Genesis 17:20

As for Ishmael, I have given ear to your prayer: truly I have given him my blessing and I will make him fertile and give him great increase; he will be the father of twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great nation.

Bible in Basic English

In The King James Version

And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

In Context

19And God said, Not so; but Sarah, your wife, will have a son, and you will give him the name Isaac, and I will make my agreement with him for ever and with his seed after him.

21But my agreement will be with Isaac, to whom Sarah will give birth a year from this time.

Read all of Genesis 17

Cross References

Genesis 16:10And the angel of the Lord said, Your seed will be greatly increased so that it may not be numbered.

Genesis 21:18Come, take your child in your arms, for I will make of him a great nation.

Genesis 25:13These are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their generations: Ishmael's first son was Nebaioth; then Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam

Matthew Henry on Genesis 17:16-23

15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. 17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? 18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Genesis 17:20