Genesis 17
17
God’s covenant with Abraham
1When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai.#17.1 Or God Almighty or God of the Mountain Walk with me and be trustworthy. 2I will make a covenant between us and I will give you many, many descendants.” 3Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, 4“But me, my covenant is with you; you will be the ancestor of many nations. 5And because I have made you the ancestor of many nations, your name will no longer be Abram#17.5 Or exalted ancestor but Abraham.#17.5 Or ancestor of a multitude 6I will make you very fertile. I will produce nations from you, and kings will come from you. 7I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you. 8I will give you and your descendants the land in which you are immigrants, the whole land of Canaan, as an enduring possession. And I will be their God.”
9God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants in every generation. 10This is my covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Circumcise every male. 11You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it will be a symbol of the covenant between us. 12On the eighth day after birth, every male in every generation must be circumcised, including those who are not your own children: those born in your household and those purchased with silver from foreigners. 13Be sure you circumcise those born in your household and those purchased with your silver. Your flesh will embody my covenant as an enduring covenant. 14Any uncircumcised male whose flesh of his foreskin remains uncircumcised will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.”
15God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you will no longer call her Sarai. Her name will now be Sarah. 16I will bless her and even give you a son from her. I will bless her so that she will become nations, and kings of peoples will come from her.”
17Abraham fell on his face and laughed. He said to himself, Can a 100-year-old man become a father, or Sarah, a 90-year-old woman, have a child? 18To God Abraham said, “If only you would accept Ishmael!”
19But God said, “No, your wife Sarah will give birth to a son for you, and you will name him Isaac.#17.19 Or he laughs I will set up my covenant with him and with his descendants after him as an enduring covenant. 20As for Ishmael, I’ve heard your request. I will bless him and make him fertile and give him many, many descendants. He will be the ancestor of twelve tribal leaders, and I will make a great nation of him. 21But I will set up my covenant with Isaac, who will be born to Sarah at this time next year.” 22When God finished speaking to him, God ascended, leaving Abraham alone.
23Abraham took his son Ishmael, all those born in his household, and all those purchased with his silver—that is, every male in Abraham’s household—and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that same day, just as God had told him to do. 24Abraham was 99 years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, 25and his son Ishmael was 13 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised. 26That same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27All the men of his household, those born in his household and those purchased with silver from foreigners, were circumcised with him.
2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
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.