That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him,“ I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.

亚伯拉罕所信的，是那叫死人复活、使无变为有的神，他在主面前作我们世人的父。如经上所记：“我已经立你作多国的父。”

亚伯拉罕在上帝面前是我们所有人的父，正如圣经上说：“我已经立你为万族之父。”他所信的上帝是能够使死人复活、使无变有的上帝。

如经上所记：“我已经立了你作万国的父。”他所信的，是叫死人得生命、使无变为有的神。

正如经上所记：“我已经指派你为众多民族的父。”亚伯拉罕所信的那一位，就是叫死人得生命、使无变为有的神。

亞伯拉罕所信的，是那叫死人復活、使無變為有的神，他在主面前作我們世人的父。如經上所記：「我已經立你作多國的父。」

亞伯拉罕在上帝面前是我們所有人的父，正如聖經上說：「我已經立你為萬族之父。」他所信的上帝是能夠使死人復活、使無變有的上帝。

如經上所記：“我已經立了你作萬國的父。”他所信的，是叫死人得生命、使無變為有的神。

在亞伯拉罕所信的上帝面前，就是在那能叫死人活、能呼叫不存在的成為存在者、面前，亞伯拉罕是我眾人的父；正如經上所記：『我立了你做許多邦國的父』。

正如經上所記：「我已經指派你為眾多民族的父。」亞伯拉罕所信的那一位，就是叫死人得生命、使無變為有的神。

如經云、我立爾為萬邦之父、夫上帝即甦諸死者、命無為有者也、

經云、我命爾為萬民父焉、且上帝使死者生、變無為有亞伯拉罕篤信上帝、故在其前、得為吾眾之父、

蓋亞伯漢實為萬民之父。經曰：『吾使爾為萬邦之父』此之謂也。顧其所以能在天主之前為眾人之父者、亦曰篤信天主而已。蓋惟天主能予死者以生命、而出萬有於無有耳。

As it is written:“ I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed— the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.

It is written,“ I have made you a father of many nations.”( Genesis 17:5) God considers Abraham to be our father. The God that Abraham believed in gives life to the dead. Abraham’s God also creates things that did not exist before.

as it is written,“ I have made you the father of many nations”— in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations— in the presence of the God in whom he believed, the one who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist.

( as it is written:“ I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, that is, God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that do not exist.

( as it is written,“ I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed— God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

( as it is written, A father of many nations have I made thee) before him whom he believed, even God, who giveth life to the dead, and calleth the things that are not, as though they were.

in God’s sight. As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations. He believed in God, who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist.

( As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed,[ even] God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

( as it is written,“ I have made you the father of many nations”). He is our father in the presence of God whom he believed– the God who makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do.

As it is written,“ I have made you a father of many nations.” This is in the presence of him whom he believed: God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not, as though they were.

God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.

“ This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations!What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations.

For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants.

The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil— the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.( It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)

“ Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”

“ And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice— the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live.

You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!

After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is.

And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead— a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.

And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate,

See, my people will return from far away, from lands to the north and west, and from as far south as Egypt.”

It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.

Who is like me? Let him step forward and prove to you his power. Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future.

And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”

If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way.

It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When I call out the stars, they all appear in order.”

And,“ Then, at the place where they were told,‘ You are not my people,’ there they will be called‘ children of the living God.’”

The Scriptures tell us,“ The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam— that is, Christ— is a life giving Spirit.

I will say to the north and south,‘ Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel from the distant corners of the earth.

May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations!

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.

As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.

Abraham married another wife, whose name was Keturah.She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites.Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah.Abraham gave everything he owned to his son Isaac.But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac.Abraham lived for 175 years,and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life. He breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death.His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites and where he had buried his wife Sarah.After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer lahai roi in the Negev.This is the account of the family of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant.Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael’s descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,Mishma, Dumah, Massa,Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes named after them, listed according to the places they settled and camped.Ishmael lived for 137 years. Then he breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death.Ishmael’s descendants occupied the region from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. There they lived in open hostility toward all their relatives.This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham.When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins.But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it.“ Why is this happening to me?” she asked.And the Lord told her,“ The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins!The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau.Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home.Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry.Esau said to Jacob,“ I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!”( This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means“ red.”)“ All right,” Jacob replied,“ but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”“ Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau.“ What good is my birthright to me now?”But Jacob said,“ First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

he who made these things known so long ago.’