Genesis 17
17
The Covenant of Circumcision
1#Ge 6:9; Dt 18:13; Ge 28:3When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am Almighty God. Walk before Me and be blameless. 2#Ge 13:16; 15:18And I will make My covenant between you and Me and will exceedingly multiply you.”
3#Ge 17:17Abram fell on his face and God said to him, 4#Ge 35:11; 12:2“As for Me, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5#Ne 9:7; Ge 17:15No longer will your name be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6#Ge 35:11; 17:16I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7#Ge 26:24; 28:13; Heb 11:16I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8#Ge 12:7; 13:15; Ex 6:7All the land of Canaan, where you now live as strangers, I will give to you and to your descendants for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
9Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10#Ac 7:8This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you; every male among you shall be circumcised. 11#Ro 4:11; Ac 7:8You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12#Lev 12:3; Lk 2:21Every male throughout every generation that is eight days old shall be circumcised, whether born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner who is not your descendant. 13#Ex 12:44He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised. My covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. 14#Ex 4:24–26Any uncircumcised male whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised shall be cut off from his people. He has broken My covenant.”
15Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you will not call her name Sarai, but her name will be Sarah. 16#Ge 35:11; 17:6I will bless her and also give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her.”
17#Ge 21:6; 17:3Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man that is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
19#Ge 21:2–3Then God said, “No, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call his name Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant and with his descendants after him. 20#Ge 21:18; 21:13And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21#Ge 18:10; 26:2–5But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 22#Ge 18:33Then He stopped talking with Abraham, and God went up from him.
23Then Abraham took Ishmael, his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day as God had said to him. 24#Ro 4:11Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25His son, Ishmael, was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised on the same day. 27All the men born in Abraham’s household or bought from foreigners were circumcised with him.
Military Bible Association
Genesis 17
17
The Covenant of Circumcision
1When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. He said, “I am the Mighty God. Walk faithfully with me. Live in a way that pleases me. 2I will now act on my covenant between me and you. I will greatly increase the number of your children after you.”
3Abram fell with his face to the ground. God said to him, 4“This is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. 5You will not be called Abram anymore. Your name will be Abraham, because I have made you a father of many nations. 6I will greatly increase the number of your children after you. Nations and kings will come from you. 7I will make my covenant with you last forever. It will be between me and you and your family after you for all time to come. I will be your God. And I will be the God of all your family after you. 8You are now living in Canaan as an outsider. But I will give you the whole land of Canaan. You will own it forever and so will all your family after you. And I will be their God.”
9Then God said to Abraham, “You must keep my covenant. You and your family after you must keep it for all time to come. 10Here is my covenant that you and your family after you must keep. You and every male among you must be circumcised. 11That will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12It must be done for all time to come. Every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised. That includes those who are born into your own family or outside it. It also includes those bought with money from a stranger. 13So any male born into your family or bought with your money must be circumcised. My covenant will last forever. Your body will have the mark of my covenant on it. 14Any male who has not been circumcised will be separated from his people. He has broken my covenant.”
15God also said to Abraham, “Do not continue to call your wife by the name Sarai. Her name will be Sarah. 16I will give her my blessing. You can be sure that I will give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations. Kings of nations will come from her.”
17Abraham fell with his face to the ground. He laughed and said to himself, “Can a 100-year-old man have a son? Can Sarah have a child at the age of 90?” 18Abraham said to God, “I really wish Ishmael could receive your blessing!”
19Then God said, “Yes, I will bless Ishmael. But your wife Sarah will have a son by you. And you will name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him. That covenant will last forever. It will be for Isaac and his family after him. 20I have heard what you said about Ishmael. I will surely bless him. I will make his family very large. He will be the father of 12 rulers. And I will make him into a great nation. 21But I will establish my covenant with Isaac. By this time next year, Sarah will have a son by you.” 22When God had finished speaking with Abraham, God left him.
23On that same day Abraham circumcised his son Ishmael. He also circumcised every male who was born into his family or bought with his money. He did exactly as God had told him. 24Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised. 25His son Ishmael was 13. 26Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. 27And every male in Abraham’s household was circumcised along with him. That included those born into his family or bought from a stranger.
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.