The Call of Abram

1 ^mNow the Lord said¹ to Abram, ⁿ“Go ^ofrom your country² and your kindred and your father’s house to ^pthe land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a ^qgreat nation, and I will ^rbless you and ^smake your name great, so that ^tyou will be a blessing. 3 ^uI will bless those who bless you, and ^vhim who dishonors you I will curse, and ^win you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”³

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was ^xseventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the ^yoak⁴ of Moreh. ^zAt that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord ^aappeared to Abram and said, ^b“To your offspring I will give this land.” So he ^cbuilt there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and ^dcalled upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

10 ^eNow there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to ^fsojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman ^gbeautiful in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will ^hkill me, but they will let you live. 13 Say ⁱyou are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” 14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they ^jpraised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 ^kAnd for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

17 But the Lord ^lafflicted Pharaoh and his house with great ^mplagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; ⁿtake her, and go.” 20 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

Abram and Lot Separate

1 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, ^ointo the Negeb.

2 ^pNow Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to ^qthe place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place where he had ^rmade an altar at the first. And there Abram ^scalled upon the name of the Lord. 5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that ^tthe land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, 7 and there was ^ustrife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. ^vAt that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

8 Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.⁵ 9 ^wIs not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was ^xwell watered everywhere ^ylike the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord ^zdestroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, ^awhile Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were ^bwicked, great sinners against the Lord.

14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, ^cnorthward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 ^dfor ^eall the land that you see I will give to you ^fand to your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the ^gdust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 17 Arise, ^hwalk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” 18 So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks⁶ of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

Abram Rescues Lot

1 In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2 these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar.

8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of ⁱbitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled ^jto the hill country. 11 So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, ^kwho was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, ^lwho was living by the oaks⁷ of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.

Abram Blessed by Melchizedek

17 ^mAfter his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And ⁿMelchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said,

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, ^p“Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have ^qlifted my hand⁹ to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ^r‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

1 ^zOn one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the ^alake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ^b“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a ^clarge number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ^d“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be ^ecatching men.”¹ 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they ^fleft everything and followed him.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

12 ^gWhile he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of ^hleprosy.² And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus³ stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” ⁱAnd immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to ^jtell no one, but “go and ^kshow yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, ^las Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 15 ^mBut now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

17 ⁿOn one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was ^owith him ^pto heal.⁴ 18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, ^qyour sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks ^rblasphemies? ^sWho can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the ^tSon of Man has ^uauthority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they ^vglorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Jesus Calls Levi

27 ^wAfter this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, ^x“Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was ^ya large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you ^zeat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 ^aI have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

A Question About Fasting

33 ^bAnd they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the ^cbridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”⁵