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
Abram and Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant
1When#Literally “And it happened that” Abram was ninety-nine years old Yahweh appeared to Abram. And he said to him, “I am El-Shaddai;#Often translated, “God Almighty” walk before me and be blameless 2so that#Or “and” I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you exceedingly.”#Literally “with very very” 3Then Abram fell upon his face and God spoke with him, saying, 4“As for me, behold, my covenant shall be with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5Your name shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. 6And I will make you exceedingly#Literally “with very very” fruitful. I will make you a nation, and kings shall go out from you. 7And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and between your offspring after you, throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant to be as God for you and to your offspring after you. 8And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land in which you are living as an alien,#Literally “a land of your sojournings” all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting property. And I will be to them as God.”
9And God said to Abraham, “Now as for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you, throughout their generations. 10This is my covenant which you shall keep, between me and you, and also with#Or “between” your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12And at eight days of age#Literally “a son of eight days” you shall yourselves circumcise every male belonging to your generations and the servant born in your house and the one bought from any foreigner#Literally “those born of house and acquisition of money from every son of a foreigner” who is not from your offspring. 13You must certainly circumcise#Literally “circumcising you will circumcise” the servant born in your house and the one bought from any foreigner.#Literally “those born of house and acquisition of money from every son of a foreigner” And my covenant shall be with your flesh as an everlasting covenant. 14And as for any uncircumcised male who has not circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his#Literally “her”; the reference is still to a male; the pronoun is feminine because “person” (nephesh) is grammatically feminine people. He has broken my covenant. 15And God said to Abraham, “as for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, for Sarah shall be her name. 16And I will bless her; moreover, I give to you from her a son. And I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations.#Literally “she shall become to nations” Kings of peoples shall come#Or “be” from her.” 17And Abraham fell upon his face and laughed. And he said in his heart, “Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old,#Literally “to a man one hundred years old can he be born?” or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?”#Literally “can ninety-year-old Sarah bear a child?” 18And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19And God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear a son for you, and you shall call his name Isaac. And I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant to his offspring after him. 20And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I will bless him and I will make him fruitful, and I will multiply him exceedingly.#Literally “with very very” He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this appointed time next year.” 22When#Or “And” he finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23And Abraham took Ishmael his son and all who were born of his house, and all those acquired by his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on the same day that God spoke with him. 24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin. 25And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin. 26Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the same day. 27And all the men of his house, those born in the house, and those acquired by money from a foreigner,#Literally “born of house and acquisition of money from the son of a foreigner” were circumcised with him.
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