And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
Parallel translations
- WEB The uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.”
- BSB But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
- NKJV And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
- NASB But as for an uncircumcised male, one who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
- NLT Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
An uncircumcised male was to be cut off from his people for breaking the covenant. Neglecting the sign meant rejecting the covenant itself.
Overview
God warns that refusing the covenant sign brings exclusion from the covenant community. The seriousness shows that the sign was no mere formality but a confession of belonging to God. Rejecting it amounted to covenant-breaking. This solemn warning underscores the importance of faith expressed in obedience, while the gospel offers the deeper circumcision of the heart that truly unites us to God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Exod 4:24–26And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.
- Exod 12:19Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
- Num 15:30–31But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
- Lev 19:8Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
- Lev 18:29For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.
- Jer 11:10They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
- Lev 7:25For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people.
- Lev 7:20–21But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
- Exod 30:38Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.
- Isa 24:5The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
- Ps 55:20He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.
- Lev 7:27Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
- Exod 30:33Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
- Exod 12:15Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
- 1 Cor 11:27Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
- Jer 31:32Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
- 1 Cor 11:29For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
- Isa 33:8The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.
- Josh 5:2–12At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 17:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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