Genesis 17

1 And it came to pass that, when Abram was ninety and nine years old, Yahweh appeared unto Abram, and said unto him, I, am GOD Almighty, —Walk, thou before me and become thou blameless:

When Abram was 99 years old, Yahweh appeared to him again and said to him, “I am God Almighty. I want you to live in a way that I will regard you as someone that cannot be criticized.

2 That I may set my covenant betwixt me and thee, And may multiply thee, exceedingly.

If you do that, I will make an agreement with you in which I will promise to enable you to have very many descendants.” [MTY]

3 And Abram fell on his face, —and God spake with him, saying:

Abram prostrated himself with his face on the ground. Then God said to him,

4 As for me, lo! my covenant is with thee, —So shalt thou become—father of a multitude of nations;

“Listen to this agreement that I am making with you: People of many nations will be your descendants.

5 And thy name shall no more be called Abram, —but thy name shall become Abraham, for father of a multitude of nations, have I appointed thee;

And no longer will your name be Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham, [which means ‘father of many nations,’] because the people of many nations will descend from you.

6 And I will make thee fruitful, exceedingly, and grant thee to be nations, —Yea kings, out of thee, shall come forth;

I will enable you to have very many descendants, and I will cause them to become great nations/people-groups, and some of your descendants will become kings.

7 And I will confirm my covenant betwixt me and thee and thy seed after thee to their generations for an age-abiding covenant, —to become to thee a God, and to thy seed after thee;

I will make this agreement between me and you and your descendants. It will be an everlasting agreement to be in effect for many generations. This agreement is that I will be your God, and the God of your descendants.

8 And I will give to thee and to thy seed after thee the land of thy sojournings—all the land of Canaan, for an age-abiding possession—And I will be to them a God.

I will give to you and to your descendants the land through which you are now traveling, all of the Canaan region. It will be an everlasting possession for your descendants, and I will be the God that they [will worship].”

9 And God said unto Abraham, But, as for thee, my covenant, must thou keep, thou and thy seed after thee, to their generations: —

Then God said to Abraham, “Now you must obey [your part of] the agreement that I am making with you, and your descendants must also obey it, for all generations.

10 This, is my covenant which ye shall keep, betwixt me and you, and thy seed after thee, —To circumcise to you every male:

This is the agreement that I am making, between myself and you and all your descendants: Every male among you must be circumcised.

11 So shall ye be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, —So shall it become a sign of a covenant, betwixt me and you.

(Cutting the foreskins of/Circumcising) them will be the sign [that you have accepted] the agreement I am making with you.

12 And he that is eight days old, shall be circumcised to you every male to your generations, —he that is born of the house, and he that is bought with silver of any son of a stranger, who is, not of thy seed,

Every male child among you must be circumcised when he is eight days old, in all future generations. That includes baby boys in your household or those born from slaves that have been bought, and baby boys of foreigners who live among you but do not belong to your household.

13 He must surely be circumcised, born of thy house or bought with thy silver, —So shall my covenant be in your flesh for an age-abiding covenant.

It does not matter whether their parents are members of your household or slaves that have been bought; they must all be circumcised. Your bodies will have this mark to show [you have accepted] this everlasting agreement I am making.

14 But, as for the uncircumcised male who shall not be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, —that person shall be cut off from among his people, —my covenant, hath he made void.

You must expel from your community any male who has not been circumcised, because [by not being circumcised] that person has disobeyed my agreement.”

15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, —but, Sarah, is her name;

God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai, your wife, you must not call her Sarai any longer. [Since I changed your name, I will change her name also]. Her name will now be Sarah.

16 and I will bless her, yea moreover will give—from her—to thee, a son, —And I will bless her, and she shall become nations. Kings of peoples, from her, shall arise.

I will bless her, and she will surely give birth to a son for you. And I will bless her so much that she will be the ancestor of people of many nations. Kings of some people-groups will be descended from her.”

17 And Abraham fell on his face and laughed, —and said in his heart To one a hundred years old, shall a child be born? And shall even Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?

Abraham prostrated himself with his face on the ground [to show respect to God]. But then he laughed as he said to himself, “Can a man who is a 100 years old become a father of a son? And since Sarah is 90 years old, how can she bear a child?”

18 And Abraham said unto God, —Oh that, Ishmael, might live before thee!

Then Abraham said to God, “Perhaps you will let Ishmael receive your blessing [and inherit all I possess].”

19 And God said—Truly, Sarah thy wife, is about to bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name, Isaac, —and I will establish my covenant with him as an age-abiding covenant, to his seed after him.

Then God replied, “[No!] Your wife Sarah will bear a son for you. You must name him Isaac. I will establish my agreement with him, one which will be an everlasting agreement for him and his descendants.

20 Yet as for Ishmael, I have heard thee; lo! I have blessed him and will make him fruitful, and multiply him, exceedingly, —twelve princes, shall he beget, and I will grant him to be a great nation;

As for Ishmael, I have heard what you asked me to do for him. I will bless him so that he also will have many descendants. Among his descendants will be rulers of twelve nations. And I will cause his [descendants] [MTY] to also become a great nation.

21 But my covenant, will I establish with Isaac, —whom Sarah shall bear, to thee, by this set time, in the next year.

But Isaac, the son whom Sarah will give birth to at this time next year, is the one with whom I will establish my agreement.”

22 And he left off speaking with him, —and God went up from Abraham.

When God finished talking to Abraham, God disappeared from his sight.

23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son and all born of his house and all bought with his silver—every male among the men of the house of Abraham, —and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on this selfsame day, according to that which God had spoken with him.

On that same day, Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the males that were in his household, including the sons of all the slaves he had bought, and circumcised them. He cut off their foreskins, just as God told him to do.

24 Now Abraham, was ninety-nine years old, —when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

Abraham was 99 years old when (he was circumcised/someone circumcised him),

25 And Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

and Ishmael was thirteen years old when Abraham circumcised him.

26 On this selfsame day, was Abraham circumcised, —and Ishmael his son;

On that very day Abraham and his son, Ishmael were circumcised.

27 and, all the men of his house, born of his house, and bought with silver from the son of a stranger, were circumcised with him.

And all the males in his household, the ones who had been born there and those who had been bought from foreigners, were also circumcised.