You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham,‘ Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’

你们是先知的子孙，也承受神与你们祖宗所立的约，就是对亚伯拉罕说：‘地上万族都要因你的后裔得福。’

你们是先知的子孙，也是上帝与你们祖宗所立之约的子孙，就是对亚伯拉罕说：‘地上万族都将因你的后裔得福。’

你们是先知的子孙，也是神与你们祖宗所立之约的子孙，就是对亚伯拉罕说：‘地上万族都将因你的后裔得福。’

你们是先知的子孙，也承受了上帝和你们祖先所立的约。上帝曾对亚伯拉罕说，‘天下万族必因你的后裔而蒙福。’

你们是先知的子孙，也是承受神向你们祖先所立之约的人。神曾经对亚伯拉罕说：‘地上万族，都要因你的后裔得福。’

你们是先知们的子孙，也是神与你们祖先所订立之约的子孙。那时神对亚伯拉罕说：‘藉着你的那位后裔，地上万族都要蒙祝福。’

你們是先知的子孫，也承受神與你們祖宗所立的約，就是對亞伯拉罕說：『地上萬族都要因你的後裔得福。』

你們是先知的子孫，也是上帝與你們祖宗所立之約的子孫，就是對亞伯拉罕說：『地上萬族都將因你的後裔得福。』

你們是先知的子孫，也是神與你們祖宗所立之約的子孫，就是對亞伯拉罕說：『地上萬族都將因你的後裔得福。』

你們是先知的子孫，也承受了上帝和你們祖先所立的約。上帝曾對亞伯拉罕說，『天下萬族必因你的後裔而蒙福。』

你們是先知的子孫，也是承受神向你們祖先所立之約的人。神曾經對亞伯拉罕說：‘地上萬族，都要因你的後裔得福。’

你們呢、乃是神言人們的子孫，又是上帝向你們列祖所立的約的子孫；立約時上帝對亞伯拉罕說：「地上萬家族都必因你的後裔而蒙祝福。」

你們是先知們的子孫，也是神與你們祖先所訂立之約的子孫。那時神對亞伯拉罕說：『藉著你的那位後裔，地上萬族都要蒙祝福。』

爾為先知之子孫、承上帝與爾列祖所立之約、謂亞伯拉罕曰、天下諸族、將由爾裔獲福、

汝為先知弟子、承上帝所賜祖宗之約、謂亞伯拉罕曰、天下兆民、將藉爾裔而受福、

爾為先知之子孫、承天主與列祖所立之約、謂亞伯拉罕曰、天下萬民、將因爾子孫而獲福、

爾曹乃先知之後；天主與我祖立約、亦為爾曹。

And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham,‘ Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’

What the prophets said was meant for you. The covenant God made with your people long ago is yours also. He said to Abraham,‘ All nations on earth will be blessed through your children.’( Genesis 22:18; 26:4)

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham,‘ And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.

It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God ordained with your fathers, saying to Abraham,‘ And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham,‘ And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

Ye are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham,‘ And in your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.’

You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham,‘ All the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.’

And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed— all because you have obeyed me.”

This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away— all who have been called by the Lord our God.”

I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.

What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said,“ All nations will be blessed through you.”

They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises.Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

“ Brothers— you sons of Abraham, and also you God fearing Gentiles— this message of salvation has been sent to us!

When he had proved himself faithful, you made a covenant with him to give him and his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites. And you have done what you promised, for you are always true to your word.

Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions— to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.

Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.

Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”

He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, and to the people of Israel as a never ending covenant:

But God replied,“ No— Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant.

I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

He always stands by his covenant— the commitment he made to a thousand generations.This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac.He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, and to the people of Israel as a never ending covenant:“ I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.”He said this when they were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf:“ Do not touch my chosen people, and do not hurt my prophets.”

The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him.

God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say“ to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says“ to his child”— and that, of course, means Christ.

But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys’ heads. He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger boy, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he was the firstborn.Then he blessed Joseph and said,“ May the God before whom my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac, walked— the God who has been my shepherd all my life, to this very day,the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm— may he bless these boys. May they preserve my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac. And may their descendants multiply greatly throughout the earth.”But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head. So Joseph lifted it to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.“ No, my father,” he said.“ This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”But his father refused.“ I know, my son; I know,” he replied.“ Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. And his descendants will become a multitude of nations.”So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing:“ The people of Israel will use your names when they give a blessing. They will say,‘ May God make you as prosperous as Ephraim and Manasseh.’” In this way, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

“ For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.

And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant—

Don’t just say to each other,‘ We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.

O nations of the world, recognize the Lord; recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.

Esau exclaimed,“ No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?”Isaac said to Esau,“ I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine— what is left for me to give you, my son?”Esau pleaded,“ But do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me, too!” Then Esau broke down and wept.Finally, his father, Isaac, said to him,“ You will live away from the richness of the earth, and away from the dew of the heaven above.You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you decide to break free, you will shake his yoke from your neck.”

Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.

And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to this world— to every nation, tribe, language, and people.

And they sang a new song with these words:“ You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Then Jacob called together all his sons and said,“ Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.“ Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.“ Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power.But you are as unruly as a flood, and you will be first no longer. For you went to bed with my wife; you defiled my marriage couch.“ Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence.May I never join in their meetings; may I never be a party to their plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport.A curse on their anger, for it is fierce; a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel.“ Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you.Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness— who dares to rouse him?The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.“ Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.“ Issachar is a sturdy donkey, resting between two saddlepacks.When he sees how good the countryside is and how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the load and submit himself to hard labor.“ Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel.Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off.I trust in you for salvation, O Lord!“ Gad will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat.“ Asher will dine on rich foods and produce food fit for kings.“ Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.“ Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey, the foal of a wild donkey at a spring— one of the wild donkeys on the ridge.Archers attacked him savagely; they shot at him and harassed him.But his bow remained taut, and his arms were strengthened by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.May the God of your father help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, and blessings of the watery depths below, and blessings of the breasts and womb.May my fatherly blessings on you surpass the blessings of my ancestors, reaching to the heights of the eternal hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers.“ Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening.”These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.Then Jacob instructed them,“ Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site.There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah.It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.”When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.

Then God said to Abraham,“ Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility.This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised.