God’s Word Translation
Genesis 17:3
3Immediately, Abram bowed with his face touching the ground, and again God spoke to him,
Genesis 17:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
- New International Version (NIV)Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:
Context of Genesis 17:3
1When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. He said to Abram, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence with integrity. 2I will give you my promise, and I will give you very many descendants.” Immediately, Abram bowed with his face touching the ground, and again God spoke to him, 4“My promise is still with you. You will become the father of many nations. 5So your name will no longer be Abram [Exalted Father], but Abraham [Father of Many] because I have made you a father of many nations.
Read all of Genesis 17Genesis 17:3 word by word
וַיִּפֹּ֥ל אַבְרָ֖ם עַל־פָּנָ֑יו וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אִתּ֛וֹ אֱלֹהִ֖ים לֵאמֹֽר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 17:3
- Genesis 17:17Immediately, Abraham bowed with his face touching the ground. He laughed as he thought to himself, “Can a son be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, have a child?”
- Exodus 3:6I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
- Leviticus 9:23Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people. Then the Lord’s glory appeared to all the people.
- Numbers 14:5Immediately, Moses and Aaron bowed with their faces touching the ground in front of the whole community of Israel assembled there.
- Numbers 16:22Immediately, they bowed with their faces touching the ground and said, “O God, you are the God who gives the breath of life to everyone! If one man sins, will you be angry with the whole community?”
- Joshua 5:14He answered, “Neither one! I am here as the commander of the Lord’s army.” Immediately, Joshua bowed with his face touching the ground and worshiped. He asked, “Sir, what do you want to tell me?”
- Judges 13:20As the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the Messenger of the Lord went up in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they immediately bowed down with their faces touching the ground.
- 1 Kings 18:39All the people saw it and immediately bowed down to the ground. “The Lord is God!” they said. “The Lord is God!”
- Ezekiel 1:28The brightness all around him looked like a rainbow in the clouds. It was like the Lord’s glory. When I saw it, I immediately bowed down, and I heard someone speaking.
- Ezekiel 3:23I got up and went to the plain. The Lord’s glory was standing there like the glory I saw by the Chebar River, and I immediately bowed down.
- Ezekiel 9:8As they were killing people, I was left alone. So I immediately bowed down. I cried, “Almighty Lord, will you destroy everyone who is left in Israel while you pour out your anger on Jerusalem?”
- Daniel 8:17Gabriel came up beside me, and when he came, I was terrified and immediately knelt down. He said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision is about the end times.”
- Daniel 10:9I heard the man speak, and as I listened to his words, I fainted facedown on the ground.
- Matthew 17:6The disciples were terrified when they heard this and fell facedown on the ground.
- Revelation 1:17When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. Then he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the first and the last,
Commentaries on Genesis 17:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3And Abram fell on his face - The eastern method of prostration was thus: the person first went down on his knees, and then lowered his head to his knees, and touched the earth with his forehead. A very painful posture, but significative of great humiliation and reverence.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-27Verses 1-27 - The Sealing of the Covenant 1. שׁדי shaday Shaddai, “Irresistible, able to destroy, and by inference to make, Almighty.” שׁדד shādad “be strong, destroy.” This name is found six times in Genesis, and thirty-one times in Job. 5. אברהם 'abrâhām Abraham, from אברם 'abrām “high-father,” and הם hām the radical part of המין hāmôn a “multitude,” is obtained by a euphonic abbreviation אברהם 'abrâhām “father of a multitude.” The root רהם rhm…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-27God gave Abram's family signs that his promises would come true. He changed Abram's name to Abraham (17:1–8). He established circumcision as the sign of the covenant (17:9–14, 23–27). He changed Sarai's name to Sarah (17:15–22).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Abram fell on his face--the attitude of profoundest reverence assumed by Eastern people. It consists in the prostrate body resting on the hands and knees, with the face bent till the forehead touches the ground. It is an expression of conscious humility and profound reverence.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 17:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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