Genesis 17
17
1-2When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God showed up and said to him, “I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I’ll make a covenant between us and I’ll give you a huge family.”
3-8Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face.
Then God said to him, “This is my covenant with you: You’ll be the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, meaning that ‘I’m making you the father of many nations.’ I’ll make you a father of fathers—I’ll make nations from you, kings will issue from you. I’m establishing my covenant between me and you, a covenant that includes your descendants, a covenant that goes on and on and on, a covenant that commits me to be your God and the God of your descendants. And I’m giving you and your descendants this land where you’re now just camping, this whole country of Canaan, to own forever. And I’ll be their God.”
9-14God continued to Abraham, “And you: You will honor my covenant, you and your descendants, generation after generation. This is the covenant that you are to honor, the covenant that pulls in all your descendants: Circumcise every male. Circumcise by cutting off the foreskin of the penis; it will be the sign of the covenant between us. Every male baby will be circumcised when he is eight days old, generation after generation—this includes house-born slaves and slaves bought from outsiders who are not blood kin. Make sure you circumcise both your own children and anyone brought in from the outside. That way my covenant will be cut into your body, a permanent mark of my permanent covenant. An uncircumcised male, one who has not had the foreskin of his penis cut off, will be cut off from his people—he has broken my covenant.”
15-16God continued speaking to Abraham, “And Sarai your wife: Don’t call her Sarai any longer; call her Sarah. I’ll bless her—yes! I’ll give you a son by her! Oh, how I’ll bless her! Nations will come from her; kings of nations will come from her.”
17Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, “Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby?”
18Recovering, Abraham said to God, “Oh, keep Ishmael alive and well before you!”
19But God said, “That’s not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). I’ll establish my covenant with him and his descendants, a covenant that lasts forever.
20-21“And Ishmael? Yes, I heard your prayer for him. I’ll also bless him; I’ll make sure he has plenty of children—a huge family. He’ll father twelve princes; I’ll make him a great nation. But I’ll establish my covenant with Isaac whom Sarah will give you about this time next year.”
22God finished speaking with Abraham and left.
23Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all his servants, whether houseborn or purchased—every male in his household—and circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins that very day, just as God had told him.
24-27Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised. His son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised. Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised the same day together with all the servants of his household, those born there and those purchased from outsiders—all were circumcised with him.
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Genesis 17: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Genesis 17
17
The Sign of the Covenant
1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord #Gen. 12:7; 18:1appeared to Abram and said to him, #Gen. 28:3; 35:11; Ex. 6:3; Job 42:2“I am Almighty God; #2 Kin. 20:3walk before Me and be #Gen. 6:9; Deut. 18:13blameless. 2And I will make My #Gen. 15:18; Ex. 6:4; (Gal. 3:19)covenant between Me and you, and #Gen. 12:2; 13:16; 15:5; 18:18will multiply you exceedingly.” 3Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a #(Rom. 4:11, 12, 16)father of many nations. 5No longer shall #Neh. 9:7your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; #Rom. 4:17for I have made you a father of many nations. 6I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations #Gen. 17:16; 35:11of you, and #Matt. 1:6kings shall come from you. 7And I will #(Gal. 3:17)establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, #Gen. 26:24; 28:13; Lev. 11:45; 26:12, 45; Heb. 11:16to be God to you and #Rom. 9:8; Gal. 3:16your descendants after you. 8Also #Gen. 12:7; 13:15, 17; Acts 7:5I give to you and your descendants after you the land #Gen. 23:4; 28:4in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and #Ex. 6:7; 29:45; Lev. 26:12; Deut. 29:13; Rev. 21:7I will be their God.”
9And God said to Abraham: “As for you, #Ex. 19:5you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: #John 7:22; Acts 7:8Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be #Ex. 12:13, 48; (Rom. 4:11)a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12He who is eight days old among you #Lev. 12:3shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person #Ex. 4:24–26shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
15Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, #Gen. 18:10and she shall be a mother #Gen. 35:11; Gal. 4:31; 1 Pet. 3:6of nations; #Gen. 17:6; 36:31; 1 Sam. 8:22kings of peoples shall be from her.”
17Then Abraham fell on his face #Gen. 17:3; 18:12; 21:6and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18And Abraham #Gen. 18:23said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
19Then God said: “No, #Gen. 18:10; 21:2; (Gal. 4:28)Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My #Gen. 22:16; Matt. 1:2; Luke 3:34covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and #Gen. 16:10will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget #Gen. 25:12–16twelve princes, #Gen. 21:13, 18and I will make him a great nation. 21But My #Gen. 26:2–5covenant I will establish with Isaac, #Gen. 21:2whom Sarah shall bear to you at this #Gen. 18:14set time next year.” 22Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. 24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; 27and #Gen. 18:19all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.