Genesis 17

Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD a appeared to Abram and said to him, b "I am 1 Almighty God; c walk before Me and be d blameless. 2 "And I will make My e covenant between Me and you, and f will multiply you exceedingly." 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be g a father of 2 many nations. 5 "No longer shall h your name be called 3 Abram, but your name shall be 4 Abraham; i for I have made you a father of 5 many nations. 6 "I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make j nations of you, and k kings shall come from you. 7 "And I will l establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, m to be God to you and n your descendants after you. 8 "Also o I give to you and your descendants after you the land p in 6 which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and q I will be their God."

9 And God said to Abraham: "As for you, r you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 "This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: s Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 "and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be t a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 "He who is eight days old among you u shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13 "He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 "And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person v shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."

Isaac's Birth Promised

15 Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but 7 Sarah shall be her name. 16 "And I will bless her w and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother x of nations; y kings of peoples shall be from her." 17 Then Abraham fell on his face z and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" 18 And Abraham a said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!" 19 Then God said: "No, b Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My c covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20 "And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and d will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget e twelve princes, f and I will make him a great nation. 21 "But My g covenant I will establish with Isaac, h whom Sarah shall bear to you at this i set time next year."

22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. 23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; 27 and j all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

  1. Cross References
    Genesis 12:7
    Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
    Genesis 18:1
    Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
  2. Cross References
    Genesis 28:3
    May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples.
    Genesis 35:11
    Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.
    Exodus 6:3
    I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them.
    Job 42:2
    I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
  3. Cross References
    2 Kings 20:3
    Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
  4. Cross References
    Genesis 6:9
    This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.
    Deuteronomy 18:13
    You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.
  5. Cross References
    Genesis 15:18
    On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates -
    Exodus 6:4
    I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers.
    Galatians 3:19
    What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.
  6. Cross References
    Genesis 12:2
    I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.
    Genesis 13:16
    And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.
    Genesis 15:5
    Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be.
    Genesis 18:18
    Since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
  7. Cross References
    Romans 4:11
    And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also.
    Romans 4:12
    And the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
    Romans 4:16
    Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all
  8. Cross References
    Nehemiah 9:7
    You are the LORD God, Who chose Abram, And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, And gave him the name Abraham.
  9. Cross References
    Romans 4:17
    (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed - God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.
  10. Cross References
    Genesis 17:16
    "And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her."
    Genesis 35:11
    Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.
  11. Cross References
    Matthew 1:6
    And Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.
  12. Cross References
    Galatians 3:17
    And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.
  13. Cross References
    Genesis 26:24
    And the LORD appeared to him the same night and...
    Genesis 28:13
    And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "...
    Leviticus 11:45
    For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the ...
    Leviticus 26:12
    I will walk among you and be your God, and you ...
    Leviticus 26:45
    But for their sake I will remember the covenant...
    Hebrews 11:16
    But now they desire a better, that is, a heaven...
  14. Cross References
    Romans 9:8
    That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
    Galatians 3:16
    Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ.
  15. Cross References
    Genesis 12:7
    Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
    Genesis 13:15
    For all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.
    Genesis 13:17
    "Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you."
    Acts 7:5
    And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him.
  16. Cross References
    Genesis 23:4
    "I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."
    Genesis 28:4
    And give you the blessing of Abraham, To you and your descendants with you, That you may inherit the land In which you are a stranger, Which God gave to Abraham.
  17. Cross References
    Exodus 6:7
    I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
    Exodus 29:45
    I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God.
    Leviticus 26:12
    I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.
    Deuteronomy 29:13
    That He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He may be God to you, just as He has spoken to you, and just as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
    Revelation 21:7
    He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
  18. Cross References
    Exodus 19:5
    Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
  19. Cross References
    John 7:22
    Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.
    Acts 7:8
    Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.
  20. Cross References
    Exodus 12:13
    Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
    Exodus 12:48
    And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.
    Romans 4:11
    And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also.
  21. Cross References
    Leviticus 12:3
    And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
  22. Cross References
    Exodus 4:24 - 26
    And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him.
  23. Cross References
    Genesis 18:10
    And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)
  24. Cross References
    Genesis 35:11
    Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.
    Galatians 4:31
    So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
    1 Peter 3:6
    As Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
  25. Cross References
    Genesis 17:6
    I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
    Genesis 36:31
    Now these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel:
    1 Samuel 8:22
    So the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed their voice, and make them a king." And Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Every man go to his city.
  26. Cross References
    Genesis 17:3
    Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:
    Genesis 18:12
    Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
    Genesis 21:6
    And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.
  27. Cross References
    Genesis 18:23
    And Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
  28. Cross References
    Genesis 18:10
    And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)
    Genesis 21:2
    For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
    Galatians 4:28
    Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
  29. Cross References
    Genesis 22:16
    And said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son -
    Matthew 1:2
    Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.
    Luke 3:34
    The son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor.
  30. Cross References
    Genesis 16:10
    Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.
  31. Cross References
    Genesis 25:12 - 16
    Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maidservant, bore to Abraham.
  32. Cross References
    Genesis 21:13
    "Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed."
    Genesis 21:18
    "Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation."
  33. Cross References
    Genesis 26:2 - 5
    Then the LORD appeared to him and said: "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you.
  34. Cross References
    Genesis 21:2
    For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
  35. Cross References
    Genesis 18:14
    "Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."
  36. Cross References
    Genesis 18:19
    "For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him."
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Previous Book Next Book