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At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him,
Genesis 17:3 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Abram fell on his face. God talked with him, saying,
  • KJV And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
  • BSB Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
  • NKJV Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:
  • NASB Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,

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

Abram fell facedown as God continued speaking. His posture shows reverent submission before the Almighty.

Overview

Overwhelmed by God's presence and word, Abram prostrates himself in worship and humility. This response of awe befits the encounter with El Shaddai. Abram's reverent submission models the proper human posture before God's gracious self-revelation, receiving His covenant not as a negotiator but as a worshiper.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 16

  • Gen 17:17Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to him who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?”
  • Judg 13:20For when the flame went up toward the sky from off the altar, Yahweh’s angel ascended in the flame of the altar. Manoah and his wife watched; and they fell on their faces to the ground.
  • 1 Kgs 18:39When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. They said, “Yahweh, he is God! Yahweh, he is God!”
  • Num 16:45“Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!” They fell on their faces.
  • Rev 1:17When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
  • Matt 17:6When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid.
  • Josh 5:14He said, “No; but I have come now as commander of Yahweh’s army.” Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and asked him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”
  • Exod 3:6Moreover he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look at God.
  • Ezek 3:23Then I arose, and went out into the plain: and behold, Yahweh’s glory stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face.
  • Dan 10:9Yet heard I the voice of his words; and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I fallen into a deep sleep on my face, with my face toward the ground.
  • Ezek 1:28As the appearance of the rainbow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of Yahweh’s glory. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke.
  • Lev 9:23–24Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and came out, and blessed the people: and Yahweh’s glory appeared to all the people.
  • Num 16:22They fell on their faces, and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?”
  • Dan 8:17–18So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was frightened, and fell on my face: but he said to me, Understand, son of man; for the vision belongs to the time of the end.
  • Num 14:5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
  • Ezek 9:8While they were killing, and I was left, I fell on my face, and cried, and said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! Will you destroy all the residue of Israel in your pouring out of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 17:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 17:3 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.