Berĕshith (Genesis) 17

1And it came to be when Aḇram was ninety-nine years old, that יהוה appeared to Aḇram and said to him, “I am Ěl Shaddai – walk before Me and be perfect.

2“And I give My covenant between Me and you, and shall greatly increase you.

3And Aḇram fell on his face, and Elohim spoke with him, saying,

4As for Me, look, My covenant is with you, and you shall become a father of many nations.

5“And no longer is your name called Aḇram, but your name shall be Aḇraham, because I shall make you a father of many nations.

6“And I shall make you exceedingly fruitful, and make nations of you, and sovereigns shall come from you.

7“And I shall establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be Elohim to you and your seed after you.

8“And I shall give to you and your seed after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Kena‛an, as an everlasting possession. And I shall be their Elohim.”

9And Elohim said to Aḇraham, “As for you, guard My covenant, you and your seed after you throughout their generations.

10“This is My covenant which you guard between Me and you, and your seed after you: Every male child among you is to be circumcised.

11“And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall become a sign of the covenant between Me and you.

12“And a son of eight days is circumcised by you, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with silver from any foreigner who is not of your seed.

13“He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your silver, has to be circumcised. So shall My covenant be in your flesh, for an everlasting covenant.

14“And an uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, his life shall be cut off from his people – he has broken My covenant.”

15And Elohim said to Aḇraham, “As for Sarai your wife, do not call her name Sarai, for Sarah is her name.

16“And I shall bless her and also give you a son by her. And I shall bless her, and she shall become nations – sovereigns of peoples are to be from her.”

17And Aḇraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Is a child born to a man who is a hundred years old? Or is Sarah, who is ninety years old, to bear a child?”

18And Aḇraham said to Elohim, “Oh, let Yishma‛ĕl live before You!”

19“And Elohim said, “No, Sarah your wife is truly bearing a son to you, and you shall call his name Yitsḥaq. And I shall establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

20“And as for Yishma‛ĕl, I have heard you. See, I shall bless him, and shall make him fruitful, and greatly increase him. He is to bring forth twelve princes, and I shall make him a great nation.

21“But My covenant I establish with Yitsḥaq, whom Sarah is to bear to you at this appointed time next year.”

22And when He had ended speaking with him, Elohim went up from Aḇraham.

23And Aḇraham took Yishma‛ĕl his son, and all those born in his house and all those bought with his silver, every male among the men of Aḇraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that same day, as Elohim told him.

24And Aḇraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

25And Yishma‛ĕl his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

26Aḇraham and his son Yishma‛ĕl were circumcised that same day.

27And all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with silver from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

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Genesis 17

Proof of the Agreement

1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Obey me and do what is right. 2I will make an agreement between us, and I will make you the ancestor of many people.”

3Then Abram bowed facedown on the ground. God said to him, 4“I am making my agreement with you: I will make you the father of many nations. 5I am changing your name from Abram to Abraham because I am making you a father of many nations. 6I will give you many descendants. New nations will be born from you, and kings will come from you. 7And I will make an agreement between me and you and all your descendants from now on: I will be your God and the God of all your descendants. 8You live in the land of Canaan now as a stranger, but I will give you and your descendants all this land forever. And I will be the God of your descendants.”

9Then God said to Abraham, “You and your descendants must keep this agreement from now on. 10This is my agreement with you and all your descendants, which you must obey: Every male among you must be circumcised. 11Cut away your foreskin to show that you are prepared to follow the agreement between me and you. 12From now on when a baby boy is eight days old, you will circumcise him. This includes any boy born among your people or any who is your slave, who is not one of your descendants. 13Circumcise every baby boy whether he is born in your family or bought as a slave. Your bodies will be marked to show that you are part of my agreement that lasts forever. 14Any male who is not circumcised will be cut off from his people, because he has broken my agreement.”

Isaac—the Promised Son

15God said to Abraham, “I will change the name of Sarai, your wife, to Sarah. 16I will bless her and give her a son, and you will be the father. She will be the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will come from her.”

17Abraham bowed facedown on the ground and laughed. He said to himself, “Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth to a child when she is ninety?” 18Then Abraham said to God, “Please let Ishmael be the son you promised.”

19God said, “No, Sarah your wife will have a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will make my agreement with him to be an agreement that continues forever with all his descendants.

20“As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will bless him and give him many descendants. And I will cause their numbers to grow greatly. He will be the father of twelve great leaders, and I will make him into a great nation. 21But I will make my agreement with Isaac, the son whom Sarah will have at this same time next year.” 22After God finished talking with Abraham, God rose and left him.

23Then Abraham gathered Ishmael, all the males born in his camp, and the slaves he had bought. So that day Abraham circumcised every man and boy in his camp as God had told him to do. 24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised. 25And Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when he was circumcised. 26Abraham and his son were circumcised on the same day. 27Also on that day all the men in Abraham’s camp were circumcised, including all those born in his camp and all the slaves he had bought from other nations.

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