Genesis 17
17
Abraham to Father Many Nations
1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty.#17:1 Hebrew El-Shaddai Walk before Me and be blameless. 2I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”
3Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4“As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5No longer will you be called Abram,#17:5 Abram means exalted father. but your name will be Abraham,#17:5 Abraham means father of many. for I have made you a father of many nations.#17:5 Cited in Romans 4:17
6I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.
7I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
8And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
The Covenant of Circumcision
9God also said to Abraham, “You must keep My covenant—you and your descendants in the generations after you. 10This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. 11You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
12Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner—even those who are not your offspring. 13Whether they are born in your household or purchased, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh will be an everlasting covenant.
14But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
15Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai, for her name is to be Sarah.#17:15 Both Sarai and Sarah mean princess; the change in spelling may reflect the difference in dialect between Ur and Canaan. 16And I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will descend from her.”
17Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?” 18And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live under Your blessing!”
19But God replied, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac.#17:19 Isaac means he laughs. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
22When He had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
23On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or purchased with his money—every male among the members of Abraham’s household—and he circumcised them, just as God had told him.
24So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the same day. 27And all the men of Abraham’s household—both servants born in his household and those purchased from foreigners—were circumcised with him.
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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®)
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