Genesis 22:17

KJV1611 – Modern English

That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies;

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

כִּֽי־בָרֵ֣ךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ֗ וְהַרְבָּ֨ה אַרְבֶּ֤ה אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ כְּכוֹכְבֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְכַח֕וֹל אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־שְׂפַ֣ת הַיָּ֑ם וְיִרַ֣שׁ זַרְעֲךָ֔ אֵ֖ת שַׁ֥עַר אֹיְבָֽיו׃

Transliteration

that-bārēk ʾăbārekəkā wə-harbāh ʾarbeh ʾet-zarʿăkā as-kôkəbê the-šāmayim and-as-the-ḥôl ʾăšer upon-śəpat the-yām wə-yiraš zarʿăkā ʾēt šaʿar ʾōyəbāyw

Grammar Details

• *bārēk*: Piel infinitive absolute - blessing
• *ʾăbārekəkā*: Piel imperfect, 1st person singular + 2nd masculine singular object suffix - I will bless you
• *wə-harbāh*: conjunction + Hiphil infinitive absolute - and multiplying
• *ʾarbeh*: Hiphil imperfect, 1st person singular - I will multiply
• *zarʿăkā*: masculine singular noun + 2nd masculine singular possessive suffix - your seed/offspring
• *kôkəbê*: masculine plural construct noun - stars of
• *šāmayim*: masculine plural noun with definite article - the heavens
• *ḥôl*: masculine singular noun with definite article - the sand
• *śəpat*: feminine singular construct noun - shore/lip of
• *yām*: masculine singular noun with definite article - the sea
• *wə-yiraš*: conjunction + Qal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - and he shall possess
• *šaʿar*: masculine singular construct noun - gate of
• *ʾōyəbāyw*: masculine plural Qal participle + 3rd masculine singular possessive suffix - his enemies

Word Meanings

• *bārēk ʾăbārekəkā*: surely bless you/greatly bless you/indeed bless you
• *harbāh ʾarbeh*: surely multiply/greatly multiply/indeed multiply
• *zarʿăkā*: your seed/your offspring/your descendants
• *yiraš*: shall possess/shall inherit/shall take possession of
• *šaʿar*: gate/city/territory

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  I will surely bless you and will greatly multiply your offspring like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore, and your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies.

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  that in blessing{H1288} I will bless{H1288} thee, and in multiplying{H7235} I will multiply{H7235} thy seed{H2233} as the stars{H3556} of the heavens,{H8064} and as the sand{H2344} which is upon the{H3220} seashore;{H8193} and thy seed{H2233} shall possess{H3423} the gate{H8179} of his enemies;{H341}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  That in blessing{H1288}{(H8763)} I will bless{H1288}{(H8762)} thee, and in multiplying{H7235}{(H8687)} I will multiply{H7235}{(H8686)} thy seed{H2233} as the stars{H3556} of the heaven{H8064}, and as the sand{H2344} which is upon the sea{H3220} shore{H8193}; and thy seed{H2233} shall possess{H3423}{(H8799)} the gate{H8179} of his enemies{H341}{(H8802)};

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  that I will blesse th and multiplye thy seed as the starres of heaven and as the sonde vpo the seesyde. And thy seed shall possesse the gates of hys enymies.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  I wyll prospere and multiplye thy sede as the starres of heauen, and as the sonde vpon the see shore. And thy sede shall possesse the gates of his enemies:

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Therefore will I surely blesse thee, and will greatly multiplie thy seede, as the starres of the heauen, and as the sand which is vpon the sea shore, and thy seede shall possesse the gate of his enemies.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  That in blessing I wyll blesse thee, and in multiplying I wyll multiplie thy seede as the starres of heauen, and as the sande which is vpon the sea side, and thy seede shall possesse the gates of his enemies.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore. Your seed will possess the gate of his enemies.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  that blessing I bless thee, and multiplying I multiply thy seed as stars of the heavens, and as sand which `is' on the sea-shore; and thy seed doth possess the gate of his enemies;

• American Standard Version (1901)

  that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore. And thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  That I will certainly give you my blessing, and your seed will be increased like the stars of heaven and the sand by the seaside; your seed will take the land of those who are against them;

• World English Bible (2000)

  that I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your seed greatly like the stars of the heavens, and like the sand which is on the seashore. Your seed will possess the gate of his enemies.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants 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 of the strongholds of their enemies.

Referenced Verses

• Gen 15:5 : 5 And he brought him outside, and said, Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if you are able to number them: and he said to him, So shall your offspring be.
• Gen 13:16 : 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also shall be numbered.
• Gen 24:60 : 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands; and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them."
• Gen 26:4 : 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give to your descendants all these countries; and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
• Jer 33:22 : 22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the descendants of David my servant, and the Levites that minister to me.
• Dan 2:44-45 : 44 And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 For as much as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.
• Mic 1:9 : 9 For her wound is incurable; for it has come to Judah; it has reached the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.
• Luke 1:68-75 : 68 Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
• 1 Cor 15:57 : 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Eph 1:3 : 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ:
• Rev 11:15 : 15 And the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.
• Gen 12:2 : 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing:
• Gen 17:6 : 6 And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
• Gen 27:28-29 : 28 Therefore God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine: 29 Let people serve you, and nations bow down to you: be lord over your brothers, and let your mother's sons bow down to you: cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be he who blesses you.
• Gen 28:3 : 3 And God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a multitude of people;
• Gen 28:14-22 : 14 And your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And behold, I am with you, and will keep you in all places wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done what I have spoken to you of. 16 And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I did not know it. 17 And he was afraid, and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put as his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon its top. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at first. 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothes to wear, 21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: 22 And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that you give me I will surely give the tenth to you.
• Gen 32:12 : 12 And you said, I will surely do you good, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
• Gen 49:25-26 : 25 By the God of your father, who shall help you; and by the Almighty, who shall bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. 26 The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of my ancestors to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.
• Num 24:17-19 : 17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not near: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. 18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. 19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him who remains of the city.
• Deut 1:10 : 10 The LORD your God has multiplied you, and, behold, you are today as the stars of heaven in multitude.
• Deut 21:19 : 19 Then shall his father and his mother take hold of him, and bring him out to the elders of his city and to the gate of his place;
• Deut 28:2-9 : 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you, and overtake you, if you shall listen to the voice of the LORD your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your kine, and the flocks of your sheep. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your store. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 7 The LORD shall cause your enemies that rise up against you to be smitten before your face: they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. 8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon you in your storehouses, and in all that you set your hand unto; and He shall bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you. 9 The LORD shall establish you a holy people unto Himself, as He has sworn unto you, if you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and walk in His ways. 10 And all people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of you. 11 And the LORD shall make you plentiful in goods, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore unto your fathers to give you. 12 The LORD shall open unto you His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you shall lend unto many nations, and you shall not borrow. 13 And the LORD shall make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath; if you listen unto the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do them:
• Josh 1:1-9 : 1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it happened that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying, 2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, I have given to you, as I said to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun, shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you, nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth; but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it, for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. 10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
• 2 Sam 8:1-9 : 1 And after this, it came to pass that David defeated the Philistines and subdued them; and David took Methegammah out of the hand of the Philistines. 2 And he defeated Moab and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; with two lines he measured to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David's servants and brought gifts. 3 David also defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his territory at the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him a thousand chariots, seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved enough for a hundred chariots. 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to aid Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand men of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became David's servants and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David wherever he went. 7 And David took the golden shields that were on the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took a great amount of bronze. 9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, 10 Then Toi sent Joram his son to king David, to greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, articles of gold, and articles of bronze. 11 These king David also dedicated to the LORD, along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations he had subdued: 12 From Syria, Moab, the children of Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 13 And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down eighteen thousand men of the Syrians in the Valley of Salt. 14 And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the LORD preserved David wherever he went. 15 And David reigned over all Israel, and David executed judgment and justice for all his people. 16 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; 17 And Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe; 18 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief officials.
• 2 Sam 10:1-9 : 1 And it happened after this that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. 2 Then David said, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me. So David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. 3 And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Do you think that David honors your father, that he has sent comforters to you? Has not David rather sent his servants to you to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? 4 Therefore Hanun took David's servants, shaved off half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When they told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return. 6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they had become odious to David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Bethrehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ishtob twelve thousand men. 7 And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men. 8 And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate: and the Syrians of Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ishtob, and Maacah, were by themselves in the field. 9 When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose all the elite men of Israel, and set them in array against the Syrians. 10 And the rest of the people he entrusted to the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might set them in array against the children of Ammon. 11 And he said, If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me: but if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you. 12 Be of good courage, and let us be valiant for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do what seems good to him. 13 And Joab drew near, and the people who were with him, to the battle against the Syrians: and they fled before him. 14 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they also fled before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem. 15 And when the Syrians saw that they were defeated before Israel, they gathered themselves together. 16 And Hadarezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them. 17 And when it was told to David, he gathered all Israel together, crossed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him. 18 And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and struck down Shobach the captain of their host, who died there. 19 And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were defeated before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.
• 1 Kgs 9:26 : 26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion Geber, which is near Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.
• Ps 2:8-9 : 8 Ask of me, and I shall give you the nations for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
• Ps 72:8-9 : 8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. 9 Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him, and his enemies shall lick the dust.
• Jer 32:22 : 22 And have given them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;