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Abraham’s Treachery
20 Now Abraham journeyed from (A)there toward the land of (B)the [a]Negev, and [b]settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in (C)Gerar. 2 Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “(D)She is my sister.” So (E)Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 (F)But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, (G)you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is [c]married.” 4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, (H)will You slay a nation, even though [d]blameless? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she (I)herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In (J)the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my [e]hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also [f](K)kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for (L)he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
8 So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were greatly frightened. 9 (M)Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And [g]how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom (N)a great sin? You have done to me [h]things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you [i]encountered, that you have done this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no (O)fear of God in this place, and (P)they will kill me because of my wife. 12 Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; 13 and it came about, when (Q)God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is [j]the kindness which you will show to me: [k]everywhere we go, (R)say of me, “He is my brother.”’” 14 (S)Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him. 15 Abimelech said, “(T)Behold, my land is before you; [l]settle wherever [m]you please.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your (U)brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is [n]your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared.” 17 (V)Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. 18 (W)For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Isaac Is Born
21 (X)Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had [o]promised. 2 (Y)So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at (Z)the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, (AA)Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was (AB)eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was (AC)one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Sarah said, “God has made (AD)laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh [p]with me.” 7 And she said, “(AE)Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
8 The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
Sarah Turns against Hagar
9 Now Sarah saw (AF)the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, [q](AG)mocking. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “(AH)Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son [r]Isaac.” 11 (AI)The matter [s]distressed Abraham greatly because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “[t]Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for (AJ)through Isaac [u]your descendants shall be named. 13 And of (AK)the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your [v]descendant.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a [w]skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 When the water in the skin was used up, she [x]left the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, “Do not let me [y]see the boy die.” And she sat opposite him, and (AL)lifted up her voice and wept. 17 God (AM)heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? (AN)Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by [z]the hand, (AO)for I will make a great nation of him.” 19 Then God (AP)opened her eyes and she saw (AQ)a well of water; and she went and filled the [aa]skin with water and gave the lad a drink.
20 (AR)God was with the lad, and he grew; and he [ab]lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 (AS)He [ac]lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Covenant with Abimelech
22 Now it came about at that time that (AT)Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “(AU)God is with you in all that you do; 23 now therefore, (AV)swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.” 24 Abraham said, “I swear it.” 25 But Abraham [ad]complained to Abimelech because of the well of water which the servants of Abimelech (AW)had seized. 26 And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor did I hear of it [ae]until today.”
27 Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and (AX)the two of them made a covenant. 28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 Abimelech said to Abraham, “What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves?” 30 He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a (AY)witness to me, that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore he called that place (AZ)Beersheba, because there the two of them took an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba; and Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, arose and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there (BA)he called on the name of the Lord, the (BB)Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned (BC)in the land of the Philistines for many days.
The Offering of Isaac
22 Now it came about after these things, that (BD)God tested Abraham, and said to him, “(BE)Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take now (BF)your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of (BG)Moriah, and offer him there as a (BH)burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 5 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and (BI)laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the (BJ)lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will [af]provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
9 Then they came to (BK)the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built (BL)the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and (BM)laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But (BN)the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now (BO)I know that you [ag]fear God, since you have not withheld (BP)your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place [ah]The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord (BQ)it will [ai]be provided.”
15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, “(BR)By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly (BS)multiply your [aj]seed as the stars of the heavens and as (BT)the sand which is on the seashore; and (BU)your [ak]seed shall possess the gate of [al]their enemies. 18 (BV)In your [am]seed all the nations of the earth shall [an]be blessed, because you have (BW)obeyed My voice.” 19 (BX)So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.
20 Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, “Behold, (BY)Milcah [ao]also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram 22 and Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel [ap]became the father of (BZ)Rebekah; these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, [aq]also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of the (A)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are (B)ravenous wolves. 16 You will [a](C)know them by their fruits. [b]Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So (D)every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 (E)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will [c]know them (F)by their fruits.
21 “(G)Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 (H)Many will say to Me on (I)that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many [d]miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; (J)depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
The Two Foundations
24 “Therefore (K)everyone who hears these words of Mine and [e]acts on them, [f]may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the [g]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not [h]act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, and the [i]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
28 [j](L)When Jesus had finished these words, (M)the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
A Psalm of Thanksgiving for God’s Justice.
For the choir director; on [a]Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.
9 I will give thanks to the Lord with all (A)my heart;
I will (B)tell of all Your [b]wonders.
2 I will be glad and (C)exult in You;
I will (D)sing praise to Your name, O (E)Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and (F)perish before You.
4 For You have (G)maintained [c]my just cause;
You have sat on the throne [d](H)judging righteously.
5 You have (I)rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked;
You have (J)blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 [e]The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins,
And You have uprooted the cities;
The very (K)memory of them has perished.
7 But the (L)Lord [f]abides forever;
He has established His (M)throne for judgment,
8 And He will (N)judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.
9 [g]The Lord also will be a (O)stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;
10 And [h]those who (P)know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not (Q)forsaken those who seek You.
16 To (A)deliver you from the strange woman,
From the [a](B)adulteress who flatters with her words;
17 That leaves the (C)companion of her youth
And forgets the (D)covenant of her God;
18 For (E)her house [b]sinks down to death
And her tracks lead to the [c]dead;
19 None (F)who go to her return again,
Nor do they reach the (G)paths of life.
20 So you will (H)walk in the way of good men
And keep to the (I)paths of the righteous.
21 For (J)the upright will [d]live in the land
And (K)the blameless will remain in it;
22 But (L)the wicked will be cut off from the land
And (M)the treacherous will be (N)uprooted from it.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.