., Exod 20:4-6); if the parents are righteous, the children will enjoy a blessing – the respect and the happiness which the parent reflects on them.

²¹ tn Heb “I will give to them one heart and one way to [= in order that they may] fear me all the days for good to them.” The phrase “one heart” refers both to unanimity of will and accord (cf. 1 Chr 12:38 [12:39 HT]; 2 Chr 30:12) and to singleness of purpose or intent (cf. Ezek 11:19 and see BDB 525 s.v. ֵלב 4 where reference is made to “inclinations, resolutions, and determinations of the will”). The phrase “one way” refers to one way of life or conduct (cf. BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a where reference is made to moral action and character), a way of life that is further qualified by the goal of showing “fear, reverence, respect” for the Lord. The Hebrew sentence has been broken up to avoid a long complex sentence in English which is contrary to contemporary English style. However, an attempt has been made to preserve all the connections of the original.

²² sn The promise refers to the promise of the Holy Spirit that Jesus received from the Father in 2:33 and which he now pours out on others. The promise consists of the Holy Spirit (see note in 2:33). Jesus is the active mediator of God’s blessing.