Genesis 17
Common English Bible
God’s covenant with Abraham
17 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai.[a] Walk with me and be trustworthy. 2 I will make a covenant between us and I will give you many, many descendants.” 3 Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, 4 “But me, my covenant is with you; you will be the ancestor of many nations. 5 And because I have made you the ancestor of many nations, your name will no longer be Abram[b] but Abraham.[c] 6 I will make you very fertile. I will produce nations from you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you. 8 I will give you and your descendants the land in which you are immigrants, the whole land of Canaan, as an enduring possession. And I will be their God.”
9 God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants in every generation. 10 This is my covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Circumcise every male. 11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it will be a symbol of the covenant between us. 12 On the eighth day after birth, every male in every generation must be circumcised, including those who are not your own children: those born in your household and those purchased with silver from foreigners. 13 Be sure you circumcise those born in your household and those purchased with your silver. Your flesh will embody my covenant as an enduring covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male whose flesh of his foreskin remains uncircumcised will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.”
15 God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you will no longer call her Sarai. Her name will now be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and even give you a son from her. I will bless her so that she will become nations, and kings of peoples will come from her.”
17 Abraham fell on his face and laughed. He said to himself, Can a 100-year-old man become a father, or Sarah, a 90-year-old woman, have a child? 18 To God Abraham said, “If only you would accept Ishmael!”
19 But God said, “No, your wife Sarah will give birth to a son for you, and you will name him Isaac.[d] I will set up my covenant with him and with his descendants after him as an enduring covenant. 20 As for Ishmael, I’ve heard your request. I will bless him and make him fertile and give him many, many descendants. He will be the ancestor of twelve tribal leaders, and I will make a great nation of him. 21 But I will set up my covenant with Isaac, who will be born to Sarah at this time next year.” 22 When God finished speaking to him, God ascended, leaving Abraham alone.
23 Abraham took his son Ishmael, all those born in his household, and all those purchased with his silver—that is, every male in Abraham’s household—and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that same day, just as God had told him to do. 24 Abraham was 99 years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, 25 and his son Ishmael was 13 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised. 26 That same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 All the men of his household, those born in his household and those purchased with silver from foreigners, were circumcised with him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 17:1 Or God Almighty or God of the Mountain
- Genesis 17:5 Or exalted ancestor
- Genesis 17:5 Or ancestor of a multitude
- Genesis 17:19 Or he laughs
Genesis 17
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Covenant of Circumcision
17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will make my covenant between me and you, and I will make your descendants very numerous.”
3 Abram fell on his face. God spoke with him. He said, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. 5 Your name will not be Abram anymore, but your name will be Abraham,[a] for I have made you the father of a large group of nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful, and I will produce nations from you. Kings will come out of you. 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you as an everlasting covenant throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 I will give the land where you are living as an alien, all the land of Canaan, to you and to your descendants after you as a permanent possession. I will be their God.”
9 God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, a covenant between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised by cutting the foreskin off your flesh. It will be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 Every boy among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised, every male throughout your generations, whether he is born in your house or purchased with money[b] from any foreigner who is not descended from you. 13 Every male who is born in your house or one who is purchased with your money must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked on your flesh as an everlasting covenant. 14 The uncircumcised male who is not circumcised by removing the foreskin from his flesh, that person must be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.”
15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai anymore, but her name will be Sarah.[c] 16 I will bless her and even give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations. Kings of many peoples will come from her.”
17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to someone who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, let Ishmael live in your presence!”
19 But God said, “No, Sarah, your wife, will bear a son for you. You shall name him Isaac.[d] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
20 “As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Yes, I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful and will multiply him very greatly. He will become the father of twelve chiefs, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear for you at this set time next year.”
22 When he finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Abraham took his son Ishmael, along with every male in Abraham’s house, all those who were born in his house, and all those who were purchased with his money, and he circumcised them by cutting off the foreskin from their flesh. He did this on that very day, just as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when the foreskin of his flesh was circumcised. 25 Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when the foreskin of his flesh was circumcised. 26 On the same day both Abraham and Ishmael, his son, were circumcised. 27 All the men of his house, those born in the house as well as those purchased with money from a foreigner, were circumcised along with him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 17:5 Abram and Abraham are variants of the same name. Both mean exalted father, but Abraham sounds more like the Hebrew for father of a multitude.
- Genesis 17:12 Literally silver. There were no coins at this time. Silver or gold were weighed out to make payments.
- Genesis 17:15 Sarai and Sarah are variants of the same name. Both mean princess.
- Genesis 17:19 Isaac means he laughs.
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The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.