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Abraham, you and all future members of your family must promise to obey me. 10-11 (A) As the sign that you are keeping this promise, you must circumcise every man and boy in your family. 12-13 From now on, your family must circumcise every baby boy when he is eight days old. You must even circumcise any man or boy you have as a slave, both those born in your homes and those you buy from foreigners. This will be a sign that my promise to you will last forever. 14 Any man who isn't circumcised hasn't kept his part of the promise and cannot be one of my people.

15 Abraham, from now on your wife's name will be Sarah instead of Sarai. 16 I will bless her, and you will have a son by her. She will become the mother of nations, and some of her descendants will even be kings.

17 Abraham bowed with his face to the ground and thought, “I am almost 100 years old. How can I become a father? And Sarah is 90. How can she have a child?” So he started laughing. 18 Then he asked God, “Why not let Ishmael[a] inherit what you have promised me?”

19 But God answered:

No! You and Sarah will have a son. His name will be Isaac,[b] and I will make an everlasting promise to him and his descendants.

20 However, I have heard what you asked me to do for Ishmael, and so I will also bless him with many descendants. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make his family a great nation. 21 But your son Isaac will be born about this time next year, and the promise I am making to you and your family will be for him and his descendants forever.

22 God finished speaking to Abraham and then left.

23-27 On that same day Abraham obeyed God by circumcising Ishmael. Abraham was also circumcised, and so were all the other men and boys in his household, including his servants and slaves. He was 99 years old at the time, and his son Ishmael was 13.

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Footnotes

  1. 17.18 Ishmael: Ishmael was the son of Sarah's slave Hagar (see 16.1-16).
  2. 17.19 Isaac: In Hebrew “Isaac” sounds like “laugh.”

Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant,(A) you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.(B) 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.(C) 11 You are to undergo circumcision,(D) and it will be the sign of the covenant(E) between me and you. 12 For the generations to come(F) every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised,(G) including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised.(H) My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.(I) 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised(J) in the flesh, will be cut off from his people;(K) he has broken my covenant.(L)

15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai(M) your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.(N) 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.(O) I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations;(P) kings of peoples will come from her.”

17 Abraham fell facedown;(Q) he laughed(R) and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?(S) Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”(T) 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael(U) might live under your blessing!”(V)

19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son,(W) and you will call him Isaac.[a](X) I will establish my covenant with him(Y) as an everlasting covenant(Z) for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers.(AA) He will be the father of twelve rulers,(AB) and I will make him into a great nation.(AC) 21 But my covenant(AD) I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you(AE) by this time next year.”(AF) 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.(AG)

23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household(AH) or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him.(AI) 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old(AJ) when he was circumcised,(AK) 25 and his son Ishmael(AL) was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 17:19 Isaac means he laughs.