Genesis 17

1 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.

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 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]

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

3 Abram prostrated himself with his face on the ground. Then 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 “Listen to this agreement that I am making with you: People of many nations will be your descendants.

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

5 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.

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

6 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.

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

7 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.

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 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].”

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 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.

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 the agreement that I am making, between myself and you and all your descendants: 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 (Cutting the foreskins of/Circumcising) them will be the sign [that you have accepted] the agreement I am making with you.

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

12 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.

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 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.

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

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

15 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.

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

16 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.”

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 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?”

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

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

19 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.

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 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.

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

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

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

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

23 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.

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

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

25 and Ishmael was thirteen years old when Abraham circumcised him.

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

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

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

27 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.

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.