The Daily Audio Bible

20 And Abraham journeyeth from thence toward the land of the south, and dwelleth between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourneth in Gerar;

² and Abraham saith concerning Sarah his wife, `She is my sister;' and Abimelech king of Gerar sendeth and taketh Sarah.

³ And God cometh in unto Abimelech in a dream of the night, and saith to him, `Lo, thou [art] a dead man, because of the woman whom thou hast taken -- and she married to a husband.'

⁴ And Abimelech hath not drawn near unto her, and he saith, `Lord, also a righteous nation dost thou slay?

⁵ hath not he himself said to me, She [is] my sister! and she, even she herself, said, He [is] my brother; in the integrity of my heart, and in the innocency of my hands, I have done this.'

⁶ And God saith unto him in the dream, `Yea, I -- I have known that in the integrity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I withhold thee, even I, from sinning against Me, therefore I have not suffered thee to come against her;

⁷ and now send back the man's wife, for he [is] inspired, and he doth pray for thee, and live thou; and if thou do not send back, know that dying thou dost die, thou, and all that thou hast.'

⁸ And Abimelech riseth early in the morning, and calleth for all his servants, and speaketh all these words in their ears; and the men fear exceedingly;

⁹ and Abimelech calleth for Abraham, and saith to him, `What hast thou done to us? and what have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought upon me, and upon my kingdom, a great sin? works which are not done thou hast done with me.'

¹⁰ Abimelech also saith unto Abraham, `What hast thou seen that thou hast done this thing?'

¹¹ And Abraham saith, `Because I said, `Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they have slain me for the sake of my wife;

¹² and also, truly she is my sister, daughter of my father, only not daughter of my mother, and she becometh my wife;

¹³ and it cometh to pass, when God hath caused me to wander from my father's house, that I say to her, This [is] thy kindness which thou dost with me: at every place whither we come, say of me, He [is] my brother.'

¹⁴ And Abimelech taketh sheep and oxen, and servants and handmaids, and giveth to Abraham, and sendeth back to him Sarah his wife;

¹⁵ and Abimelech saith, `Lo, my land [is] before thee, where it is good in thine eyes, dwell;'

¹⁶ and to Sarah he hath said, `Lo, I have given a thousand silverlings to thy brother; lo, it is to thee a covering of eyes, to all who are with thee;' and by all this she is reasoned with.

¹⁷ And Abraham prayeth unto God, and God healeth Abimelech and his wife, and his handmaids, and they bear:

¹⁸ for Jehovah restraining had restrained every womb of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

21 And Jehovah hath looked after Sarah as He hath said, and Jehovah doth to Sarah as He hath spoken;

² and Sarah conceiveth, and beareth a son to Abraham, to his old age, at the appointed time that God hath spoken of with him;

³ and Abraham calleth the name of his son who is born to him, whom Sarah hath born to him -- Isaac;

⁴ and Abraham circumciseth Isaac his son, [being] a son of eight days, as God hath commanded him.

⁵ And Abraham [is] a son of a hundred years in Isaac his son being born to him,

⁶ and Sarah saith, `God hath made laughter for me; every one who is hearing laugheth for me.'

⁷ She saith also, `Who hath said to Abraham, Sarah hath suckled sons, that I have born a son for his old age?'

⁸ And the lad groweth, and is weaned, and Abraham maketh a great banquet in the day of Isaac's being weaned;

⁹ and Sarah seeth the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she hath borne to Abraham, mocking,

¹⁰ and she saith to Abraham, `Cast out this handmaid and her son; for the son of this handmaid hath no possession with my son -- with Isaac.'

¹¹ And the thing is very wrong in the eyes of Abraham, for his son's sake;

¹² and God saith unto Abraham, `Let it not be wrong in thine eyes because of the youth, and because of thy handmaid: all that Sarah saith unto thee -- hearken to her voice, for in Isaac is a seed called to thee.

¹³ As to the son of the handmaid also, for a nation I set him, because he [is] thy seed.'

¹⁴ And Abraham riseth early in the morning, and taketh bread, and a bottle of water, and giveth unto Hagar (placing [it] on her shoulder), also the lad, and sendeth her out; and she goeth on, and goeth astray in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba;

¹⁵ and the water is consumed from the bottle, and she placeth the lad under one of the shrubs.

¹⁶ And she goeth and sitteth by herself over-against, afar off, about a bow-shot, for she said, `Let me not look on the death of the lad;' and she sitteth over-against, and lifteth up her voice, and weepeth.

¹⁷ And God heareth the voice of the youth; and the messenger of God calleth unto Hagar from the heavens, and saith to her, `What to thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath hearkened unto the voice of the youth where he [is];

¹⁸ rise, lift up the youth, and lay hold on him with thy hand, for for a great nation I set him.'

¹⁹ And God openeth her eyes, and she seeth a well of water, and she goeth and filleth the bottle [with] water, and causeth the youth to drink;

²⁰ and God is with the youth, and he groweth, and dwelleth in the wilderness, and is an archer;

²¹ and he dwelleth in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother taketh for him a wife from the land of Egypt.

²² And it cometh to pass at that time that Abimelech speaketh -- Phichol also, head of his host -- unto Abraham, saying, `God [is] with thee in all that thou art doing;

²³ and now, swear to me by God here: thou dost not lie to me, or to my continuator, or to my successor; according to the kindness which I have done with thee thou dost with me, and with the land in which thou hast sojourned.'

²⁴ And Abraham saith, `I -- I do swear.'

²⁵ And Abraham reasoned with Abimelech concerning the matter of a well of water which Abimelech's servants have taken violently away,

²⁶ and Abimelech saith, `I have not known who hath done this thing, and even thou didst not declare to me, and I also, I have not heard save to-day.'

²⁷ And Abraham taketh sheep and oxen, and giveth to Abimelech, and they make, both of them, a covenant;

²⁸ and Abraham setteth seven Lambs of the flock by themselves.

²⁹ And Abimelech saith unto Abraham, `What [are] they -- these seven lambs which thou hast set by themselves?'

³⁰ And he saith, `For -- the seven lambs thou dost accept from my hand, so that it becometh a witness for me that I have digged this well;'

³¹ therefore hath he called that place `Beer-Sheba,' for there have both of them sworn.

³² And they make a covenant in Beer-Sheba, and Abimelech riseth -- Phichol also, head of his host -- and they turn back unto the land of the Philistines;

³³ and [Abraham] planteth a tamarask in Beer-Sheba, and preacheth there in the name of Jehovah, God age-during;

³⁴ and Abraham sojourneth in the land of the Philistines many days.

22 And it cometh to pass after these things that God hath tried Abraham, and saith unto him, `Abraham;' and he saith, `Here [am] I.'

² And He saith, `Take, I pray thee, thy son, thine only one, whom thou hast loved, even Isaac, and go for thyself unto the land of Moriah, and cause him to ascend there for a burnt-offering on one of the mountains of which I speak unto thee.'

³ And Abraham riseth early in the morning, and saddleth his ass, and taketh two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and he cleaveth the wood of the burnt-offering, and riseth and goeth unto the place of which God hath spoken to him.

⁴ On the third day -- Abraham lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the place from afar;

⁵ and Abraham saith unto his young men, `Remain by yourselves here with the ass, and I and the youth go yonder and worship, and turn back unto you.'

⁶ And Abraham taketh the wood of the burnt-offering, and placeth on Isaac his son, and he taketh in his hand the fire, and the knife; and they go on both of them together.

⁷ And Isaac speaketh unto Abraham his father, and saith, `My father,' and he saith, `Here [am] I, my son.' And he saith, `Lo, the fire and the wood, and where the lamb for a burnt-offering?'

⁸ and Abraham saith, `God doth provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son;' and they go on both of them together.

⁹ And they come in unto the place of which God hath spoken to him, and there Abraham buildeth the altar, and arrangeth the wood, and bindeth Isaac his son, and placeth him upon the altar above the wood;

¹⁰ and Abraham putteth forth his hand, and taketh the knife -- to slaughter his son.

¹¹ And the messenger of Jehovah calleth unto him from the heavens, and saith, `Abraham, Abraham;' and he saith, `Here [am] I;'

¹² and He saith, `Put not forth thine hand unto the youth, nor do anything to him, for now I have known that thou art fearing God, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only one, from Me.'

¹³ And Abraham lifteth up his eyes, and looketh, and lo, a ram behind, seized in a thicket by its horns; and Abraham goeth, and taketh the ram, and causeth it to ascend for a burnt-offering instead of his son;

¹⁴ and Abraham calleth the name of that place `Jehovah-Jireh,' because it is said this day in the mount, `Jehovah doth provide.'

¹⁵ And the messenger of Jehovah calleth unto Abraham a second time from the heavens,

¹⁶ and saith, `By Myself I have sworn -- the affirmation of Jehovah -- that because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only one --

¹⁷ that blessing I bless thee, and multiplying I multiply thy seed as stars of the heavens, and as sand which [is] on the sea-shore; and thy seed doth possess the gate of his enemies;

¹⁸ and blessed themselves in thy seed have all nations of the earth, because that thou hast hearkened to My voice.'

¹⁹ And Abraham turneth back unto his young men, and they rise and go together unto Beer-Sheba; and Abraham dwelleth in Beer-Sheba.

²⁰ And it cometh to pass after these things that it is declared to Abraham, saying, `Lo, Milcah hath borne, even she, sons to Nahor thy brother:

²¹ Huz his first-born, and Buz his brother; and Kemuel father of Aram,

²² and Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel;

²³ and Bethuel hath begotten Rebekah;' these eight hath Milcah borne to Nahor, Abraham's brother;

²⁴ and his concubine, whose name [is] Reumah, she also hath borne Tebah, and Gaham, and Tahash, and Maachah.

¹⁵ `But, take heed of the false prophets, who come unto you in sheep's clothing, and inwardly are ravening wolves.

¹⁶ From their fruits ye shall know them; do [men] gather from thorns grapes? or from thistles figs?

¹⁷ so every good tree doth yield good fruits, but the bad tree doth yield evil fruits.

¹⁸ A good tree is not able to yield evil fruits, nor a bad tree to yield good fruits.

¹⁹ Every tree not yielding good fruit is cut down and is cast to fire:

²⁰ therefore from their fruits ye shall know them.

²¹ `Not every one who is saying to me Lord, lord, shall come into the reign of the heavens; but he who is doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens.

²² Many will say to me in that day, Lord, lord, have we not in thy name prophesied? and in thy name cast out demons? and in thy name done many mighty things?

²³ and then I will acknowledge to them, that -- I never knew you, depart from me ye who are working lawlessness.

²⁴ `Therefore, every one who doth hear of me these words, and doth do them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon the rock;

²⁵ and the rain did descend, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell not, for it had been founded on the rock.

²⁶ `And every one who is hearing of me these words, and is not doing them, shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand;

²⁷ and the rain did descend, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and its fall was great.'

²⁸ And it came to pass, when Jesus ended these words, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching,

²⁹ for he was teaching them as having authority, and not as the scribes.

9 To the Overseer, `On the Death of Labben.' -- A Psalm of David. I confess, O Jehovah, with all my heart, I recount all Thy wonders,

² I rejoice and exult in Thee, I praise Thy Name, O Most High.

³ In mine enemies turning backward, they stumble and perish from Thy face.

⁴ For Thou hast done my judgment and my right. Thou hast sat on a throne, A judge of righteousness.

⁵ Thou hast rebuked nations, Thou hast destroyed the wicked, Their name Thou hast blotted out to the age and for ever.

⁶ O thou Enemy, Finished have been destructions for ever, As to cities thou hast plucked up, Perished hath their memorial with them.

⁷ And Jehovah to the age abideth, He is preparing for judgment His throne.

⁸ And He judgeth the world in righteousness, He judgeth the peoples in uprightness.

⁹ And Jehovah is a tower for the bruised, A tower for times of adversity.

¹⁰ They trust in Thee who do know Thy name, For Thou hast not forsaken Those seeking Thee, O Jehovah.

¹¹ Sing ye praise to Jehovah, inhabiting Zion, Declare ye among the peoples His acts,

¹² For He who is seeking for blood Them hath remembered, He hath not forgotten the cry of the afflicted.

¹⁶ To deliver thee from the strange woman, From the stranger who hath made smooth her sayings,

¹⁷ Who is forsaking the guide of her youth, And the covenant of her God hath forgotten.

¹⁸ For her house hath inclined unto death, And unto Rephaim her paths.

¹⁹ None going in unto her turn back, Nor do they reach the paths of life.

²⁰ That thou dost go in the way of the good, And the paths of the righteous dost keep.

²¹ For the upright do inhabit the earth, And the perfect are left in it,

²² And the wicked from the earth are cut off, And treacherous dealers plucked out of it!