Genesis 17
Legacy Standard Bible
Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant
17 Now it happened that when Abram was ninety-nine years old, (A)Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him,
“I am [a]God (B)Almighty;
Walk before Me and be [b](C)blameless,
2 so that I may [c]confirm My (D)covenant between Me and you,
And that I may (E)multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Then Abram (F)fell on his face, and God spoke 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 And no longer shall your name be called [d]Abram,
But (H)your name shall be [e]Abraham;
For (I)I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
6 And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and (J)kings will go forth from you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an (K)everlasting covenant, (L)to be God to you and (M)to your seed after you. 8 (N)And I will give to you and to your seed after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for 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 seed after you throughout their generations. 10 (Q)This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed 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, one who is born in the house or one who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your seed. 13 A servant who is born in your house or (T)who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 But an uncircumcised male 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.”
Sarah Will Bear Isaac
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but [f]Sarah shall be her name. 16 And 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 [g]come from her.” 17 Then Abraham (X)fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, “Will a son be born to a man one hundred years old? And (Y)will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a son?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” 19 But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you (Z)a son, and you shall call his name [h]Isaac; and (AA)I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and (AB)will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. (AC)He shall [i]become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a (AD)great nation. 21 But My covenant I will establish with (AE)Isaac, whom (AF)Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.” 22 So He finished talking with him, and (AG)God went up from Abraham.
23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all 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 in the very same day, (AI)as God had spoken with him. 24 Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when (AJ)he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And (AK)Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 In the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son. 27 Now all the men of his household, 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 Or having integrity; lit complete, perfect
- Genesis 17:2 Lit give
- Genesis 17:5 Lit exalted father
- Genesis 17:5 Lit father of a multitude
- Genesis 17:15 Lit princess
- Genesis 17:16 Lit be
- Genesis 17:19 Lit he laughs
- Genesis 17:20 Lit beget twelve princes
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
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