The Call of Abram

1 ^mNow the Lord said¹ to Abram, ⁿ“Go ^ofrom your country² and your kindred and your father’s house to ^pthe land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a ^qgreat nation, and I will ^rbless you and ^smake your name great, so that ^tyou will be a blessing. 3 ^uI will bless those who bless you, and ^vhim who dishonors you I will curse, and ^win you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”³

God’s Covenant with Abram

1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a ^svision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your ^tshield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I ^ucontinue¹ childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; ^vyour very own son² shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the ^wstars, ^xif you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, ^y“So shall your offspring be.” 6 ^zAnd he believed the Lord, and he ^acounted it to him as righteousness.

Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord ^lappeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God ^mAlmighty;^{1 n}walk before me, and be ^oblameless, 2 that I may ^pmake my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the ^qfather of a multitude of nations. 5 ^rNo longer shall your name be called Abram,^{2 s}but your name shall be Abraham,³ for ^tI have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly ^ufruitful, and I will make you into nations, and ^vkings shall come from you. 7 And I will ^westablish my covenant between me and you and ^xyour offspring after you throughout their generations for an ^yeverlasting covenant, ^zto be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And ^aI will give to you ^band to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, ^call the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and ^dI will be their God.”

9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 ^eThis is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: ^fEvery male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a ^gsign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is ^height days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house ⁱor bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an ^jeverlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be ^kcut off from his people; he has ^lbroken my covenant.”

Isaac’s Birth Promised

15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, ^myou shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah⁴ shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give⁵ you a son ⁿby her. I will bless her, and ^oshe shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and ^plaughed and said to himself, ^q“Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? ^rShall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, ^s“No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall ^tcall his name Isaac.⁶ I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 ^uAs for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and ^vI will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”