6:14

saying: The word saying introduces the words that God said when he made his promise to Abraham. In some languages it may be more natural to begin a new sentence here. For example:

He said to Abraham

I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants: The statement I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants tells what God promised and swore to do. It is a quotation from Genesis 22:17. God repeated this promise to Abraham after Isaac was born. Since God swore by himself here, it may be helpful in some languages to refer to him more explicitly. For example:

I, the Lord, will bless you with many descendants. (Contemporary English Version)

surely: The word surely means “certainly, indeed.” It indicates that God was making a very strong promise. Some other ways to indicate this are:

Without a doubt I will bless you
-or-
I will certainly bless you richly (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Really-really I say that I will fulfill what I am promising to you: I bless you with a big blessing

bless: The word bless means “to do good to (someone).” For more information, see bless, sense A1, in Key Biblical Terms.

you: The pronoun you is singular and refers to Abraham.

multiply your descendants: The verb multiply here indicates that God will cause Abraham to have children and descendants. In this context it implies that God will cause Abraham to have many children and grandchildren for many generations.

your: The pronoun your is singular and refers to Abraham.

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