Sarai and Hagar

1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had ^uborne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has ^vprevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children^{1 w}by her.” And Abram ^xlistened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after ^yAbram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and ^zgave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, ^ashe looked with contempt on her ^bmistress.² 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

7 ^cThe ^dangel of the Lord found her by a ^espring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, ^f“I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her,

13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,”⁴ for she said, “Truly here I have ^jseen him who looks after me.”⁵ 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;⁶ it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And ^kHagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord ^lappeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God ^mAlmighty;^{7 n}walk before me, and be ^oblameless, 2 that I may ^pmake my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the ^qfather of a multitude of nations. 5 ^rNo longer shall your name be called Abram,^{8 s}but your name shall be Abraham,⁹ for ^tI have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly ^ufruitful, and I will make you into nations, and ^vkings shall come from you. 7 And I will ^westablish my covenant between me and you and ^xyour offspring after you throughout their generations for an ^yeverlasting covenant, ^zto be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And ^aI will give to you ^band to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, ^call the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and ^dI will be their God.”

9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 ^eThis is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: ^fEvery male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a ^gsign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is ^height days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house ⁱor bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an ^jeverlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be ^kcut off from his people; he has ^lbroken my covenant.”

Isaac’s Birth Promised

15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, ^myou shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah¹⁰ shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give¹¹ you a son ⁿby her. I will bless her, and ^oshe shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and ^plaughed and said to himself, ^q“Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? ^rShall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19 God said, ^s“No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall ^tcall his name Isaac.¹² I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 ^uAs for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and ^vI will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”

22 When he had finished talking with him, ^wGod went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son and all those born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27 And all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Lust

27 “You have heard that it was said, ^f‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who ^glooks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 ^hIf your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Divorce

31 “It was also said, ⁱ‘Whoever ^jdivorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that ^keveryone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ^l‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, ^mDo not take an oath at all, either by ⁿheaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the ^ocity of the great ^pKing. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 ^qLet what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.¹

Retaliation

38 ^r“You have heard that it was said, ^s‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. ^tBut if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,² let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 ^uGive to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ^v‘You shall ^wlove your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, ^xLove your enemies and ^ypray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and ^zsends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,³ what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be ^aperfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.