The Covenant of Circumcision
1When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. He said, “I am the Mighty God. Walk faithfully with me. Live in a way that pleases me. 2I will now act on my covenant between me and you. I will greatly increase the number of your children after you.”
3Abram fell with his face to the ground. God said to him, 4“This is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. 5You will not be called Abram anymore. Your name will be Abraham, because I have made you a father of many nations. 6I will greatly increase the number of your children after you. Nations and kings will come from you. 7I will make my covenant with you last forever. It will be between me and you and your family after you for all time to come. I will be your God. And I will be the God of all your family after you. 8You are now living in Canaan as an outsider. But I will give you the whole land of Canaan. You will own it forever and so will all your family after you. And I will be their God.”
9Then God said to Abraham, “You must keep my covenant. You and your family after you must keep it for all time to come. 10Here is my covenant that you and your family after you must keep. You and every male among you must be circumcised. 11That 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 into your own family or outside it. It also includes those bought with money from a stranger. 13So any male born into your family or bought with your money must be circumcised. My covenant will last forever. Your body will have the mark of my covenant on it. 14Any male who has not been circumcised will be separated from his people. He has broken my covenant.”
15God also said to Abraham, “Do not continue to call your wife by the name Sarai. Her name will be Sarah. 16I will give her my blessing. You can be sure that I will give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations. Kings of nations will come from her.”
17Abraham fell with his face to the ground. He laughed and said to himself, “Can a 100-year-old man have a son? Can Sarah have a child at the age of 90?” 18Abraham said to God, “I really wish Ishmael could receive your blessing!”
19Then God said, “Yes, I will bless Ishmael. But your wife Sarah will have a son by you. And you will name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him. That covenant will last forever. It will be for Isaac and his family after him. 20I have heard what you said about Ishmael. I will surely bless him. I will make his family very large. He will be the father of 12 rulers. And I will make him into a great nation. 21But I will establish my covenant with Isaac. By this time next year, Sarah will have a son by you.” 22When God had finished speaking with Abraham, God left him.
23On that same day Abraham circumcised his son Ishmael. He also circumcised every male who was born into his family or bought with his money. He did exactly as God had told him. 24Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised. 25His son Ishmael was 13. 26Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. 27And every male in Abraham’s household was circumcised along with him. That included those born into his family or bought from a stranger.
Pagten med Abraham
1Da Abram var 99 år gammel, viste Herren sig for ham og sagde: „Jeg er den almægtige Gud! Adlyd mig og gør, hvad der er rigtigt. 2Jeg opretter en pagt med dig. Jeg lover dig, at dine efterkommere skal blive umådelig talrige.”
3Abram bøjede sig med ansigtet mod jorden i ærefrygt, og Gud fortsatte: 4„Dette er mit pagtsløfte til dig: Du skal blive far til mange folkeslag. 5Jeg vil også give dig et andet navn. Du skal ikke længere hedde Abram, men Abraham17,5 „Abram” betyder „ophøjet fader”. „Abraham” betyder „far til mange”. , for du skal blive far til mange folkeslag. 6Mange folk vil se dig som deres far, og konger skal nedstamme fra dig. 7Denne pagt skal fortsætte fra slægt til slægt—til evig tid. Jeg vil altid være din Gud og dine efterkommeres Gud. 8Dette Kana’ans land, hvor du nu bor som fremmed, giver jeg til dig og dine efterkommere for evigt, og jeg vil være deres Gud. 9Men du skal holde din del af pagten. Det gælder både dig og dine efterkommere fra slægt til slægt: 10-13Alle mænd og drenge iblandt jer skal omskæres. Det skal være tegnet på, at I vil holde pagten. I skal omskære alle drenge på den ottende dag efter fødslen; det gælder også slaver, der hører til jeres husstand. Det skal være tegnet på pagten mellem os til evig tid. 14Enhver, som ikke bliver omskåret, skal udelukkes fra folket, for han har brudt min pagt.”
15Og Gud tilføjede: „Hvad din kone Saraj angår, skal du ikke længere kalde hende Saraj. Fra nu af skal du kalde hende Sara.17,15 Det betyder: „prinsesse”. 16Jeg vil velsigne hende og give dig et barn med hende. Hun skal blive stammor til mange folk—selv konger skal nedstamme fra hende.”
17Da bøjede Abraham sig igen for Herren med ansigtet mod jorden, men han lo for sig selv og tænkte: „Kan en hundredårig blive far? Og kan Sara, der er 90, blive mor?” 18Men til Gud sagde han: „Ja, Herre, må din velsignelse være med Ishmael!”
19„Nej, det er Sara, der skal føde din søn!” svarede Gud, „og du skal kalde ham Isak.17,19 Det betyder: „latter”. Den samme pagt skal gælde for ham og for hans efterkommere til evig tid. 20Hvad Ishmael angår, vil jeg gøre, som du siger. Jeg vil også velsigne ham og gøre hans efterkommere til et stort folk. Tolv fyrster skal nedstamme fra ham. 21Men min pagt gælder ikke for Ishmael, men for Isak—den søn, som Sara skal føde dig næste år ved denne tid.” 22Da Gud var færdig med at tale med Abraham, gik han sin vej.
23Samme dag omskar Abraham sin søn Ishmael og alle andre mænd og drenge i sin teltlejr, sådan som Gud havde sagt. 24Abraham var 99 år 25-26og Ishmael 13 år, da de blev omskåret 27sammen med alle deres slaver, både de købte og dem, der var født som slaver.