Twentieth_Century(i)
13 When God gave his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater by whom he could swear, he swore by himself.
14 His words were-- 'I will assuredly bless thee and increase thy numbers.'
15 And so, after patiently waiting, Abraham obtained the fulfillment of God's promise.
16 Men, of course, swear by what is greater than themselves, and with them an oath is accepted as putting a matter beyond all dispute.
17 And therefore God, in his desire to show, with unmistakable plainness, to those who were to enter on the enjoyment of what he had promised, the unchangeableness of his purpose, bound himself with an oath.
18 For he intended us to find great encouragement in these two unchangeable things, which make it impossible for God to prove false--we, I mean, who fled for safety where we might lay hold on the hope set before us.