New Living Translation
Genesis 28:14
14Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.
Genesis 28:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
- New International Version (NIV)Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Context of Genesis 28:14
12As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. 13At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.” 16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”
Read all of Genesis 28Genesis 28:14 word by word
וְהָיָ֤ה זַרְעֲךָ֙ כַּעֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֔רֶץ וּפָרַצְתָּ֛ יָ֥מָּה וָקֵ֖דְמָה וְצָפֹ֣נָה וָנֶ֑גְבָּה וְנִבְרֲכ֥וּ בְךָ֛ כָּל־מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָ֖ה וּבְזַרְעֶֽךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And thy seedזֶ֫רַעzera‛ · seed: childrenH2233
- shall be as the dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
- of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
- and thou shalt spread abroadפָּרַץpârats · to break throughH6555
- to the westיָםyâm · sea: westH3220
- and to the eastקֵ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · eastH6924
- and to the northצָפוֹןtsâphôn tsâphôn · northH6828
- and to the southנֶ֫גֶבnegeb · southH5045
- shall all the familiesמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
- of the earthאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
- be blessedבָּרַךְbârak · to blessH1288
Cross-references for Genesis 28:14
- Genesis 13:16And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted!
- Genesis 32:12But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’”
- Genesis 35:11Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants!
- Numbers 23:10Who can count Jacob’s descendants, as numerous as dust? Who can count even a fourth of Israel’s people? Let me die like the righteous; let my life end like theirs.”
- Acts 3:25You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’
- Revelation 7:4And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:
- Genesis 13:14After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west.
- Deuteronomy 12:20“When the Lord your God expands your territory as he has promised, and you have the urge to eat meat, you may freely eat meat whenever you want.
- Matthew 8:11And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Genesis 12:3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
- Genesis 18:18“For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.
- Genesis 22:18And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”
- Genesis 26:4I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
- Psalms 72:17May the king’s name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun shines. May all nations be blessed through him and bring him praise.
- Galatians 3:8What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.”
- Ephesians 1:3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
Commentaries on Genesis 28:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Thy seed shall be as the dust - The people that shall descend from thee shall be extremely numerous, and in thee and thy seed - the Lord Jesus descending from thee, according to the flesh, shall all the families of the earth - not only all of thy race, but all the other families or tribes of mankind which have not proceeded from any branch of the Abrahamic family, be blessed; for Jesus Christ by the grace of God tasted death For Every Man, Hebrews 2:9.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-22Verses 1-22 - Jacob‘s Journey to Haran 3. קהל qâhāl “congregation.” 9. מחלת māchălat Machalath, “sickness, or a harp.” 19. לוּז lûz Luz, “almond.” The blessing of his sons was the last passage in the active life of Isaac, after which he retires from the scene. Jacob now becomes the leading figure in the sacred history. His spiritual character has yet come out to view. But even now we can discern the general distinction in the lives of the three…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-15Verses 10-15 Jacob's conduct hitherto, as recorded, was not that of one who simply feared and trusted in God. But now in trouble, obliged to flee, he looked only to God to make him to dwell in safety, and he could lie down and sleep in the open air with his head upon a stone. Any true believer would be willing to take up with Jacob's pillow, provided he might have Jacob's vision. God's time to visit his people with his comforts, is, when they are most…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14Jacob inherited Abraham’s entire covenant (see 22:17), which confirmed Isaac’s blessing (28:3–4) and showed that Jacob would live away from home for a time (28:15; see 15:12–16).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-191. Isaac called Jacob and blessed him--He entered fully into Rebekah's feelings, and the burden of his parting counsel to his son was to avoid a marriage alliance with any but the Mesopotamian branch of the family. At the same time he gave him a solemn blessing--pronounced before unwittingly, now designedly, and with a cordial spirit. It is more explicitly and fully given, and Jacob was thus acknowledged "the heir of the promise."Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 28:14
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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