Genesis 17 · Verse 7

Genesis 17:7

And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
Genesis 17:7, King James Version

Genesis 17:7 in other translations

BSBI will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
WEBI will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you.
ASVAnd I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee.
YLT‘And I have established My covenant between Me and thee, and thy seed after thee, to their generations, for a covenant age-during, to become God to thee, and to thy seed after thee;
DARBYAnd I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee.
BBEAnd I will make between me and you and your seed after you through all generations, an eternal agreement to be a God to you and to your seed after you.
WebsterAnd I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant; to be a God to thee and to thy seed after thee.

What does Genesis 17:7 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 7 An everlasting covenant - ברית עולם berith olam. See note on Gen 13:15. Here the word olam is taken in its own proper meaning, as the words immediately following prove - to be a God unto thee, and thy seed after thee; for as the soul is to endure for ever, so it shall eternally stand in need of the supporting power and energy of God; and as the reign of the Gospel dispensation shall be as long as sun and moon endure, and its consequences eternal, so must the covenant be on which these are founded.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 17:7-14
The covenant of grace is from everlasting in the counsels of it, and to everlasting in the consequences of it. The token of the covenant was circumcision. It is here said to be the covenant which Abraham and his seed must keep. Those who will have the Lord to be to them a God, must resolve to be to him a people. Not only Abraham and Isaac, and his posterity by Isaac, were to be circumcised, but also Ishmael and the bond-servants. It sealed not only the covenant of the land of Canaan to Isaac's posterity, but of heaven, through Christ, to the whole church of God. The outward sign is for the visible church; the inward seal of the Spirit is peculiar to those whom God knows to be believers, and he alone can know them. The religious observance of this institution was required, under a very severe penalty. It is dangerous to make light of Divine institutions, and to live in the neglect of them. The covenant in question was one that involved great blessings for the world in all future ages. Even the blessedness of Abraham himself, and all the rewards conferred upon him, were for Christ's sake. Abraham was justified, as we have seen, not by his own righteousness, but by faith in the promised Messiah.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Genesis 17:7 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.

וַהֲקִמֹתִ֨יva.ha.ki.mo.Tiand I will establishH6965
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
בְּרִיתִ֜יbe.ri.Ticovenant myH1285
בֵּינִ֣יbei.Nibetween meH996
וּבֵינֶ֗ךָu.vei.Ne.khaand between youH996
וּבֵ֨יןu.Veinand betweenH996
זַרְעֲךָ֧zar.'a.Khaoffspring yourH2233
אַחֲרֶ֛יךָ'a.cha.Rei.khaafter youH310
לְדֹרֹתָ֖םle.do.ro.Tamfor generations theirH1755
לִבְרִ֣יתliv.Ritto a covenant ofH1285
עוֹלָ֑םo.LamperpetuityH5769
לִהְי֤וֹתlih.Yotto becomeH1961
לְךָ֙le.Khafor <the> you
לֵֽאלֹהִ֔יםle.lo.Him<into> GodH430
וּֽלְזַרְעֲךָ֖u.le.zar.'a.Khaand for offspring yourH2233
אַחֲרֶֽיךָ\׃'a.cha.Rei.khaafter youH310

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

Cross references for Genesis 17:7

  • Romans 9:7-9

    Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.

  • Genesis 26:24

    And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.

  • 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.

  • Genesis 15:18

    In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

  • Hebrews 8:10

    For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

  • Genesis 28:13

    And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

  • Leviticus 26:12

    And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.

  • Galatians 3:16-17

    Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

  • Hebrews 11:16

    But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

  • Romans 9:4

    Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;

  • Micah 7:20

    Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

  • Mark 10:14

    But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
And I.
15:18; 26:24; Ex 6:4; Ps 105:8-11; Mic 7:20; Lu 1:54,55,72-75
Ro 9:4,8,9; Ga 3:17; Eph 2:2
God.
26:24; 28:13; Ex 3:6,15; Le 26:12; Ps 81:10; Eze 28:26; Mt 22:32
Heb 8:10; 11:16
and to.
Ex 19:5,6; Mr 10:14; Ac 2:39; Ro 9:7-9

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

Context

  • Genesis 17:6

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

  • Genesis 17:7

    And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

  • Genesis 17:8

    And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

Read all of Genesis 17

Genesis 17:7 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y estableceré mi pacto entre mí y ti, y tu simiente después de ti en sus generaciones, por alianza perpetua, para serte á ti por Dios, y á tu simiente después de ti.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et j’établirai mon alliance entre moi et toi et ta semence après toi, en leurs générations, pour être une alliance perpétuelle, afin que je sois ton Dieu, à toi et à ta semence après toi.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und ich werde meinen Bund errichten zwischen mir und dir und deinem Samen nach dir, nach ihren Geschlechtern, zu einem ewigen Bunde, um dir zum Gott zu sein und deinem Samen nach dir.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et statuam pactum meum inter me et te, et inter semen tuum post te in generationibus suis, fœdere sempiterno: ut sim Deus tuus, et seminis tui post te.