Bereshis 17
17
1And when Avram was ninety and nine shanah, Hashem appeared to Avram, and said unto him, I am El Shaddai; walk before Me, and be thou tamim (blameless).
2And I will confirm My brit (covenant) between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3And Avram fell on his face; and Elohim talked with him, saying,
4As for Me, hinei, My brit (covenant) is with thee, and thou shalt be an Av of many Goyim.#17:4 See18:18
5Neither shall thy shem any more be called Avram, but thy shem shall be Avraham; for Av hamon Goyim (Father of a multitude of Goyim) have I made thee.#17:5 Ga 3:29 says, “And if you belong to Moshiach (Isa 53:10), then you are of the ZERAH of Avraham Avinu, you are yoreshim (heirs) according to the havtachah (promise).”
6And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make Goyim of thee, and Melechim shall come out of thee.
7And I will establish My Brit (covenant) between Me and thee and thy zera after thee in their dorot for a Brit Olam, to be Elohim unto thee, and to thy zera after thee.
8And I will give unto thee, and to thy zera after thee, the Eretz wherein thou art now a ger, kol Eretz Kena'an, for an Achuzzah (Possession) Olam (Everlasting); and I will be their Elohim.
9And Elohim said unto Avraham, Thou shalt be shomer over My Brit therefore, thou, and thy zera after thee in the dorot.
10This is My Brit (covenant), which ye shall be shomer over, between Me and you and thy zera after thee; every zachar among you shall be circumcised.
11And ye shall circumcise the basar of your arelah; and it shall be an ot brit (sign of the covenant) between Me and you.
12And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every zachar in your dorot, he that is born in the bais, or bought with kesef of any foreigner, which is not of thy zera.
13He that is born in thy bais, and he that is bought with thy kesef, must be circumcised; and My Brit shall be in your basar for a Brit Olam.
14And the arel (uncircumcised) zachar whose basar of his arelah (foreskin) is not circumcised, that nefesh shall be cut off from his people; My Brit hefer (he broke).
15And Elohim said unto Avraham, As for Sarai thy isha, thou shalt not call her shem Sarai, but Sarah (Princess) shall her shem be.
16And I will bless her, and give thee ben also of her; yes, will bless her, and she shall give rise to Goyim; melechim of peoples shall be from her.
17Then Avraham fell upon his face, and yitzchak (laughed), and said in his lev, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred shanah? And shall Sarah, that is ninety shanah, bear?
18And Avraham said unto HaElohim, O that Yishmael might live before Thee!
19And Elohim said, Sarah thy isha shall bear thee ben indeed; and thou shalt call shmo Yitzchak; and I will establish My Brit (covenant) with him for a Brit Olam, and with his zera after him.
20And as for Yishmael, I have heard thee; hinei, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve nasi'im (princes, rulers) shall he father, and I will make him a goy gadol (great nation).
21But My Brit (covenant) will I establish with Yitzchak, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at mo'ed hazeh (this set time) next year.
22And He left off speaking with him, and Elohim went up from Avraham.
23And Avraham took Yishmael bno, and all that were born in his bais, and all that were bought with his kesef, every zachar among the men of Avrahamʼs bais; and circumcised the basar of their arelah in the very same day, as Elohim had said unto him.
24And Avraham was ninety shanah and nine, when he was circumcised in the basar of his arelah.
25And Yishmael bno was thirteen shanah, when he was circumcised in the basar of his arelah (foreskin).
26In the very same day was Avraham circumcised, and Yishmael bno.
27And all the men of his bais, born in the bais, and bought with kesef of the foreigner, were circumcised with him.
THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Genesis 17
17
1-2When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God showed up and said to him, “I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I’ll make a covenant between us and I’ll give you a huge family.”
3-8Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face.
Then God said to him, “This is my covenant with you: You’ll be the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, meaning that ‘I’m making you the father of many nations.’ I’ll make you a father of fathers—I’ll make nations from you, kings will issue from you. I’m establishing my covenant between me and you, a covenant that includes your descendants, a covenant that goes on and on and on, a covenant that commits me to be your God and the God of your descendants. And I’m giving you and your descendants this land where you’re now just camping, this whole country of Canaan, to own forever. And I’ll be their God.”
9-14God continued to Abraham, “And you: You will honor my covenant, you and your descendants, generation after generation. This is the covenant that you are to honor, the covenant that pulls in all your descendants: Circumcise every male. Circumcise by cutting off the foreskin of the penis; it will be the sign of the covenant between us. Every male baby will be circumcised when he is eight days old, generation after generation—this includes house-born slaves and slaves bought from outsiders who are not blood kin. Make sure you circumcise both your own children and anyone brought in from the outside. That way my covenant will be cut into your body, a permanent mark of my permanent covenant. An uncircumcised male, one who has not had the foreskin of his penis cut off, will be cut off from his people—he has broken my covenant.”
15-16God continued speaking to Abraham, “And Sarai your wife: Don’t call her Sarai any longer; call her Sarah. I’ll bless her—yes! I’ll give you a son by her! Oh, how I’ll bless her! Nations will come from her; kings of nations will come from her.”
17Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, “Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby?”
18Recovering, Abraham said to God, “Oh, keep Ishmael alive and well before you!”
19But God said, “That’s not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). I’ll establish my covenant with him and his descendants, a covenant that lasts forever.
20-21“And Ishmael? Yes, I heard your prayer for him. I’ll also bless him; I’ll make sure he has plenty of children—a huge family. He’ll father twelve princes; I’ll make him a great nation. But I’ll establish my covenant with Isaac whom Sarah will give you about this time next year.”
22God finished speaking with Abraham and left.
23Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all his servants, whether houseborn or purchased—every male in his household—and circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins that very day, just as God had told him.
24-27Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised. His son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised. Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised the same day together with all the servants of his household, those born there and those purchased from outsiders—all were circumcised with him.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.