Hebrews 11:12 “And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numer…”

Hebrews 11:12

And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

Berean Standard Bible

Other translations

King James Version

Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

World English Bible

Therefore as many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as innumerable as the sand which is by the sea shore, were fathered by one man, and him as good as dead.

American Standard Version

wherefore also there sprang of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the sand, which is by the sea-shore, innumerable.

Geneva Bible 1599

And therefore sprang there of one, euen of one which was dead, so many as the starres of the skie in multitude, and as the land of the sea shore which is innumerable.

Darby Translation

Wherefore also there have been born of one, and that of one become dead, even as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the countless sand which [is] by the sea shore.

Young's Literal Translation

wherefore, also from one were begotten — and that of one who had become dead — as the stars of the heaven in multitude, and as sand that [is] by the sea-shore — the innumerable.

Bible in Basic English

So that from one man, who was near to death, came children in number as the stars in heaven, or as the sand by the seaside, which may not be numbered.

.mt-body { max-height: none !important; -webkit-mask-image: none !important; mask-image: none !important; } .mt-bar { display: none !important; } .o-trans::after { display: block !important; }

Cross references

“and him”

Romans 4:19

Romans 4:19 · BSB

Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb.

“as the stars”

Genesis 22:17 Genesis 15:5 Genesis 26:4 Exodus 32:13 Deuteronomy 1:10 Deuteronomy 28:62

Genesis 22:17 · BSB

I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.

Genesis 15:5 · BSB

And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Genesis 26:4 · BSB

I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,

Exodus 32:13 · BSB

Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land…

Deuteronomy 1:10 · BSB

The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Deuteronomy 28:62 · BSB

You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

“as the sand”

Genesis 32:12 Hosea 1:10 Jeremiah 33:22 Isaiah 10:22 Revelation 20:8 Joshua 11:4

Genesis 32:12 · BSB

But You have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to count.’”

Hosea 1:10 · BSB

Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘s…

Jeremiah 33:22 · BSB

As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted and as the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so too will I multiply the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister before Me.”

Isaiah 10:22 · BSB

Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overflowing with righteousness.

Revelation 20:8 · BSB

and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore.

Joshua 11:4 · BSB

So these kings came out with all their armies, a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore, along with a great number of horses and chariots.

Cross references adapted from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0) and the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

In context

11By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised.

13All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Read Hebrews 11