18 The Lord made an eternal covenant with him, promising that life would never again be destroyed by a flood.
19 Abraham was the great ancestor of many nations; his reputation was faultless.
20 He kept the Law of the Most High and made a covenant with him, a covenant marked on his body. When he was put to the test, he was found faithful.
21 And so the Lord made him a solemn promise that his descendants would be a blessing to the world; that their number would be countless, like the dust of the earth; that they would be honoured more than any other people on earth; and that their land would extend from sea to sea, from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
22-23 The Lord renewed that covenant with Isaac, and then again with Jacob, repeating the promise that Abraham's descendants would be a blessing to the whole human race. The Lord assured Jacob that he would bless him; he gave him the land that would be his, dividing it into twelve parts, one for each of the tribes.