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
New King James Version
The Sign of the Covenant(A)
17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord (B)appeared to Abram and said to him, (C)“I am [a]Almighty God; (D)walk before Me and be (E)blameless. 2 And I will make My (F)covenant between Me and you, and (G)will multiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be (H)a father of [b]many nations. 5 No longer shall (I)your name be called [c]Abram, but your name shall be [d]Abraham; (J)for I have made you a father of [e]many nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make (K)nations of you, and (L)kings shall come from you. 7 And I will (M)establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, (N)to be God to you and (O)your descendants after you. 8 Also (P)I give to you and your descendants after you the land (Q)in[f] which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and (R)I will be their God.”
9 And God said to Abraham: “As for you, (S)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: (T)Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be (U)a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you (V)shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person (W)shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but [g]Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her (X)and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother (Y)of nations; (Z)kings of peoples shall be from her.”
17 Then Abraham fell on his face (AA)and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham (AB)said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
19 Then God said: “No, (AC)Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My (AD)covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and (AE)will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget (AF)twelve princes, (AG)and I will make him a great nation. 21 But My (AH)covenant I will establish with Isaac, (AI)whom Sarah shall bear to you at this (AJ)set time next year.” 22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; 27 and (AK)all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 17:1 Heb. El Shaddai
- Genesis 17:4 Lit. a multitude of nations
- Genesis 17:5 Lit. Exalted Father
- Genesis 17:5 Lit. Father of a Multitude
- Genesis 17:5 a multitude of
- Genesis 17:8 Lit. of your sojournings
- Genesis 17:15 Lit. Princess
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
