Genesis 17 · Verse 18

Genesis 17:18

And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
Genesis 17:18, King James Version

Genesis 17:18 in other translations

BSBAnd Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live under Your blessing!”
WEBAbraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!”
ASVAnd Abraham said unto God, Oh that Ishmael might live before thee!
YLTAnd Abraham saith unto God, ‘O that Ishmael may live before Thee;'
DARBYAnd Abraham said to God, Oh that Ishmael might live before thee!
BBEAnd Abraham said to God, If only Ishmael's life might be your care!
WebsterAnd Abraham said to God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

What does Genesis 17:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
18. O that Ishmael might live before thee--natural solicitude of a parent. But God's thoughts are not as man's thoughts [Is 55:8].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 18 O that Ishmael might live before thee! - Abraham, finding that the covenant was to be established in another branch of his family, felt solicitous for his son Ishmael, whom he considered as necessarily excluded; on which God delivers that most remarkable prophecy which follows in Gen 17:20, and which contains an answer to the prayer and wish of Abraham: And as for Ishmael I have heard thee; so that the object of Abraham's prayer was, that his son Ishmael might be the head of a prosperous and potent people.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 17:15-22

Here is the promise made to Abraham of a son by Sarai, in whom the promise made to him should be fulfilled. The assurance of this promise was the change of Sarai's name into Sarah. Sarai signifies my princess, as if her honour were confined to one family only; Sarah signifies a princess. The more favours God confers upon us, the more low we should be in our own eyes. Abraham showed great joy; he laughed, it was a…

Read the full comment on Genesis 17:15-22 →

Genesis 17:18 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֥אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
אַבְרָהָ֖ם'av.ra.HamAbrahamH85
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑יםha.'E.lo.Him<the> GodH430
ל֥וּluifH3863
יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אלyish.ma.'ElIshmaelH3458
יִחְיֶ֥הyich.Yehhe will liveH2421
לְפָנֶֽיךָ\׃le.fa.Nei.kha<to> before youH6440

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 17:18

  • Acts 2:39

    For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

  • Psalms 4:6

    There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

  • Psalms 41:12

    And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.

  • Genesis 4:14

    Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

  • Jeremiah 32:39

    And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:

  • Genesis 4:12

    When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

  • Isaiah 59:2

    But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
O that.
Jer 32:39; Ac 2:39
before.
4:12,14; Ps 4:6; 41:12; Isa 59:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 17:17

    Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

  • Genesis 17:18

    And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

  • Genesis 17:19

    And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

Read all of Genesis 17

Genesis 17:18 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y dijo Abraham á Dios: Ojalá Ismael viva delante de ti.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Abraham dit à Dieu: Oh, qu’Ismaël vive devant toi!
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Abraham sprach zu Gott: Möchte doch Ismael vor dir leben!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dixitque ad Deum: Utinam Ismaël vivat coram te.