Genesis 17:1–14

The Covenant of Circumcision

17When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. He said, “I am the Mighty God. Walk with me and live without any blame. ²I will now put into practice my covenant between me and you. I will greatly increase your numbers.”

³Abram fell with his face to the ground. God said to him, ⁴“As for me, this is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations.

⁵“You will not be called Abram anymore. Your name will be Abraham, because I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶I will give you many children. Nations will come from you. And kings will come from you.

⁷“I will make my covenant with you. It will last forever. It will be between me and you and your children after you for all time to come. I will be your God. And I will be the God of all of your family after you.

⁸“You are now living in Canaan as an outsider. But I will give you the whole land of Canaan. You will own it forever. So will your children after you. And I will be their God.”

⁹Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant. You and your children after you for all time to come must keep it.

¹⁰“Here is my covenant that you and your children after you must keep. Every male among you must be circumcised. ¹¹You must be circumcised. That will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹²It must be done for all time to come.

“Every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised. That includes those who are born in your house. It also includes those who are bought with money from a stranger. Even those who are not your own children must be included. ¹³Any male who is born in your house or bought with your money must be circumcised.

“My covenant will last forever. Your body will have the mark of my covenant on it.

¹⁴“Any male who has not been circumcised will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.”