Genesis 17:6

I will give you a real big family later on, and they will split up into lots of nations. And some of your people will be the big bosses of those nations.

Plain English Version

In The King James Version

And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

In Context

5So I am changing your name from Abram to Abraham.” (That name Abram means father that people respect, and that name Abraham means father of lots of people.) And God said, “Yes, I will make you the father of lots of nations.

7I am making this agreement with you, and with the people that will be born into your family later on. This agreement will last for ever. It will never end. I promise that I will be your God for ever.

Read all of Genesis 17

Cross References

Genesis 13:16Look at the ground you are standing on, it has lots of little bits of dirt. Nobody can count all those little bits of dirt on the ground, and just like that, nobody will be able to count all the people that will be in your family later on.

Genesis 17:16And God said, “I will do a good thing for her too. She will have a son, and you will be his father. Yes, I will do that good thing for her. Lots of people will be born into her son’s family, and they will split up into lots of nations. And some of those people will be the big bosses of those nations.”

Genesis 28:3Then Isaac said, “God has power over everything. So I’m asking God to be good to you. I’m asking him to give you lots of kids and grand-kids, so that your family will grow into lots of different tribes.

Genesis 36:31At first, the Israel mob didn’t have big bosses over them. A long time later, they started having a big boss over them. But before that, the Edom mob had big bosses in their country. These are the names of those big bosses in Edom.

Genesis 48:4He said to me, ‘I will give you lots of kids and grand-kids, so that your family will grow into lots of different tribes. And I will give them all of this country, called Canaan. They will have this country for ever.’”

Matthew 1:6Jesse was the father of David. He was the big boss over all that mob, the Israel nation. So in that family there were 14 fathers from Abraham to David. David was the father of Solomon. At first Solomon’s mother was the wife of another man called Uriah.

Matthew Henry on Genesis 17:5-7

4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. The promise here is introduced with solemnity: " As for me, " says the great God, "behold, behold and admire it, behold and be assured of it, my covenant is with thee;" as before ( v. 2 ),… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Genesis 17:6