Genesis 17

When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.” Abram fell on his face, and God spoke with him, saying, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you will be the father of many nations. No longer will your name be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you the father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land where you live as a foreigner, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession. And I will be their God.” God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you must keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: every male among you must be circumcised. You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations, every male among you must be circumcised when he is eight days old, whether born in the household or bought with money from among foreigners who are not your offspring. The one born in your household and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. My covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin—that person will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you must no longer call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her, and I will also give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man who is 100 years old? Will Sarah give birth at 90?” Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before you!” God said, “Indeed, your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and I will make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly. He will father twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this appointed time next year.” God finished speaking with Abraham and went up from him. Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household and all those bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on that very day, as God had told him. Abraham was 99 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised. His son Ishmael was 13 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised. On that very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. All the men of his household, those born in the household and those bought with money from foreigners, were circumcised with him.

Rights and attribution