Genesis 17
New American Standard Bible
Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision
17 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, (A)the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,
“I am [a]God (B)Almighty;
Walk before Me, and be [b](C)blameless.
2 I will [c]make My (D)covenant between Me and you,
And I will (E)multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Abram (F)fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,
And you will be the father of a (G)multitude of nations.
5 No longer shall you be named [d]Abram,
But (H)your name shall be [e]Abraham;
For (I)I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and (J)kings will come from you. 7 I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your [f]descendants after you throughout their generations as an (K)everlasting covenant, (L)to be God to you and (M)to your [g]descendants after you. 8 And (N)I will give to you and to your [h]descendants after you the land where you live as a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and (O)I will be their God.”
9 God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, (P)you shall keep My covenant, you and your [i]descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 (Q)This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your [j]descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 And (R)you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 And every male among you who is (S)eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, including a slave who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your [k]descendants. 13 A slave who is born in your house or (T)who is bought with your money shall certainly be circumcised; so My covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. 14 But as for an uncircumcised male, one who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be (U)cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you shall not call her by the name [l]Sarai, but [m]Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and indeed I will give you (V)a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; (W)kings of peoples will [n]come from her.” 17 Then Abraham (X)fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man a hundred years old? And (Y)will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth to a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” 19 But God said, “No, but your wife Sarah will bear you (Z)a son, and you shall name him [o]Isaac; and (AA)I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his [p]descendants after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and (AB)make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly. (AC)He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a (AD)great nation. 21 But I will establish My covenant with (AE)Isaac, whom (AF)Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.” 22 When He finished talking with him, (AG)God went up from Abraham.
23 Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all the slaves who were (AH)born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on this very same day, (AI)as God had said to him. 24 Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when (AJ)he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And his son (AK)Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 On this very same day Abraham was circumcised, as well as his son Ishmael. 27 And all the men of his household, those who were (AL)born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 17:1 Heb El Shaddai
- Genesis 17:1 Lit complete, perfect; or having integrity
- Genesis 17:2 Lit give
- Genesis 17:5 I.e., exalted father
- Genesis 17:5 I.e., father of a multitude
- Genesis 17:7 Lit seed
- Genesis 17:7 Lit seed
- Genesis 17:8 Lit seed
- Genesis 17:9 Lit seed
- Genesis 17:10 Lit seed
- Genesis 17:12 Lit seed
- Genesis 17:15 I.e., princess
- Genesis 17:15 I.e., princess (in another dialect)
- Genesis 17:16 Lit be
- Genesis 17:19 I.e., he laughs
- Genesis 17:19 Lit seed
Genesis 17
The Message
17 1-2 When 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.”
3-8 Overwhelmed, 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.”
9-14 God 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.”
15-16 God 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.”
17 Abraham 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?”
18 Recovering, Abraham said to God, “Oh, keep Ishmael alive and well before you!”
19 But 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.”
22 God finished speaking with Abraham and left.
23 Then 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.
24-27 Abraham 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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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson