And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

Thou didst say that thou wouldst do well by me, and multiply my seed like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for the multitude.

And thou saidst, I will certainly deal well with thee, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

and Thou, Thou hast said, I certainly do good with thee, and have set thy seed as the sand of the sea, which is not numbered because of the multitude.'

And you said, I will surely do you good, and make your seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

And you said, Truly, I will be good to you, and make your seed like the sand of the sea which may not be numbered.

You said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which can't be numbered because there are so many.'

You did say that you would do well by me, and that you would expand my offspring like the sand of the sea, which, because of its multitude, cannot be numbered."

Et tu dixisti, Benefaciendo benefaciam tibi, et ponam semen tuum sicut arenam maris, quae non numeratur prae multitudine.

Make thy seed as the sand - Having come to the promise by which the covenant was ratified both to Abraham and Isaac, he ceased, his faith having gained strong confirmation in a promise which he knew could not fail, and which he found was made over to him, as it had been to his father and grandfather.

And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good,.... All kind of good, most certainly and constantly; so Jacob rightly interpreted the promise, "I will be with thee", Genesis 31:3; for the promise of God's presence includes and secures all needful good to his people; and from this general promise Jacob draws an argument for a special and particular good, the preservation of him and his family, he was now pleading for; and the rather he might hope to succeed, since the following promise was also made him:
and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude; which could not be fulfilled, if he and his family were cut off at once, as he feared; but God is faithful who has promised.

"For I am in fear of him, that (פּן ne) he come and smite me, mother with children." בּנים על אם is a proverbial expression for unsparing cruelty, taken from the bird which covers its young to protect them (Deuteronomy 22:6, cf. Hosea 10:14). על super, una cum, as in Exodus 35:22.

Thou saidst, I will surely do thee good - The best we can say to God in prayer is, what he hath said to us. God's promises as they are the surest guide of our desires in prayer, and furnish us with the best petitions, so they are the firmest ground of our hopes, and furnish us with the best pleas. Thou saidst, I will do thee good - Lord, do me good in this matter. He pleads also a particular promise, that of the multiplying of his seed. Lord, what will become of that promise, if they be all cut off?