What the prophets said was meant for you. The covenant God made with your people long ago is yours also. He said to Abraham,‘ All nations on earth will be blessed through your children.’( Genesis 22:18; 26:4)

你们是先知的子孙，也承受神与你们祖宗所立的约，就是对亚伯拉罕说：‘地上万族都要因你的后裔得福。’

你们是先知的子孙，也是上帝与你们祖宗所立之约的子孙，就是对亚伯拉罕说：‘地上万族都将因你的后裔得福。’

你们是先知的子孙，也是神与你们祖宗所立之约的子孙，就是对亚伯拉罕说：‘地上万族都将因你的后裔得福。’

你们是先知的子孙，也承受了上帝和你们祖先所立的约。上帝曾对亚伯拉罕说，‘天下万族必因你的后裔而蒙福。’

你们是先知的子孙，也是承受神向你们祖先所立之约的人。神曾经对亚伯拉罕说：‘地上万族，都要因你的后裔得福。’

你们是先知们的子孙，也是神与你们祖先所订立之约的子孙。那时神对亚伯拉罕说：‘藉着你的那位后裔，地上万族都要蒙祝福。’

你們是先知的子孫，也承受神與你們祖宗所立的約，就是對亞伯拉罕說：『地上萬族都要因你的後裔得福。』

你們是先知的子孫，也是上帝與你們祖宗所立之約的子孫，就是對亞伯拉罕說：『地上萬族都將因你的後裔得福。』

你們是先知的子孫，也是神與你們祖宗所立之約的子孫，就是對亞伯拉罕說：『地上萬族都將因你的後裔得福。』

你們是先知的子孫，也承受了上帝和你們祖先所立的約。上帝曾對亞伯拉罕說，『天下萬族必因你的後裔而蒙福。』

你們是先知的子孫，也是承受神向你們祖先所立之約的人。神曾經對亞伯拉罕說：‘地上萬族，都要因你的後裔得福。’

你們呢、乃是神言人們的子孫，又是上帝向你們列祖所立的約的子孫；立約時上帝對亞伯拉罕說：「地上萬家族都必因你的後裔而蒙祝福。」

你們是先知們的子孫，也是神與你們祖先所訂立之約的子孫。那時神對亞伯拉罕說：『藉著你的那位後裔，地上萬族都要蒙祝福。』

爾為先知之子孫、承上帝與爾列祖所立之約、謂亞伯拉罕曰、天下諸族、將由爾裔獲福、

汝為先知弟子、承上帝所賜祖宗之約、謂亞伯拉罕曰、天下兆民、將藉爾裔而受福、

爾為先知之子孫、承天主與列祖所立之約、謂亞伯拉罕曰、天下萬民、將因爾子孫而獲福、

爾曹乃先知之後；天主與我祖立約、亦為爾曹。

And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham,‘ Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham,‘ And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’

You 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.’

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.

It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God ordained with your fathers, saying to Abraham,‘ And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham,‘ And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

Ye are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham,‘ And in your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.’

You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham,‘ All the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.’

All nations on earth will be blessed because of your children. All these things will happen because you have obeyed me.”

The promise is for you and your children. It is also for all who are far away. It is for all whom the Lord our God will choose.”

I will bless those who bless you. I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. All nations on earth will be blessed because of you.”

After this I looked, and there in front of me was a huge crowd of people. They stood in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb. There were so many that no one could count them. They came from every nation, tribe and people. That’s true no matter what language they spoke. They were wearing white robes. In their hands they were holding palm branches.

Long ago, Scripture knew that God would make the Gentiles right with himself. He would do this by their faith in him. He announced the good news ahead of time to Abraham. God said,“ All nations will be blessed because of you.”( Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18)

They are the people of Israel. They have been adopted as God’s children. God’s glory belongs to them. So do the covenants. They received the law. They were taught to worship in the temple. They were given the promises.The founders of our nation belong to them. The Messiah comes from their family line. He is God over all. May he always be praised! Amen.

“ Listen, fellow children of Abraham! Listen, you Gentiles who worship God! This message of salvation has been sent to us.

You knew that his heart was faithful to you. And you made a covenant with him. You promised to give to his children after him a land of their own. It was the land of the Canaanites, Hittites and Amorites. The Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites also lived there. You have kept your promise. That’s because you always do what is right and fair.

They will be like the dust of the earth that can’t be counted. They will spread out to the west and to the east. They will spread out to the north and to the south. All nations on earth will be blessed because of you and your children after you.

Abraham and his family received a promise. God promised that Abraham would receive the world. It would not come to him because he obeyed the law. It would come because of his faith, which made him right with God.

Now return the man’s wife to him. He is a prophet. So he will pray for you, and you will live. But what if you do not return her? Then you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”

He made it stand as a law for Jacob. He made it stand as a covenant for Israel. It will last forever.

Then God said,“ Yes, I will bless Ishmael. But your wife Sarah will have a son by you. And you will name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him. That covenant will last forever. It will be for Isaac and his family after him.

I will make your children after you as many as the stars in the sky. And I will give them all these lands. All nations on earth will be blessed because of your children.

He will keep his covenant forever. He will keep his promise for all time to come.He will keep the covenant he made with Abraham. He will keep the promise he made to Isaac.He made it stand as a law for Jacob. He made it stand as a covenant for Israel that will last forever.He said,“ I will give you the land of Canaan. It will belong to you.”At first there weren’t very many of God’s people. There were only a few, and they were strangers in the land.They wandered from nation to nation. They wandered from one kingdom to another.But God didn’t allow anyone to treat them badly. To keep them safe, he gave a command to kings.He said to them,“ Do not touch my anointed ones. Do not harm my prophets.”

People from one end of the earth to the other will remember and turn to the Lord. The people of all the nations will bow down in front of him.

The promises were given to Abraham. They were also given to his seed. Scripture does not say,“ and to seeds.” That means many people. It says,“ and to your seed.”( Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 24:7) That means one person. And that one person is Christ.

But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head. He did it even though Ephraim was the younger son. He crossed his arms and put his left hand on Manasseh’s head. He did it even though Manasseh was the older son.Then Israel gave Joseph his blessing. He said,“ May God bless these boys. He is the God of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. They walked faithfully with him. He is the God who has been my shepherd all my life right up to this day.He is the Angel who has saved me from all harm. May he bless these boys. May they be called by my name. May they also be called by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. And may the number of them greatly increase on the earth.”Joseph saw his father putting his right hand on Ephraim’s head. And Joseph didn’t like it. So he took hold of his father’s hand to move it over to Manasseh’s head.Joseph said to him,“ No, my father. Here’s my older son. Put your right hand on his head.”But his father wouldn’t do it. He said,“ I know, my son. I know. He too will become a nation. He too will become great. But his younger brother will be greater than he is. His children after him will become a group of nations.”On that day, Jacob gave them his blessing. He said,“ The people of Israel will bless others in your name. They will say,‘ May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ” So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

He will certainly become a great and powerful nation. All nations on earth will be blessed because of him.

You who belong to Christ are Abraham’s seed. So you will receive what God has promised.

He has been kind to our people of long ago. He has remembered his holy covenant.

Don’t think you can say to yourselves,‘ Abraham is our father.’ I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham even from these stones.The ax is ready to cut the roots of the trees. All the trees that don’t produce good fruit will be cut down. They will be thrown into the fire.

Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise the Lord for his glory and strength.

Esau said,“ Isn’t Jacob just the right name for him? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me. First, he took my rights as the oldest son. And now he’s taken my blessing!” Then Esau asked,“ Haven’t you saved any blessing for me?”Isaac answered Esau,“ I’ve made him ruler over you. I’ve made all his relatives serve him. And I’ve provided him with grain and fresh wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”Esau said to his father,“ Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept loudly.His father Isaac answered him,“ You will live far away from the fruit of the earth. You will live far away from the dew of heaven above.You will live by using the sword. And you will serve your brother. But you will grow restless. Then you will throw off the heavy load he has caused you to carry.”

I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews. He teaches us that God is true. He shows us that God will keep the promises he made to the founders of our nation.

I saw another angel. He was flying high in the air. He came to tell everyone on earth the good news that will always be true. He told it to every nation, tribe and people, no matter what language they spoke.

Here is the new song they sang.“ You are worthy to take the scroll and break open its seals. You are worthy because you were put to death. With your blood you bought people for God. They come from every tribe, people and nation, no matter what language they speak.

Then Jacob sent for his sons. He said,“ Gather around me so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.“ Sons of Jacob, come together and listen. Listen to your father Israel.“ Reuben, you are my oldest son. You were my first child. You were the first sign of my strength. You were first in honor. You were first in power.But you are as unsteady as water. So you won’t be first anymore. You had sex with my concubine on my bed. You lay on my couch and made it‘ unclean.’“ Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords have killed a lot of people.I won’t share in their plans. I won’t have anything to do with them. They became angry and killed people. They cut the legs of oxen just for the fun of it.May the Lord put a curse on them because of their terrible anger. I will scatter them in Jacob’s land. I will spread them around in Israel.“ Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your enemies will be brought under your control. Your father’s sons will bow down to you.Judah, you are like a lion’s cub. You return from hunting, my son. Like a lion, you lie down and sleep. You are like a mother lion. Who dares to wake you up?The right to rule will not leave Judah. The ruler’s scepter will not be taken from between his feet. It will be his until the king it belongs to will come. The nations will obey that king.He will tie his donkey to a vine. He will tie his colt to the very best branch. He will wash his clothes in wine. He will wash his robes in the red juice of grapes.His eyes will be darker than wine. His teeth will be whiter than milk.“ Zebulun will live by the seashore. He will become a safe harbor for ships. His border will go out toward Sidon.“ Issachar is like a wild donkey lying down among the sheep pens.He sees how good his resting place is. He sees that his land is pleasant. So he will carry a heavy load on his back. He will obey when he’s forced to work.“ Dan will do what is fair for his people. He will do it as one of the tribes of Israel.Dan will be a snake by the side of the road. He will be a poisonous snake along the path. It bites the horse’s heels so that the rider falls off backward.“ Lord, I look to you to save me.“ Gad will be attacked by a group of robbers. But he will attack them as they run away.“ Asher’s food will be rich and sweet. He will provide food that even a king would enjoy.“ Naphtali is a female deer set free and gives birth to beautiful fawns.“ Joseph is a vine that grows a lot of fruit. It grows close by a spring. Its branches climb over a wall.Mean people shot arrows at him. They shot at him because they were angry.But his bow remained steady. His strong arms moved freely. The hand of the Mighty God of Jacob was with him. The Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, stood by him.Joseph, your father’s God helps you. The Mighty God blesses you. He gives you blessings from the sky above. He gives you blessings from the deep springs below. He blesses you with children and with a mother’s milk.Your father’s blessings are great. They are greater than the blessings from the age- old mountains. They are greater than the gifts from the ancient hills. Let all those blessings rest on the head of Joseph. Let them rest on the head of the one who is prince among his brothers.“ Benjamin is a hungry wolf. In the morning he eats what he has killed. In the evening he shares what he has stolen.”All these are the 12 tribes of Israel. That’s what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each one the blessing that was just right for him.Then Jacob gave directions to his sons. He said,“ I’m about to join the members of my family who have already died. Bury me with them in the cave in the field of Ephron, the Hittite.The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in Canaan. Abraham had bought it as a place where he could bury his wife’s body. He had bought the cave and the field from Ephron, the Hittite.The bodies of Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there. So were the bodies of Isaac and his wife Rebekah. I also buried Leah’s body there.Abraham bought the field and the cave from the Hittites.”When Jacob had finished telling his sons what to do, he pulled his feet up into his bed. Then he took his last breath and died. He joined the members of his family who had already died.

Then God said to Abraham,“ You must keep my covenant. You and your family after you must keep it for all time to come.Here is my covenant that you and your family after you must keep. You and every male among you must be circumcised.