Galatians 3:16

3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. ¹  Scripture ²  does not say, “and to the descendants,” ³  referring to many, but “and to your descendant,” ⁴  referring to one, who is Christ.

Psalms 105:6-12

105:6 O children ⁵  of Abraham, ⁶  God’s ⁷  servant,

you descendants ⁸  of Jacob, God’s ⁹  chosen ones!

105:7 He is the Lord our God;

he carries out judgment throughout the earth. ¹⁰ 

105:8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,

the promise he made ¹¹  to a thousand generations –

105:9 the promise ¹²  he made to Abraham,

the promise he made by oath to Isaac!

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

to Israel as a lasting promise, ¹³ 

105:11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan

as the portion of your inheritance.”

105:12 When they were few in number,

just a very few, and resident aliens within it,

Psalms 105:42

105:42 Yes, ¹⁴  he remembered the sacred promise ¹⁵ 

he made to Abraham his servant.

Micah 7:18-20

7:18 There is no other God like you! ¹⁶ 

You ¹⁷  forgive sin

and pardon ¹⁸  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ¹⁹ 

You do not remain angry forever, ²⁰ 

but delight in showing loyal love.

7:19 You will once again ²¹  have mercy on us;

you will conquer ²²  our evil deeds;

you will hurl our ²³  sins into the depths of the sea. ²⁴ 

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham, ²⁵ 

which you promised on oath to our ancestors ²⁶ 

in ancient times. ²⁷ 

Luke 1:54-55

1:54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering ²⁸  his mercy, ²⁹ 

1:55 as he promised ³⁰  to our ancestors, ³¹  to Abraham and to his descendants ³²  forever.”

Luke 1:72-73

1:72 He has done this ³³  to show mercy ³⁴  to our ancestors, ³⁵ 

and to remember his holy covenant ³⁶  –

1:73 the oath ³⁷  that he swore to our ancestor ³⁸  Abraham.

This oath grants ³⁹ 

Hebrews 6:12-15

6:12 so that you may not be sluggish, ⁴⁰  but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises.

6:13 Now when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, 6:14 saying, “Surely I will bless you greatly and multiply your descendants abundantly.” ⁴¹  6:15 And so by persevering, Abraham ⁴²  inherited the promise.

[3:16]  ¹ tn Grk “his seed,” a figurative extension of the meaning of σπέρμα (sperma) to refer to descendants (L&N 10.29).

[3:16]  ² tn Grk “It”; the referent (the scripture) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The understood subject of the verb λέγει (legei) could also be “He” (referring to God) as the one who spoke the promise to Abraham.

[3:16]  ³ tn Grk “to seeds.” See the note on “descendant” earlier in this verse. Here the term is plural; the use of the singular in the OT text cited later in this verse is crucial to Paul’s argument.

[3:16]  ⁴ tn See the note on “descendant” earlier in this verse.

[105:6]  ⁵ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[105:6]  ⁶ tc Some mss have “Israel,” which appears in the parallel version of this psalm in 1 Chr 16:13.

[105:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[105:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “sons.”

[105:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[105:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in all the earth [are] his judgments.”

[105:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[the] word he commanded.” The text refers here to God’s unconditional covenantal promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, as vv. 10-12 make clear.

[105:9]  ¹² tn Heb “which.”

[105:10]  ¹³ tn Or “eternal covenant.”

[105:42]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for.”

[105:42]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his holy word.”

[7:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.

[7:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”

[7:19]  ²¹ tn The verb יָשׁוּב (yashuv, “he will return”) is here used adverbially in relation to the following verb, indicating that the Lord will again show mercy.

[7:19]  ²² tn Some prefer to read יִכְבֹּס (yikhbos, “he will cleanse”; see HALOT 459 s.v. כבס pi). If the MT is taken as it stands, sin is personified as an enemy that the Lord subdues.

[7:19]  ²³ tn Heb “their sins,” but the final mem (ם) may be enclitic rather than a pronominal suffix. In this case the suffix from the preceding line (“our”) may be understood as doing double duty.

[7:19]  ²⁴ sn In this metaphor the Lord disposes of Israel’s sins by throwing them into the waters of the sea (here symbolic of chaos).

[7:20]  ²⁵ tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.

[7:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.

[7:20]  ²⁷ tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”

[1:54]  ²⁸ tn Or “because he remembered mercy,” understanding the infinitive as causal.

[1:54]  ²⁹ tn Or “his [God’s] loyal love.”

[1:55]  ³⁰ tn Grk “as he spoke.” Since this is a reference to the covenant to Abraham, ἐλάλησεν (elalhsen) can be translated in context “as he promised.” God keeps his word.

[1:55]  ³¹ tn Grk “fathers.”

[1:55]  ³² tn Grk “his seed” (an idiom for offspring or descendants).

[1:72]  ³³ tn The words “He has done this” (referring to the raising up of the horn of salvation from David’s house) are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to allow a new sentence to be started in the translation. The Greek sentence is lengthy and complex at this point, while contemporary English uses much shorter sentences.

[1:72]  ³⁴ sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.

[1:72]  ³⁵ tn Or “our forefathers”; Grk “our fathers.” This begins with the promise to Abraham (vv. 55, 73), and thus refers to many generations of ancestors.

[1:72]  ³⁶ sn The promises of God can be summarized as being found in the one promise (the oath that he swore) to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3).

[1:73]  ³⁷ tn This is linked back grammatically by apposition to “covenant” in v. 72, specifying which covenant is meant.

[1:73]  ³⁸ tn Or “forefather”; Grk “father.”

[1:73]  ³⁹ tn Again for reasons of English style, the infinitival clause “to grant us” has been translated “This oath grants” and made the beginning of a new sentence in the translation.

[6:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “dull.”

[6:14]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “in blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply you,” the Greek form of a Hebrew idiom showing intensity.

[6:15]  ⁴² tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Abraham) has been specified for clarity.