“ God also gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. So when Abraham became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day. And the practice was continued when Isaac became the father of Jacob, and when Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs of the Israelite nation.

神又赐他割礼的约。于是亚伯拉罕生了以撒，第八日给他行了割礼。以撒生雅各；雅各生十二位先祖。

上帝又赐他割礼的约。于是亚伯拉罕生了以撒，在第八日给他行了割礼；后来以撒生雅各，雅各生十二位先祖。

神又赐他割礼的约。于是亚伯拉罕生了以撒，在第八日给他行了割礼；后来以撒生雅各，雅各生十二位先祖。

上帝又赐下割礼作为祂与亚伯拉罕立约的凭据。亚伯拉罕在以撒出生后的第八天为他行割礼。照样，以撒为他的儿子雅各行了割礼，雅各也为他的儿子——以色列十二位先祖行了割礼。

神也赐他割礼为约。这样，亚伯拉罕生了以撒，第八天就给他行了割礼。后来，以撒生雅各，雅各生了十二位祖先。

神又赐给亚伯拉罕割礼的约。这样，亚伯拉罕生了以撒，第八天给他行了割礼。后来以撒生了雅各，雅各生了十二位先祖。

神又賜他割禮的約。於是亞伯拉罕生了以撒，第八日給他行了割禮。以撒生雅各；雅各生十二位先祖。

上帝又賜他割禮的約。於是亞伯拉罕生了以撒，在第八日給他行了割禮；後來以撒生雅各，雅各生十二位先祖。

神又賜他割禮的約。於是亞伯拉罕生了以撒，在第八日給他行了割禮；後來以撒生雅各，雅各生十二位先祖。

上帝又賜下割禮作為祂與亞伯拉罕立約的憑據。亞伯拉罕在以撒出生後的第八天為他行割禮。照樣，以撒為他的兒子雅各行了割禮，雅各也為他的兒子——以色列十二位先祖行了割禮。

神也賜他割禮為約。這樣，亞伯拉罕生了以撒，第八天就給他行了割禮。後來，以撒生雅各，雅各生了十二位祖先。

上帝給了他割禮的約；這樣，亞伯拉罕生了以撒，第八天就給他行割禮；以撒生雅各，雅各生了十二位族長。

神又賜給亞伯拉罕割禮的約。這樣，亞伯拉罕生了以撒，第八天給他行了割禮。後來以撒生了雅各，雅各生了十二位先祖。

予以割禮之約、於是亞伯拉罕生以撒、八日行割、以撒生雅各、雅各生十二祖、

乃予以割禮之約、於是亞伯拉罕生以撒、八日行割禮、以撒生雅各、雅各生我之十二祖、

乃賜以割禮之約、於是亞伯拉罕生以撒、至八日、為之行割禮、以撒生雅各、雅各生我十二祖、

天主又予之以割禮之約；故亞伯漢既生意灑格、第八日即為之行割禮；意灑格之於雅各伯、雅各伯之於十二族祖、亦復如是。

Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

Then God made a covenant with Abraham. God told him that circumcision would show who the members of the covenant were. Abraham became Isaac’s father. He circumcised Isaac eight days after he was born. Later, Isaac became Jacob’s father. Jacob had 12 sons. They became the founders of the 12 tribes of Israel.

And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

And so he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. After this, he fathered Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham fathered Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob, the twelve patriarchs.

Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.

And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.

Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision. After this, he fathered Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; Isaac did the same with Jacob, and Jacob with the 12 patriarchs.

And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so[ Abraham] begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac[ begat] Jacob; and Jacob[ begat] the twelve patriarchs.

Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him when he was eight days old, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

He gave him the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

Then God said to Abraham,“ Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility.This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised.You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you.From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign born servants whom you have purchased.All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant.Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”

The sons of Leah were Reuben( Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher. These are the names of the sons who were born to Jacob at Paddan aram.

Leaving Bethel, Jacob and his clan moved on toward Ephrath. But Rachel went into labor while they were still some distance away. Her labor pains were intense.

“ Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us.

For God had promised,“ I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins.But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God.( This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes;he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told,“ Your older son will serve your younger son.”In the words of the Scriptures,“ I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.”

When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive.So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said,“ The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.”She soon became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon, for she said,“ The Lord heard that I was unloved and has given me another son.”Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi, for she said,“ Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!”Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said,“ Now I will praise the Lord!” And then she stopped having children.When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob,“ Give me children, or I’ll die!”Then Jacob became furious with Rachel.“ Am I God?” he asked.“ He’s the one who has kept you from having children!”Then Rachel told him,“ Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me, and through her I can have a family, too.”So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her.Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son.Rachel named him Dan, for she said,“ God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.”Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son.Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said,“ I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!”Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.Soon Zilpah presented him with a son.Leah named him Gad, for she said,“ How fortunate I am!”Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son.And Leah named him Asher, for she said,“ What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me.”One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah,“ Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”But Leah angrily replied,“ Wasn’t it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son’s mandrakes, too?” Rachel answered,“ I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes.”So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him.“ You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said.“ I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah.And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob.She named him Issachar, for she said,“ God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.”Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob.She named him Zebulun, for she said,“ God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.”Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children.She became pregnant and gave birth to a son.“ God has removed my disgrace,” she said.And she named him Joseph, for she said,“ May the Lord add yet another son to my family.”

The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised.She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would.And Abraham named their son Isaac.Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded.

Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel.

Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins.But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it.“ Why is this happening to me?” she asked.And the Lord told her,“ The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins!The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau.Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised!

Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case.

Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.

Consider then how great this Melchizedek was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle.

Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named the baby Ben oni( which means“ son of my sorrow”). The baby’s father, however, called him Benjamin( which means“ son of my right hand”).

But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision.( Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.)

These are the names of the sons of Israel( that is, Jacob) who moved to Egypt with their father, each with his family:Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin,Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

The sons of Israel were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun,Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise.