Genesis 17

CHAPTER 17

1Forsooth after that Abram began to be of ninety years and nine, the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, I am Almighty God; go thou before me, and be thou perfect;

2and I shall set my covenant of peace betwixt me and thee; and I shall multiply thee full greatly.

3And Abram felled down low on his face. And God said to him,

4I am, and my covenant of peace is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of many folks;

5and thy name shall no more be called Abram, but thou shalt be called Abraham, for I have made thee [the] father of many folks;

6and I shall make thee to wax full greatly, and I shall set thee in folks, and kings shall go out of thee;

7and I shall make my covenant between me and thee, and between thy seed after thee, in their generations, by everlasting bond of peace, that I be thy God, and of thy seed after thee;

8and I shall give to thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy pilgrimage, all the land of Canaan, into everlasting possession, and I shall be the God of them.

9God said again to Abraham, And therefore thou shalt keep my covenant, and thy seed after thee, in their generations.

10This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, betwixt me and you, and thy seed after thee; each male kind of you shall be circumcised,

11and ye shall circumcise the flesh of your man’s rod, that it be into a sign of bond of peace betwixt me and you.

12A young child of eight days shall be circumcised in you, all male kind in your generations, as well a born servant [of your household], as a servant bought, shall be circumcised,

13and whoever is of your kindred, he shall be circumcised; and my covenant shall be in your flesh into everlasting bond of peace.

14A man whose flesh of his rod shall not be circumcised, that man shall be done away from his people; for he made void my covenant.

15Also God said to Abraham, Thou shalt not call Sarai, thy wife, Sarai, but Sarah;

16and I shall bless her, and of her I shall give to thee a son, whom I shall bless, and he shall be into nations, and kings of peoples shall be born of him.

17Abraham felled down on his face, and laughed in his heart, and said, Guessest thou, whether a child shall be born to a man of an hundred years, and Sarah of ninety years shall bear a child?

18And he said to the Lord, I would that Ishmael might live before thee.

19And the Lord said to Abraham, Sarah, thy wife, shall bear a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name Isaac, and I shall make my covenant with him into everlasting bond of peace, and to his seed after him;

20also on Ishmael I have heard thee, lo! I shall bless him, and I shall increase him, and I shall multiply him greatly; he shall engender twelve dukes, and I shall make him into a great folk.

21Forsooth I shall make my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall child to thee in this time in the tother year.

22And when the word of the speaker with him was ended, God ascended from Abraham.

23Forsooth Abraham took Ishmael, his son, and all the born servants of his house, and all which he had bought, all the males of all men of his house, and circumcised the flesh of their rods, anon in that day, as the Lord commanded to him.

24Abraham was of ninety years and nine when he circumcised the flesh of his rod,

25and Ishmael, his son, had filled thirteen years in the time of his circumcision.

26Abraham was circumcised in the same day, and Ishmael his son,

27and all the men of his house, as well born servants, as those bought and aliens, were circumcised together.

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Genesis 17

The LORD’s Fifth Promise to Abraham

1When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. He said to Abram, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence with integrity. 2I will give you my promise,#17:2 Or “covenant.” and I will give you very many descendants.” 3Immediately, Abram bowed with his face touching the ground, and again God spoke to him, 4“My promise is still with you. You will become the father of many nations. 5So your name will no longer be Abram [Exalted Father], but Abraham [Father of Many] because I have made you a father of many nations. 6I will give you many descendants. Many nations and kings will come from you. 7I will make my promise to you and your descendants for generations to come as an everlasting promise. I will be your God and the God of your descendants. 8I am also giving this land where you are living—all of Canaan—to you and your descendants as your permanent possession. And I will be your God.”

9God also said to Abraham, “You and your descendants in generations to come are to be faithful to my promise. 10This is how you are to be faithful to my promise: Every male among you is to be circumcised. 11All of you must be circumcised. That will be the sign of the promise from me to you. 12For generations to come every male child who is eight days old must be circumcised, whether he is born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner who’s not related to you. 13Every male born in your household or bought with your money is to be circumcised without exception. So my promise will be a sign on your flesh, an everlasting promise. 14Any uncircumcised male must be excluded from his people because he has rejected my promise.”

15God said to Abraham, “Don’t call your wife by the name Sarai anymore. Instead, her name is Sarah [Princess]. 16I will bless her, and I will also give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will become ⌞a mother of⌟ nations, and kings will come from her.” 17Immediately, Abraham bowed with his face touching the ground. He laughed as he thought to himself, “Can a son be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, have a child?” 18Then Abraham said to God, “Why not let Ishmael be my heir?”

19God replied, “No! Your wife Sarah will give you a son, and you will name him Isaac [He Laughs]. I will make an everlasting promise to him and his descendants. 20I have heard your request about Ishmael. Yes, I will bless him, make him fertile, and increase the number of his descendants. He will be the father of 12 princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21But I will make my promise to Isaac. Sarah will give birth to him at this time next year.” 22When God finished speaking with Abraham, he left him.

Abraham’s Household Circumcised

23So Abraham took his son Ishmael, everyone born in his household, and everyone bought with money—every male in his household—and circumcised them that day, as God had told him. 24Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised. 25His son Ishmael was 13 years old when he was circumcised. 26That same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27All the men of his household, whether born in the household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

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