Sarai and Hagar

16 Now ^(A)Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him a child, but she had ^(B)an Egyptian slave woman whose name was Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. ^(C)Please have relations with my slave woman; perhaps I will ^[a]obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. ³ And so after Abram had lived ^(D)ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave woman, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. ⁴ Then he had relations with Hagar, and she conceived; and when Hagar became aware that she had conceived, her mistress was insignificant in her sight. ⁵ So Sarai said to Abram, “^(E)May the wrong done to me be upon you! I put my slave woman into your ^[b]arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was insignificant in her ^[c]sight. ^(F)May the Lord judge between ^[d]you and me.” ⁶ But Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your slave woman is in your ^[e]power; do to her what is good in your ^[f]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 slave woman, ^(J)from where have you come, and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” ⁹ So the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit ^[g]to her authority.” ¹⁰ The ^(K)angel of the Lord also said to her, “^(L)I will greatly multiply your ^[h]descendants so that ^[i]they will be too many to count.” ¹¹ The angel of the Lord said to her further,

¹³ Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “^[l]You are ^[m]a God who sees me”; for she said, “^(P)Have I even seen Him here and lived after ^[n]He saw me?” ¹⁴ Therefore the well was called ^[o]Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between ^(Q)Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ So Hagar bore a son to Abram; and Abram named his son, to whom Hagar gave birth, Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was ^(R)eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to ^[p]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,

³ Abram ^(X)fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,

⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and ^(AB)kings will come from you. ⁷ I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your ^[v]descendants after you throughout their generations as an ^(AC)everlasting covenant, ^(AD)to be God to you and ^(AE)to your ^[w]descendants after you. ⁸ And ^(AF)I will give to you and to your ^[x]descendants after you the land where you live as a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as 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 ^[y]descendants after you throughout their generations. ^10 (AI)This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your ^[z]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, including a slave who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your ^[aa]descendants. ¹³ A slave who is born in your house or ^(AL)who is bought with your money shall certainly be circumcised; so My covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ But as for an uncircumcised male, one 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 your wife Sarai, you shall not call her by the name ^[ab]Sarai, but ^[ac]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 ^[ad]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 a hundred years old? And ^(AQ)will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth to a child?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” ¹⁹ But God said, “No, but your wife Sarah will bear you ^(AR)a son, and you shall name him ^[ae]Isaac; and ^(AS)I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his ^[af]descendants after him. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and ^(AT)make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly. ^(AU)He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a ^(AV)great nation. ²¹ But I will establish My covenant 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 his son Ishmael, and all the slaves 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 on this 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 his son ^(BC)Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁶ On this very same day Abraham was circumcised, as well as his son Ishmael. ²⁷ And all the men of his household, those 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 ^[ag]Abraham by the ^[ah](BF)oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. ² When he raised 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 down to the ground, ³ and said, “^[ai]My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not ^[aj]pass Your servant by. ⁴ Please let a little water be brought and ^(BH)wash ^[ak]your feet, and make yourselves comfortable under the tree; ⁵ and I will ^[al](BI)bring a piece of bread, so that you may ^[am]refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have ^[an]visited your servant.” And they said, “So do as you have said.” ⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “^[ao]Quickly, prepare three ^[ap]measures of fine flour, knead it, and make bread cakes.” ⁷ Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and ^[aq]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 set it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree ^[ar]as they ate.

⁹ Then they said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” ¹⁰ He said, “^(BJ)I will certainly return to you ^[as]at this time next year; and behold, your wife Sarah 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 ^[at]childbearing. ¹² So Sarah laughed ^[au]to herself, saying, “^(BM)After I have become old, am I to have pleasure, my ^(BN)lord being old also?” ¹³ But the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I actually give birth to a child, when I am so old?’ ^14 (BO)Is anything too ^[av]difficult for the Lord? At the ^(BP)appointed time I will return to you, ^[aw]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.”

¹⁶ Then ^(BQ)the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. ^17 (BR)The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham ^(BS)what I am about to do, ¹⁸ since Abraham will certainly become a great and ^[ax]mighty nation, and in him ^(BT)all the nations of the earth will be blessed? ¹⁹ For I have ^[ay](BU)chosen him, so that he may ^(BV)command his children and his household after him to ^(BW)keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham ^(BX)what He has spoken about him.” ²⁰ And the Lord said, “^(BY)The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. ²¹ I will ^(BZ)go down now and see whether they have done entirely as the outcry, which has come to Me indicates; and if not, I will know.”

Abraham Appeals for Sodom

²² Then ^(CA)the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before ^(CB)the Lord. ²³ Abraham approached and said, “^(CC)Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose there are fifty righteous people within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not ^[az]spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? ²⁵ Far be it from You to do ^[ba]such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not ^(CD)the Judge of all the earth ^[bb]deal justly?” ²⁶ So the Lord said, “^(CE)If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will ^[bc]spare the entire place on their account.” ²⁷ And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ^[bd]ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am only ^(CF)dust and ashes. ²⁸ Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the entire city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹ And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” ³⁰ Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” ³¹ And he said, “Now behold, I have ^[be]ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” ³² Then he said, “^(CG)Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once: suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” ³³ As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham ^(CH)the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.

Teaching at Nazareth

6 ^(A)Jesus went out from there and *came into ^[a](B)His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him. ² And when the Sabbath came, He began ^(C)to teach in the synagogue; and ^[b]the ^(D)many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man learn these things, and what is this wisdom that has been given to Him, and such ^[c]miracles as these performed by His hands? ³ Is this not ^(E)the carpenter, ^(F)the son of Mary and brother of ^[d]James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are ^(G)His sisters not here with us?” And they took ^(H)offense at Him. ⁴ Jesus said to them, “^(I)A prophet is not dishonored except in ^[e](J)his hometown and among his own relatives, and in his own household.” ⁵ And He could not do any ^[f]miracle there except that He ^(K)laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And He was amazed at their unbelief.

^(L)And He was going around the villages, teaching.

The Twelve Sent Out

^7 (M)And ^(N)He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out ^(O)in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; ^8 (P)and He instructed them that they were to take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no ^[g]bag, no money in their belt— ⁹ but ^[h]to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not wear two ^[i]tunics.” ¹⁰ And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you ^[j]leave town. ¹¹ Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, ^(Q)shake the dust ^[k]off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them.” ^12 (R)And they went out and ^[l]preached that people are to repent. ¹³ And they were casting out many demons and ^(S)were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

John’s Fate Recalled

^14 (T)And King Herod heard about it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “^(U)John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” ¹⁵ But others were saying, “He is ^(V)Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is ^(W)a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard about it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

¹⁷ For Herod himself had sent men and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of ^(X)Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “^(Y)It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ And ^(Z)Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death, and could not do so; ²⁰ for ^(AA)Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he had been protecting him. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; and yet he ^[m]used to enjoy listening to him. ²¹ An opportune day came when Herod, on his birthday, ^(AB)held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders, and the leading people ^(AC)of Galilee; ²² and when the daughter of ^(AD)Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and ^[n]his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” ²³ And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, up to ^(AE)half of my kingdom.” ²⁴ And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ²⁶ And although the king was very sorry, because of his oaths and ^[o]his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. ²⁷ Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, ²⁸ and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his disciples heard about this, they came and carried away his body, and laid it in a tomb.

^30 (AF)The ^(AG)apostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and ^(AH)they did not even have time to eat.) ^32 (AI)And they went away in ^(AJ)the boat to a secluded place by themselves.

Five Thousand Men Fed

³³ The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus went ^[p]ashore, He ^(AK)saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because ^(AL)they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. ³⁵ And when it was already late, His disciples came up to Him and said, “^[q]This place is secluded and it is already late; ³⁶ send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves ^[r]something to eat.” ³⁷ But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” ^(AM)And they *said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred ^[s](AN)denarii on bread, and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸ But He *said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they *said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹ And He ordered them all to recline by groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ They reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹ And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He ^(AO)blessed the food and broke the loaves and He gave them to the disciples again and again to set before them; and He divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² And they all ate and were satisfied; ⁴³ and they picked up twelve full ^(AP)baskets of the broken pieces of bread, and of the fish. ⁴⁴ There were ^(AQ)five thousand ^[t]men who ate the loaves.

Jesus Walks on the Water

^45 (AR)And immediately Jesus had His disciples get into ^(AS)the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, to ^(AT)Bethsaida, while He Himself *dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ And after ^(AU)saying goodbye to them, He left ^(AV)for the mountain to pray.

⁴⁷ When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ Seeing them ^[u]straining at the oars—for the wind was against them—at about the ^[v](AW)fourth watch of the night, He *came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. ⁴⁹ But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out; ⁵⁰ for they all saw Him and were ^[w]terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and *said to them, “^(AX)Take courage; it is I, ^(AY)do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then He got into ^(AZ)the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, ⁵² for ^(BA)they ^[x]had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but ^[y]their hearts ^(BB)were hardened.

Healing at Gennesaret

^53 (BC)When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored at the shore. ⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ⁵⁵ and ran about that entire country and began carrying here and there on their pallets those who were sick, ^[z]to wherever they heard He was. ⁵⁶ And wherever He entered villages, or cities, or a countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces and imploring Him that they might just ^(BD)touch ^(BE)the fringe of His cloak; and all who touched it were being ^[aa]healed.