Genesis 17

₁When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord came and appeared to him. The Lord said to Abram: ‘I am God Almighty. You must listen to Me and serve Me. You must always do what is right. ₂I will now make a covenant with you. I will give you many descendants.’

₃Abram bowed down with his face to the ground and God said to him:

₄‘I make this covenant with you. I will make you the father of many nations. ₅I will change your name. Your name was Abram, but now your name will be Abraham. I give you this name because I will make you the father of many nations. ₆I will give you many descendants and some of them will become kings. You will have so many descendants that they will become big nations. ₇I will always keep the promise that I have made to you and your descendants. My covenant with your descendants will never stop. It will go on forever. I am your God and I will also be the God of your descendants. ₈You are strangers in this land now, but I will give this land to you and to your descendants. The whole land of Canaan will be your land and the land of your descendants forever and I will also be their God.’

₉God also said to Abraham: ‘This is what you must do. You and all your descendants must promise to listen to Me and you must always do what I say. ₁₀This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: You must circumcise every man and boy. ₁₁This will show that you keep the covenant between you and Me and your descendants: You must circumcise every man and boy. ₁₂When a boy is 8 days old, you must circumcise him. You must do this with every boy and every slave who is born in your homes. You must also circumcise every slave that you buy from other people, who are not your own children. ₁₃Every boy in your house and every slave that you have bought must be circumcised. This will be the sign that my covenant is with you forever. ₁₄If a man is not circumcised, then he can not be one of my people. You must cut him off because he did not do what my covenant said.’

₁₅God also said to Abraham: ‘From now on your wife will have a new name. Her name was Sarai but her name will now be Sarah. ₁₆I will bless her. You and Sarah will have a baby boy. She will become the mother of many nations and some of her descendants will become kings.’

₁₇Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and he said to himself: ‘I am almost 100 years old. I am too old to be a father now. Sarah is 90 years old, and she is also too old to have a baby. How can this happen?’ Abraham started to laugh.

₁₈Then Abraham said to God: ‘Lord, I hope that You will be good to Ishmael.’

₁₉But God said: ‘No, you and Sarah will have a son. You must name him Isaac and I will keep my covenant with him and his descendants. This will be a covenant for all time. ₂₀But I have heard what you have asked for Ishmael. I will bless him too. I will give him lots of children and descendants. There will be 12 princes in his family. His descendants will become a very big nation. ₂₁But you and Sarah will have a son next year and it is with him, with Isaac, that I will keep my covenant.’

₂₂Then God stopped talking to Abraham and He went away.

₂₃Abraham did what God said. He circumcised his son Ishmael and all his slaves, the men and the boys, the slaves born in his house and the slaves that he had bought from other people. ₂₄Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised. ₂₅Ishmael, the son of Abraham, was 13 years old when he was circumcised. ₂₆Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised on the same day. ₂₇All the men in the house of Abraham were circumcised with him, the slaves who were born in his house and the slaves that he had bought from other people.