"And I will be a fatherto you, And you shall be sonsand daughtersto Me," Saysthe LordAlmighty.
Now when Abramwas ninety-nineyearsold,the LORDappearedto Abramand saidto him, "I am GodAlmighty;WalkbeforeMe, and be blameless.
Then Jacobsaidto Joseph,"GodAlmightyappearedto me at Luzin the landof Canaanand blessedme,
"I will be a fatherto him and he will be a sonto Me; whenhe commitsiniquity,I will correcthim with the rodof menand the strokesof the sonsof men,
"I will be his fatherand he shall be My son;and I will not takeMy lovingkindnessawayfrom him, as I tookit from him whowas beforeyou.
Posteritywill serveHim; It will be toldof the Lordto the [coming] generation.
"I will sayto the north,'Give[them] up!' And to the south,'Do not hold[them] back.'BringMy sonsfrom afarAnd My daughtersfrom the endsof the earth,
"Then I said,'HowI would setyou among My sonsAnd giveyou a pleasantland,The mostbeautifulinheritanceof the nations!'And I said,'You shall callMe, My Father,And not turnawayfrom followingMe.'
"At that time,"declaresthe LORD,"I will be the Godof allthe familiesof Israel,and they shall be My people."
"With weepingthey will come,And by supplicationI will leadthem; I will make them walkby streamsof waters,On a straightpathin which they will not stumble;For I ama fatherto Israel,And Ephraimis My firstborn."
But as manyas receivedHim, to them He gavethe rightto becomechildrenof God,[even] to thosewho believein His name,
For the anxious longingof the creationwaits eagerlyfor the revealingof the sonsof God.
For those whomHe foreknew,He alsopredestined[to become] conformedto the imageof His Son,sothat He would be the firstbornamongmanybrethren;
For you are allsonsof Godthroughfaithin ChristJesus.
He predestinedus to adoption as sonsthroughJesusChristto Himself,accordingto the kind intentionof His will,
"I amthe Alphaand the Omega,"saysthe LordGod,"who is and whowas and who is to come,the Almighty."
I sawnotemplein it, for the LordGodthe Almightyand the Lambare its temple.
"He who overcomeswill inheritthese things,and I will be his Godand he will be My son.
