1And when Abram was ninety years old and nine , Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him , I am God Almighty ; walk before me , and be thou perfect . 2And I will make my covenant between me and thee , and will multiply thee exceedingly . 3And Abram fell on his face : and God talked with him , saying , 4As for me , behold , my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of a multitude of nations . 5Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made thee . 6And I will make thee exceeding fruitful , and I will make nations of thee , and kings shall come out of thee . 7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant , to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. 8And I will give unto thee , and to thy seed after thee , the land of thy sojournings , all the land of Canaan , for an everlasting possession ; and I will be their God . 9And God said unto Abraham, And as for thee, thou shalt keep my covenant , thou, and thy seed after thee throughout their generations . 10This is my covenant , which ye shall keep , between me and you and thy seed after thee: every male among you shall be circumcised . 11And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin ; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt me and you . 12And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you , every male throughout your generations , he that is born in the house , or bought with money of any foreigner that is not of thy seed . 13He that is born in thy house , and he that is bought with thy money , must needs be circumcised : and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant . 14And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin , that soul shall be cut off from his people ; he hath broken my covenant .
The Promise of a Son
15And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai , but Sarah shall her name be . 16And I will bless her , and moreover I will give thee a son of her : yea , I will bless her , and she shall be a mother of nations ; kings of peoples shall be of her . 17Then Abraham fell upon his face , and laughed , and said in his heart , Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old ? and shall Sarah , that is ninety years old , bear ? 18And Abraham said unto God , Oh that Ishmael might live before thee ! 19And God said , Nay, but Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son ; and thou shalt call his name Isaac : and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him . 20And as for Ishmael , I have heard thee : behold , I have blessed him , and will make him fruitful , and will multiply him exceedingly ; twelve princes shall he beget , and I will make him a great nation . 21But my covenant will I establish with Isaac , whom Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year . 22And he left off talking with him , and God went up from Abraham.
The Significance of Obedience
23And Abraham took Ishmael his son , and all that were born in his house , and all that were bought with his money , every male among the men of Abraham ’s house , and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day , as God had said unto him . 24And Abraham was ninety years old and nine , when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin . 25And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old , when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin . 26In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised , and Ishmael his son . 27And all the men of his house , those born in the house , and those bought with money of a foreigner , were circumcised with him .