Then God led Abram outside. God said, “Look at the sky. See the many stars. There are so many you can’t count them. In the future, your family will be like that.”
I will truly bless you. I will give you many, many descendants, [126] as many as the stars in the sky. There will be as many people as sand on the seashore. And your people will live in cities that they take from their enemies.
You will have many, many descendants. [163] They will be as many as the pieces of dust on earth. They will spread east and west, north and south. All the families on earth will be blessed because of you and your descendants.
\{David decided to count the men in Israel.\} There were very many people because God promised to make the people of Israel as many as the stars in the sky. So David only counted the men that were 20 years old and older.
You made their descendants {\cf2\super [53]} \par as many as the stars in the sky.\par You brought them to the land\par you promised to give their ancestors. {\cf2\super [54]} \par They went in and took that land.\par
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob). Those men served you. And you used your name to make a promise to them. You said: ‘I will make your people as many as the stars in the sky. I will give your people all this land like I promised. This land will be theirs forever.’”
Abraham is your father, and you should look at him. You should look at Sarah—the woman that gave birth to you. Abraham was alone when I called him. Then I blessed him, and he began a great family. Many, many people came from him.”
“I will punish those people. But some of those people will be like the sticks that don’t burn completely—they will be punished, but they won’t be destroyed completely. You will see that I punished these people, and you will know that I am the Lord!
When your ancestors [64] went down into Egypt, there were only 70 people. Now the Lord your God has made you many, many people—as many as the stars in the sky.
Then there before the Lord your God you will say: ‘My ancestor was a wandering Aramean. [157] He went down into Egypt and stayed there. When he went there, he had only a few people in his family. But in Egypt he became a great nation—a powerful nation with many people.