Genesis 15:5

3 Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

4 Then the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.”

And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”

6 Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

7 The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
KJV
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
WEB
The LORD brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So your offspring will be.”
ASV
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
DARBY
And he led him out, and said, Look now toward the heavens, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said to him, So shall thy seed be!
BLB
And He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall be your seed.”
ÅB
Og han førte ham utenfor og sa: Se opp til himmelen og tell stjernene, om du kan telle dem! Og han sa til ham: Så mange skal etterkommerne dine bli.
OTB
Han tok ham med utenfor og sa: «Se opp mot himmelen og tell stjernene, hvis du er i stand til å telle dem.» Så sa han til ham: «Så mange skal dine etterkommere være.»
B1930
Og han førte ham utenfor og sa: Se op til himmelen og tell stjernene, om du kan telle dem! Og han sa til ham: Så skal din ætt bli.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Hebrews 11:12

    And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

    Read in context
  • Romans 4:18

    Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”

    Read in context
  • Deuteronomy 1:10

    The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

    Read in context
  • Exodus 32:13

    Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised, and it shall be their inheritance forever.’”

    Read in context
  • Genesis 22:17

    I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.

    Read in context
  • Deuteronomy 10:22

    Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 33:22

    As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted and as the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so too will I multiply the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister before Me.”

    Read in context
  • 1 Chronicles 27:23

    David did not count the men aged twenty or under, because the LORD had said that He would make Israel as numerous as the stars of the sky.

    Read in context