Genesis 17-18
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.
Birth of Isaac Promised
18 Now (AM)the Lord appeared to [q]Abraham by the [r](AN)oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 When he raised his eyes and looked, behold, three (AO)men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down to the ground, 3 and said, “[s]My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not [t]pass Your servant by. 4 Please let a little water be brought and (AP)wash [u]your feet, and make yourselves comfortable under the tree; 5 and I will [v](AQ)bring a piece of bread, so that you may [w]refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have [x]visited your servant.” And they said, “So do as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “[y]Quickly, prepare three [z]measures of fine flour, knead it, and make bread cakes.” 7 Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and [aa]choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8 He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree [ab]as they ate.
9 Then they said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 He said, “(AR)I will certainly return to you [ac]at this time next year; and behold, your wife Sarah will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now (AS)Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was (AT)past [ad]childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed [ae]to herself, saying, “(AU)After I have become old, am I to have pleasure, my (AV)lord being old also?” 13 But the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I actually give birth to a child, when I am so old?’ 14 (AW)Is anything too [af]difficult for the Lord? At the (AX)appointed time I will return to you, [ag]at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 Sarah denied it, however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
16 Then (AY)the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. 17 (AZ)The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham (BA)what I am about to do, 18 since Abraham will certainly become a great and [ah]mighty nation, and in him (BB)all the nations of the earth will be blessed? 19 For I have [ai](BC)chosen him, so that he may (BD)command his children and his household after him to (BE)keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham (BF)what He has spoken about him.” 20 And the Lord said, “(BG)The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. 21 I will (BH)go down now and see whether they have done entirely as the outcry, which has come to Me indicates; and if not, I will know.”
Abraham Appeals for Sodom
22 Then (BI)the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before (BJ)the Lord. 23 Abraham approached and said, “(BK)Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous people within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not [aj]spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from You to do [ak]such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not (BL)the Judge of all the earth [al]deal justly?” 26 So the Lord said, “(BM)If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will [am]spare the entire place on their account.” 27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have [an]ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am only (BN)dust and ashes. 28 Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the entire city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” 30 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 And he said, “Now behold, I have [ao]ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” 32 Then he said, “(BO)Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once: suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” 33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham (BP)the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
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 18:1 Lit him
- Genesis 18:1 Or terebinths
- Genesis 18:3 Or O Lord
- Genesis 18:3 Lit pass away from Your servant
- Genesis 18:4 I.e., referring to the three visitors
- Genesis 18:5 Lit take
- Genesis 18:5 Lit sustain your heart
- Genesis 18:5 Lit come to
- Genesis 18:6 Lit Hasten three measures
- Genesis 18:6 Heb seah; one seah is about 7 qt. or 7.7 liters
- Genesis 18:7 Lit good
- Genesis 18:8 Lit and
- Genesis 18:10 Lit when the time revives
- Genesis 18:11 Lit the way of women
- Genesis 18:12 Lit within
- Genesis 18:14 Or wonderful
- Genesis 18:14 Lit when the time revives
- Genesis 18:18 Or populous
- Genesis 18:19 Lit known
- Genesis 18:24 Or forgive
- Genesis 18:25 Lit like this thing
- Genesis 18:25 Lit do justice
- Genesis 18:26 Or forgive
- Genesis 18:27 Or resolved
- Genesis 18:31 Or resolved
Genesis 17-18
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.
* * *
18 1-2 God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.
3-5 He said, “Master, if it please you, stop for a while with your servant. I’ll get some water so you can wash your feet. Rest under this tree. I’ll get some food to refresh you on your way, since your travels have brought you across my path.”
They said, “Certainly. Go ahead.”
6 Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, “Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread.”
7-8 Then Abraham ran to the cattle pen and picked out a nice plump calf and gave it to the servant who lost no time getting it ready. Then he got curds and milk, brought them with the calf that had been roasted, set the meal before the men, and stood there under the tree while they ate.
9 The men said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”
He said, “In the tent.”
10 One of them said, “I’m coming back about this time next year. When I arrive, your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the tent opening, just behind the man.
11-12 Abraham and Sarah were old by this time, very old. Sarah was far past the age for having babies. Sarah laughed within herself, “An old woman like me? Get pregnant? With this old man of a husband?”
13-14 God said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh saying, ‘Me? Have a baby? An old woman like me?’ Is anything too hard for God? I’ll be back about this time next year and Sarah will have a baby.”
15 Sarah lied. She said, “I didn’t laugh,” because she was afraid.
But he said, “Yes you did; you laughed.”
* * *
16 When the men got up to leave, they set off for Sodom. Abraham walked with them to say good-bye.
17-19 Then God said, “Shall I keep back from Abraham what I’m about to do? Abraham is going to become a large and strong nation; all the nations of the world are going to find themselves blessed through him. Yes, I’ve settled on him as the one to train his children and future family to observe God’s way of life, live kindly and generously and fairly, so that God can complete in Abraham what he promised him.”
20-21 God continued, “The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening; the sin of those cities is immense. I’m going down to see for myself, see if what they’re doing is as bad as it sounds. Then I’ll know.”
22 The men set out for Sodom, but Abraham stood in God’s path, blocking his way.
23-25 Abraham confronted him, “Are you serious? Are you planning on getting rid of the good people right along with the bad? What if there are fifty decent people left in the city; will you lump the good with the bad and get rid of the lot? Wouldn’t you spare the city for the sake of those fifty innocents? I can’t believe you’d do that, kill off the good and the bad alike as if there were no difference between them. Doesn’t the Judge of all the Earth judge with justice?”
26 God said, “If I find fifty decent people in the city of Sodom, I’ll spare the place just for them.”
27-28 Abraham came back, “Do I, a mere mortal made from a handful of dirt, dare open my mouth again to my Master? What if the fifty fall short by five—would you destroy the city because of those missing five?”
He said, “I won’t destroy it if there are forty-five.”
29 Abraham spoke up again, “What if you only find forty?”
“Neither will I destroy it if for forty.”
30 He said, “Master, don’t be irritated with me, but what if only thirty are found?”
“No, I won’t do it if I find thirty.”
31 He pushed on, “I know I’m trying your patience, Master, but how about for twenty?”
“I won’t destroy it for twenty.”
32 He wouldn’t quit, “Don’t get angry, Master—this is the last time. What if you only come up with ten?”
“For the sake of only ten, I won’t destroy the city.”
33 When God finished talking with Abraham, he left. And Abraham went home.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson