New King James Version
Romans 4:17
17(as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
Romans 4:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
- New International Version (NIV)As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
- English Standard Version (ESV)as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
- New Living Translation (NLT)That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.
Context of Romans 4:17
15because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. 16Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.
Read all of Romans 4Romans 4:17 word by word
καθὼς γέγραπται ὅτι πατέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν τέθεικά σε, κατέναντι οὗ ἐπίστευσεν θεοῦ, τοῦ ζῳοποιοῦντος τοὺς νεκροὺς καὶ καλοῦντος τὰ μὴ ὄντα ὡς ὄντα·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
- Asκαθώςkathōs · as/just asG2531
- it is writtenγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
- I have madeτίθημιtithēmi · to placeG5087
- theeσύsu · youG4771
- a fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
- of manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
- nationsἔθνοςethnos · GentilesG1484
- beforeκατέναντιkatenanti · beforeG2713
- him whomὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- he believedπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- who quickenethὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- who quickenethζωοποιέωzōopoieō · to make aliveG2227
- the deadνεκρόςnekros · deadG3498
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- callethκαλέωkaleō · to call: callG2564
- those things which beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- notμήmē · notG3361
- asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
Cross-references for Romans 4:17
- Genesis 17:4“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
- Genesis 25:1Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
- Genesis 28:3“May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples;
- Hebrews 11:12Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
- Romans 3:29Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,
- Romans 4:2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
- Romans 8:11But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
- Matthew 3:9and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
- John 5:21For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.
- John 6:63It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
- 1 Corinthians 15:45And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
- Ephesians 2:1And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
- 1 Timothy 6:13I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,
- Romans 8:29For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
- Romans 9:26“And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
- Isaiah 43:6I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth—
Commentaries on Romans 4:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17As it is written, I have made thee a father - That Abraham's being a father of many nations has relation to the covenant of God made with him, may be seen, Genesis 17:4, Genesis 17:5; : Behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations: 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, i.e. he was constituted the head of many nations, the Gentile world…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17As it is written - Genesis 17:5. I have made thee - The word used here in the Hebrew Genesis 17:5 means literally, to give, to grant; and also, to set, or constitute. This is also the meaning of the Greek word used both by the Septuagint and the apostle. The quotation is taken literally from the Septuagint. The argument of the apostle is founded in part on the fact that the past tense is used - I have made thee - and that God spoke of a thing as already…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-22Verses 13-22 The promise was made to Abraham long before the law. It points at Christ, and it refers to the promise, Ge 12:3. In Thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. The law worketh wrath, by showing that every transgressor is exposed to the Divine displeasure. As God intended to give men a title to the promised blessings, so he appointed it to be by faith, that it might be wholly of grace, to make it sure to all who were of the like precious…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-1716-17. Therefore, &c.--A general summary: "Thus justification is by faith, in order that its purely gracious character may be seen, and that all who follow in the steps of Abraham's faith--whether of his natural seed or no--may be assured of the like justification with the parent believer."Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 4:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Romans 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries