The Sign of the Covenant

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty;^[a] walk before me, and be blameless.

⁹ And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. ¹⁰ This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

¹⁵ And God said to Abraham, “As for Sar′ai your wife, you shall not call her name Sar′ai, but Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶ I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” ¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “O that Ish′mael might live in thy sight!” ¹⁹ God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.^[a] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasing covenant for his descendants after him. ²⁰ As for Ish′mael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. ²¹ But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.”

²² When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.