Genesis 17
17
God's Promise to Abraham
1When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him again and said, “I am God All-Powerful. If you obey me and always do right, 2I will keep my solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be counted.” 3Abram bowed with his face to the ground, and God said:
4-5 #
Ro 4.17. I promise that you will be the father of many nations. So now I'm changing your name from Abram to Abraham.#17.4,5 Abraham: In Hebrew “Abraham” sounds like “father of many nations.” 6I will give you a lot of descendants, and they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings.
7 #
Lk 1.55. I will always keep the promise I have made to you and your descendants, because I am your God and their God. 8#Ac 7.5. I will give you and them the land in which you are now a foreigner. I will give the whole land of Canaan to your family forever, and I will be their God.
9Abraham, you and all future members of your family must promise to obey me. 10-11#Ac 7.8; Ro 4.11. As the sign that you are keeping this promise, you must circumcise every man and boy in your family. 12-13From now on, your family must circumcise every baby boy when he is eight days old. You must even circumcise any man or boy you have as a slave, both those born in your homes and those you buy from foreigners. This will be a sign that my promise to you will last forever. 14Any man who isn't circumcised hasn't kept his part of the promise and cannot be one of my people.
15Abraham, from now on your wife's name will be Sarah instead of Sarai. 16I will bless her, and you will have a son by her. She will become the mother of nations, and some of her descendants will even be kings.
17Abraham bowed with his face to the ground and thought, “I am almost 100 years old. How can I become a father? And Sarah is 90. How can she have a child?” So he started laughing. 18Then he asked God, “Why not let Ishmael#17.18 Ishmael: Ishmael was the son of Sarah's slave Hagar (see 16.1-16). inherit what you have promised me?”
19But God answered:
No! You and Sarah will have a son. His name will be Isaac,#17.19 Isaac: In Hebrew “Isaac” sounds like “laugh.” and I will make an everlasting promise to him and his descendants.
20However, I have heard what you asked me to do for Ishmael, and so I will also bless him with many descendants. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make his family a great nation. 21But your son Isaac will be born about this time next year, and the promise I am making to you and your family will be for him and his descendants forever.
22God finished speaking to Abraham and then left.
23-27On that same day Abraham obeyed God by circumcising Ishmael. Abraham was also circumcised, and so were all the other men and boys in his household, including his servants and slaves. He was 99 years old at the time, and his son Ishmael was 13.
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Genesis 17
17
Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant
1When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the Almighty God. Obey me and always do what is right. 2I will make my covenant with you and give you many descendants.” 3Abram bowed down with his face touching the ground, and God said, 4“I make this covenant with you: I promise that you will be the ancestor of many nations. 5#Rom 4.17Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham,#17.5 Abraham: This name sounds like the Hebrew for “ancestor of many nations”. because I am making you the ancestor of many nations. 6I will give you many descendants, and some of them will be kings. You will have so many descendants that they will become nations.
7 # Lk 1.55 “I will keep my promise to you and to your descendants in future generations as an everlasting covenant. I will be your God and the God of your descendants. 8#Acts 7.5I will give to you and to your descendants this land in which you are now a foreigner. The whole land of Canaan will belong to your descendants for ever, and I will be their God.”
9God said to Abraham, “You also must agree to keep the covenant with me, both you and your descendants in future generations. 10#Acts 7.8; Rom 4.11You and your descendants must all agree to circumcise every male among you. 11-12From now on you must circumcise every baby boy when he is eight days old, including slaves born in your homes and slaves bought from foreigners. This will show that there is a covenant between you and me. 13Each one must be circumcised, and this will be a physical sign to show that my covenant with you is everlasting. 14Any male who has not been circumcised will no longer be considered one of my people, because he has not kept the covenant with me.”
15God said to Abraham, “You must no longer call your wife Sarai; from now on her name is Sarah.#17.15 Sarah: This name in Hebrew means “princess”. 16I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will become the mother of nations, and there will be kings among her descendants.”
17Abraham bowed down with his face touching the ground, but he began to laugh when he thought, “Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah have a child at ninety?” 18He asked God, “Why not let Ishmael be my heir?”
19But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son and you will name him Isaac.#17.19 Isaac: This name in Hebrew means “he laughs”. I will keep my covenant with him and with his descendants for ever. It is an everlasting covenant. 20I have heard your request about Ishmael, so I will bless him and give him many children and many descendants. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make a great nation of his descendants. 21But I will keep my covenant with your son Isaac, who will be born to Sarah about this time next year.” 22When God finished speaking to Abraham, he left him.
23On that same day Abraham obeyed God and circumcised his son Ishmael and all the other males in his household, including the slaves born in his home and those he had bought. 24Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised, 25and his son Ishmael was thirteen. 26They were both circumcised on the same day, 27together with all Abraham's slaves.
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.