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Sarai and Hagar
16 Now (A)Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had (B)an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. (C)Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will [a]obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 After Abram had [b]lived (D)ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. 4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “(E)May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your [c]arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her [d]sight. (F)May the Lord judge between [e]you and me.” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your [f]power; do to her what is good in your [g]sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and (G)she fled from her presence.
7 Now (H)the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to (I)Shur. 8 He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, (J)where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” 9 Then the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself [h]to her authority.” 10 Moreover, the (K)angel of the Lord said to her, “(L)I will greatly multiply your [i]descendants so that [j]they will be too many to count.” 11 The angel of the Lord said to her further,
“Behold, you are with child,
And you will bear a son;
And you shall call his name [k]Ishmael,
Because (M)the Lord [l]has given heed to your affliction.
12 “He will be a (N)wild donkey of a man,
His hand will be against everyone,
And everyone’s hand will be against him;
And he will [m]live [n](O)to the east of all his brothers.”
13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “[o]You are [p]a God who sees”; for she said, “(P)Have I even [q]remained alive here after seeing Him?” 14 Therefore the well was called [r]Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between (Q)Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was (R)eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to [s]him.
Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision
17 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, (S)the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,
“I am [t]God (T)Almighty;
Walk before Me, and be [u](U)blameless.
2 “I will [v]establish My (V)covenant between Me and you,
And I will (W)multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Abram (X)fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,
And you will be the father of a (Y)multitude of nations.
5 “No longer shall your name be called [w]Abram,
But (Z)your name shall be [x]Abraham;
For (AA)I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and (AB)kings will come forth from you. 7 I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your [y]descendants after you throughout their generations for an (AC)everlasting covenant, (AD)to be God to you and (AE)to your [z]descendants after you. 8 (AF)I will give to you and to your [aa]descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and (AG)I will be their God.”
9 God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, (AH)you shall keep My covenant, you and your [ab]descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 (AI)This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your [ac]descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 And (AJ)you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 And every male among you who is (AK)eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your [ad]descendants. 13 A servant who is born in your house or (AL)who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be (AM)cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but [ae]Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and indeed I will give you (AN)a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; (AO)kings of peoples will [af]come from her.” 17 Then Abraham (AP)fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And (AQ)will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” 19 But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you (AR)a son, and you shall call his name [ag]Isaac; and (AS)I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his [ah]descendants after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and (AT)will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. (AU)He shall [ai]become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a (AV)great nation. 21 But My covenant I will establish with (AW)Isaac, whom (AX)Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.” 22 When He finished talking with him, (AY)God went up from Abraham.
23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all the servants who were (AZ)born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the very same day, (BA)as God had said to him. 24 Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when (BB)he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And (BC)Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 In the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son. 27 All the men of his household, who were (BD)born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Birth of Isaac Promised
18 Now (BE)the Lord appeared to him by the [aj](BF)oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three (BG)men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, 3 and said, “[ak]My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not [al]pass Your servant by. 4 Please let a little water be brought and (BH)wash your feet, and [am]rest yourselves under the tree; 5 and I will [an](BI)bring a piece of bread, that you may [ao]refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have [ap]visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “[aq]Quickly, prepare three [ar]measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.” 7 Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and [as]choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8 He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree [at]as they ate.
9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 He said, “(BJ)I will surely return to you [au]at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now (BK)Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was (BL)past [av]childbearing. 12 Sarah laughed [aw]to herself, saying, “(BM)After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my (BN)lord being old also?” 13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed [ax]bear a child, when I am so old?’ 14 (BO)Is anything too [ay]difficult for the Lord? At the (BP)appointed time I will return to you, [az]at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Giving to the Poor and Prayer
6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men (A)to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2 “So when you [a]give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they (B)may be honored by men. (C)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you [b]give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your [c]giving will be in secret; and (D)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to (E)stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners [d](F)so that they may be seen by men. (G)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, (H)go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and (I)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their (J)many words. 8 So do not be like them; for (K)your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9 “(L)Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘(M)Your kingdom come.
(N)Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘(O)Give us this day [e]our daily bread.
12 ‘And (P)forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but (Q)deliver us from [f](R)evil. [g][For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]
14 (S)For if you forgive [h]others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But (T)if you do not forgive [i]others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)
16 “(U)Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they [j]neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. (V)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, (W)anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your (X)Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
19 “(Y)Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves (Z)treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for (AA)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “(AB)The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is [k]clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if (AC)your eye is [l]bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “(AD)No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and [m](AE)wealth.
The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.
A [a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord [b]concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
7 O Lord my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)deliver me,
2 Or he will tear [c]my soul (C)like a lion,
[d]Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)rewarded evil to [e]my friend,
Or have (F)plundered [f]him who without cause was my adversary,
5 Let the enemy pursue [g]my soul and overtake [h]it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. [i]Selah.
6 (G)Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
(H)Lift up Yourself against (I)the rage of my adversaries,
And (J)arouse Yourself [j]for me; You have appointed judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And over [k]them return on high.
8 The Lord (L)judges the peoples;
[l](M)Vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 O let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)tries the hearts and [m]minds.
10 My (Q)shield is [n]with God,
Who (R)saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a (S)righteous judge,
And a God who has (T)indignation every day.
12 If [o]a man (U)does not repent, He will (V)sharpen His sword;
He has (W)bent His bow and [p]made it ready.
13 He has also prepared [q]for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His (X)arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he (Y)conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has (Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His (AA)mischief will return upon his own head,
And his (AB)violence will descend upon [r]his own pate.
The Pursuit of Wisdom Brings Security
2 My son, if you will (A)receive my words
And (B)treasure my commandments within you,
2 (C)Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
3 For if you cry for discernment,
[a]Lift your voice for understanding;
4 If you seek her as (D)silver
And search for her as for (E)hidden treasures;
5 Then you will discern the (F)fear of the Lord
And discover the knowledge of God.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.