The Greek is more emphatic than Good News Translation; compare New English Bible “I vow that I will bless you….” Ways of emphasizing statements vary from one language to another. The text uses a strong “Indeed” or “Surely” (Revised Standard Version) at the beginning of the quotation, followed by an idiomatic repetition for emphasis as reflected in King James Version, “blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.” Such an expression is unnatural in English, as it is unnatural in Greek outside the Bible.

I promise you that I will bless you may seem rather strange in some languages if translated literally, since the declaration of blessing is itself the promise. It is in fact the certainty of the promise which is emphasized, and therefore an equivalent expression in some instances is “I will most surely bless you.”

Give you many descendants may have to be rendered as a causative; for example, “cause you to have many descendants” or, more specifically, “cause you to have many children and grandchildren.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .