Grace for the Moment

The Languages Confused

11 At this time the whole world spoke one language, and everyone used the same words. ² As people moved from the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.

³ They said to each other, “Let’s make bricks and bake them to make them hard.” So they used bricks instead of stones, and tar instead of mortar. ⁴ Then they said to each other, “Let’s build a city and a tower for ourselves, whose top will reach high into the sky. We will become famous. Then we will not be scattered over all the earth.”

⁵ The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built. ⁶ The Lord said, “Now, these people are united, all speaking the same language. This is only the beginning of what they will do. They will be able to do anything they want. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not be able to understand each other.”

⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ The place is called Babel^[a] since that is where the Lord confused the language of the whole world. So the Lord caused them to spread out from there over the whole world.

The Story of Shem’s Family

¹⁰ This is the family history of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, his son Arphaxad was born. ¹¹ After that, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹² When Arphaxad was 35 years old, his son Shelah was born. ¹³ After that, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁴ When Shelah was 30 years old, his son Eber was born. ¹⁵ After that, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁶ When Eber was 34 years old, his son Peleg was born. ¹⁷ After that, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁸ When Peleg was 30 years old, his son Reu was born. ¹⁹ After that, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁰ When Reu was 32 years old, his son Serug was born. ²¹ After that, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

²² When Serug was 30 years old, his son Nahor was born. ²³ After that, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁴ When Nahor was 29 years old, his son Terah was born. ²⁵ After that, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁶ After Terah was 70 years old, his sons Abram, Nahor, and Haran were born.

The Story of Terah’s Family

²⁷ This is the family history of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. ²⁸ While his father, Terah, was still alive, Haran died in Ur in Babylonia, where he was born. ²⁹ Abram and Nahor both married. Abram’s wife was named Sarai, and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran, who was the father of both Milcah and Iscah. ³⁰ Sarai was not able to have children.

³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai (Abram’s wife) and moved out of Ur of Babylonia. They had planned to go to the land of Canaan, but when they reached the city of Haran, they settled there.

³² Terah lived to be 205 years old, and then he died in Haran.

God Calls Abram

12 The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land I will show you.

⁴ So Abram left Haran as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. At this time Abram was 75 years old. ⁵ He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and everything they owned, as well as all the servants they had gotten in Haran. They set out from Haran, planning to go to the land of Canaan, and in time they arrived there.

⁶ Abram traveled through that land as far as the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. The Canaanites were living in the land at that time. ⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ Then he traveled from Shechem to the mountain east of Bethel and set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. There Abram built another altar to the Lord and worshiped him. ⁹ After this, he traveled on toward southern Canaan.

Abram Goes to Egypt

¹⁰ At this time there was not much food in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to live because there was so little food. ¹¹ Just before they arrived in Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know you are a very beautiful woman. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This woman is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but let you live. ¹³ Tell them you are my sister so that things will go well with me and I may be allowed to live because of you.”

¹⁴ When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful. ¹⁵ The Egyptian officers saw her and told the king of Egypt how beautiful she was. They took her to the king’s palace, and ¹⁶ the king was kind to Abram because he thought Abram was her brother. He gave Abram sheep, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

¹⁷ But the Lord sent terrible diseases on the king and all the people in his house because of Abram’s wife Sarai. ¹⁸ So the king sent for Abram and said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me Sarai was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’ so that I made her my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and leave!” ²⁰ Then the king commanded his men to make Abram leave Egypt; so Abram and his wife left with everything they owned.

An Evening Prayer

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

Jesus Teaches About Sexual Sin

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You must not be guilty of adultery.’^{[a] 28} But I tell you that if anyone looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, in his mind he has already done that sin with the woman. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. ³⁰ If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Jesus Teaches About Divorce

³¹ “It was also said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a written divorce paper.’^{[b] 32} But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife forces her to be guilty of adultery. The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if she has sexual relations with another man. And anyone who marries that divorced woman is guilty of adultery.

Make Promises Carefully

³³ “You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, ‘Don’t break your promises, but keep the promises you make to the Lord.’^{[c] 34} But I tell you, never swear an oath. Don’t swear an oath using the name of heaven, because heaven is God’s throne. ³⁵ Don’t swear an oath using the name of the earth, because the earth belongs to God. Don’t swear an oath using the name of Jerusalem, because that is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Don’t even swear by your own head, because you cannot make one hair on your head become white or black. ³⁷ Say only yes if you mean yes, and no if you mean no. If you say more than yes or no, it is from the Evil One.

Don’t Fight Back

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’^{[d] 39} But I tell you, don’t stand up against an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ If someone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. ⁴¹ If someone forces you to go with him one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴² If a person asks you for something, give it to him. Don’t refuse to give to someone who wants to borrow from you.

Love All People

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[e] and hate your enemies.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.^{[f] 45} If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. ⁴⁶ If you love only the people who love you, you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. ⁴⁷ And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than other people. Even those who don’t know God are nice to their friends. ⁴⁸ So you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.