Genesis 17

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord came to him, and said, I am God, Ruler of all; go in my ways and be upright in all things,

2 I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”

And I will make an agreement between you and me, and your offspring will be greatly increased.

3 Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,

And Abram went down on his face on the earth, and the Lord God went on talking with him, and said,

4 “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.

As for me, my agreement is made with you, and you will be the father of nations without end.

5 No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

No longer will your name be Abram, but Abraham, for I have made you the father of a number of nations.

6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.

I will make you very fertile, so that nations will come from you and kings will be your offspring.

7 I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

And I will make between me and you and your seed after you through all generations, an eternal agreement to be a God to you and to your seed after you.

8 And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”

And to you and to your seed after you, I will give the land in which you are living, all the land of Canaan for an eternal heritage; and I will be their God.

9 God also said to Abraham, “You must keep My covenant—you and your descendants in the generations after you.

And God said to Abraham, On your side, you are to keep the agreement, you and your seed after you through all generations.

10 This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised.

And this is the agreement which you are to keep with me, you and your seed after you: every male among you is to undergo circumcision.

11 You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.

In the flesh of your private parts you are to undergo it, as a mark of the agreement between me and you.

12 Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner—even those who are not your offspring.

Every male among you, from one generation to another, is to undergo circumcision when he is eight days old, with every servant whose birth takes place in your house, or for whom you gave money to someone of another country, and not of your seed.

13 Whether they are born in your household or purchased, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh will be an everlasting covenant.

He who comes to birth in your house and he who is made yours for a price, all are to undergo circumcision; so that my agreement may be marked in your flesh, an agreement for all time.

14 But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

And any male who does not undergo circumcision will be cut off from his people: my agreement has been broken by him.

15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai, for her name is to be Sarah.

And God said, As for Sarai, your wife, from now her name will be not Sarai, but Sarah.

16 And I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will descend from her.”

And I will give her a blessing so that you will have a son by her: truly my blessing will be on her, and she will be the mother of nations: kings of peoples will be her offspring.

17 Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?”

Then Abraham went down on his face, and laughing, said in his heart, May a man a hundred years old have a child? will Sarah, at ninety years old, give birth?

18 And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live under Your blessing!”

And Abraham said to God, If only Ishmael's life might be your care!

19 But God replied, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

And God said, Not so; but Sarah, your wife, will have a son, and you will give him the name Isaac, and I will make my agreement with him for ever and with his seed after him.

20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.

As for Ishmael, I have given ear to your prayer: truly I have given him my blessing and I will make him fertile and give him great increase; he will be the father of twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great nation.

21 But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”

But my agreement will be with Isaac, to whom Sarah will give birth a year from this time.

22 When He had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.

And having said these words, God went up from Abraham.

23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or purchased with his money—every male among the members of Abraham’s household—and he circumcised them, just as God had told him.

And Abraham took Ishmael, his son, and all whose birth had taken place in his house, and all his servants whom he had made his for a price, every male of his house, and on that very day he gave them circumcision in the flesh of their private parts as God had said to him.

24 So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,

Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he underwent circumcision.

25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen;

And Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when he underwent circumcision.

26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the same day.

Abraham and Ishmael, his son, underwent circumcision on that very day.

27 And all the men of Abraham’s household—both servants born in his household and those purchased from foreigners—were circumcised with him.

And all the men of his house, those whose birth had taken place in the house and those whom he had got for money from men of other lands, underwent circumcision with him.