God Chooses Abram

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you.

⁴ So Abram went, just as the Lord had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Harran. ⁵ He took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. They took all the people and possessions they had acquired in Harran. They started out for the land of Canaan. And they arrived there.

The Covenant of Circumcision

17 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. He said, “I am the Mighty God. Walk faithfully with me. Live in a way that pleases me. ² I will now act on my covenant between me and you. I will greatly increase the number of your children after you.”

³ Abram fell with his face to the ground. God said to him, ⁴ “This is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. ⁵ You will not be called Abram anymore. Your name will be Abraham, because I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will greatly increase the number of your children after you. Nations and kings will come from you. ⁷ I will make my covenant with you last forever. It will be between me and you and your family after you for all time to come. I will be your God. And I will be the God of all your family after you. ⁸ You are now living in Canaan as an outsider. But I will give you the whole land of Canaan. You will own it forever and so will all your family after you. And I will be their God.”

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “You must keep my covenant. You and your family after you must keep it for all time to come.

Isaac Is Born

21 The Lord was gracious to Sarah, just as he had said he would be. The Lord did for Sarah what he had promised to do. ² Sarah became pregnant. She had a son by Abraham when he was old. The child was born at the exact time God had promised. ³ Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah had by him. ⁴ When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. He did it exactly as God had commanded him. ⁵ Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

⁶ Sarah said, “God has given laughter to me. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” ⁷ She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would breast-feed children? But I’ve had a son by him when he is old.”