God's Promise to Abraham

¹When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him again and said, “I am God All-Powerful. If you obey me and always do right,

²I will keep my solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be counted.”

³Abram bowed with his face to the ground, and God said:

¹⁷Abraham bowed with his face to the ground and thought, “I am almost 100 years old. How can I become a father? And Sarah is 90. How can she have a child?” So he started laughing.

¹⁸Then he asked God, “Why not let Ishmael inherit what you have promised me?”[#17.18 Ishmael was the son of Sarah's slave Hagar (see 16.1-16).]

¹⁹But God answered:

²²God finished speaking to Abraham and then left.

^{23-24-25-26-27}On that same day Abraham obeyed God by circumcising Ishmael. Abraham was also circumcised, and so were all the other men and boys in his household, including his servants and slaves. He was 99 years old at the time, and his son Ishmael was 13.