1: When Abram was ninety-nine years old, GOD showed up and said to him, "I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt!
2: I'll make a covenant between us and I'll give you a huge family."
3: Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face. Then God said to him,
4: "This is my covenant with you: You'll be the father of many nations.
5: Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, meaning that "I'm making you the father of many nations.'
6: I'll make you a father of fathers--I'll make nations from you, kings will issue from you.
7: I'm establishing my covenant between me and you, a covenant that includes your descendants, a covenant that goes on and on and on, a covenant that commits me to be your God and the God of your descendants.
8: And I'm giving you and your descendants this land where you're now just camping, this whole country of Canaan, to own forever. And I'll be their God."
9: God continued to Abraham, "And you: You will honor my covenant, you and your descendants, generation after generation.
10: This is the covenant that you are to honor, the covenant that pulls in all your descendants: Circumcise every male.
11: Circumcise by cutting off the foreskin of the penis; it will be the sign of the covenant between us.
12: Every male baby will be circumcised when he is eight days old, generation after generation--this includes house-born slaves and slaves bought from outsiders who are not blood kin.
13: Make sure you circumcise both your own children and anyone brought in from the outside. That way my covenant will be cut into your body, a permanent mark of my permanent covenant.
14: An uncircumcised male, one who has not had the foreskin of his penis cut off, will be cut off from his people--he has broken my covenant."
15: God continued speaking to Abraham, "And Sarai your wife: Don't call her Sarai any longer; call her Sarah.
16: I'll bless her--yes! I'll give you a son by her! Oh, how I'll bless her! Nations will come from her; kings of nations will come from her."
17: Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, "Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby?"
18: Recovering, Abraham said to God, "Oh, keep Ishmael alive and well before you!"
19: But God said, "That's not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). I'll establish my covenant with him and his descendants, a covenant that lasts forever.
20: "And Ishmael? Yes, I heard your prayer for him. I'll also bless him; I'll make sure he has plenty of children--a huge family. He'll father twelve princes; I'll make him a great nation.
21: But I'll establish my covenant with Isaac whom Sarah will give you about this time next year."
22: God finished speaking with Abraham and left.
23: Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all his servants, whether houseborn or purchased--every male in his household--and circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins that very day, just as God had told him.
24: Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised.
25: His son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised.
26: Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised the same day
27: together with all the servants of his household, those born there and those purchased from outsiders--all were circumcised with him. [JC]