Genesis 17

1 When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am El Shaddai. Walk before me and be whole. 2 I will set my covenant between me and you, and I will greatly increase your numbers." 3 Abram fell face down, and God spoke with him. He said, 4 "As for me, look, my covenant is with you. You will become the father of a throng of nations. 5 Your name will no longer be Abram. Your name will be Abraham, because I have made you the father of a throng of nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will make my covenant stand between me and you and your offspring after you, through all their generations. It will be a covenant forever. I will be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 I will give you and your offspring after you the land where you now live as a sojourner. All the land of Canaan will be yours to hold forever. And I will be God to them."

9 God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant. You and your offspring after you must keep it through all their generations. 10 This is my covenant which you must keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: every male among you must be circumcised. 11 You must be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin. It will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 Every male among you must be circumcised when he is eight days old, through all your generations. This includes those born in the house and those bought with silver from any foreigner who is not one of your offspring. 13 Those born in your house and those bought with your silver must surely be circumcised. So my covenant will be in your flesh as a covenant forever. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant." 15 God said to Abraham, "As for your wife Sarai, you must not call her Sarai, because her name is Sarah. 16 I will bless her, and I will also give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will become nations. Kings of peoples will come from her."

17 Abraham fell face down and laughed. He said to himself, "Can a child be born to a man who is 100 years old? And Sarah—can a woman of 90 give birth?" 18 Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live before you!" 19 God said, "Indeed, your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will make my covenant stand with him as a covenant forever, for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Look, I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful and greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of 12 chieftains, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But I will make my covenant stand with Isaac. Sarah will bear him to you at this set time next year." 22 When he had finished speaking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his house and all those bought with his silver, every male among the men of his house. On that very day he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins, as God had told him. 24 Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

25 His son Ishmael was 13 years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on that very day. 27 All the men of his house were circumcised with him. Some were born in the house, and some were bought with silver from foreigners.