Genesis 17
17
1And after he began to be ninety and nine years old, the Lord appeared to him: and said unto him: I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be perfect.
2And I will make my covenant between me and thee: and I will multiply thee exceedingly.
3Abram tell flat on his face.
4And God said to him: I AM, And my covenant is with thee; and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5Neither shall thy name be called any more Abram. But thou shalt be called Abraham: because I have made thee a father of many nations.
6And I will make thee increase, exceedingly: and I will make nations of thee; and kings shall come out of thee.
7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and between thy seed after thee in their generations, by a perpetual covenant: to be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8And I will give to thee, and to thy seed, the land of thy sojournment, all the land of Chanaan for a perpetual possession: and I will be their God.
9Again God said to Abraham: And thou therefore shalt keep my covenant, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10This is my covenant which you shall observe, between me and you, and thy seed after thee: All the male kind of you shall be circumcised.
11And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin: that it may be for a sign of the covenant between me and you.
12An infant of eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations. He that is born in the house, as well as the bought servant shall be circumcised, and whosoever is not of your stock.
13And my covenant shall be in your flesh, for a perpetual covenant.
14The male, whose flesh of his foreskin shall not be circumcised, that soul shall be destroyed out of his people: because he hath broken my covenant.
15God said also to Abraham: Sarai, thy wife, thou shalt not call Sarai, but Sara.
16And I will bless her, and of her I will give thee a son, whom I will bless: and he shell become nations, and kings of people shall spring from him.
17Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, saying in his heart: Shall a son, thinkest thou, be born to him that is a hundred years old? And shall Sara that is ninety years old bring forth?
18And he said to God: O that Ismael may live before thee.
19And God said to Abraham: Sara, thy wife, shall bear thee a son; and thou shalt call his name Isaac. And I will establish my covenant with him for a perpetual covenant, and with his seed after him.
20And as for Ismael I have also heard thee. Behold, I will bless him, and increase, and multiply him exceedingly: he shall beget twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great nation.
21But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sara shall bring forth to thee at this time in the next year.
22And when he had left off speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.
23And Abraham took Ismael his son, and all that were born in his house; and all whom he had bought, every male among the men of his house. And he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin forthwith the very same day, as God had commanded him.
24Abraham was ninety and nine years old, when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin.
25And Ismael his son was full thirteen years old at the time of his circumcision.
26The selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ismael his son.
27And all the men of his house, as well they that were born in his house, as the bought servants and strangers were circumcised with him.
An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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. 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.