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Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you will be circumcised,
Genesis 34:15 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Only on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised;
  • KJV But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;
  • BSB We will consent to this on one condition, that you become circumcised like us—every one of your males.
  • NKJV But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised,
  • NLT But here is a solution. If every man among you will be circumcised like we are,

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

They set one condition: every male of Shechem's city must be circumcised.

Overview

The brothers present circumcision as the price of union, knowing the painful procedure will leave the men vulnerable. What should be a sacred mark of covenant belonging is here twisted into a trap. The verse advances the deceit that will culminate in the city's defenselessness and destruction.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 1

  • Gal 4:12I beg you, brothers, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 34:15YouTube · 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 34:15 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.