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 with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. 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.
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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