Abraham and Abimelech
1 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between pKadesh and Shur; and he qsojourned in rGerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, s“She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 tBut God came to Abimelech uin a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, v“Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning wagainst me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man’s wife, xfor he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you yand all who are yours.”
8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, z‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and athey will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, bshe is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when cGod caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, dsay of me, “He is my brother.”’”
14 Then Abimelech etook sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, fmy land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given gyour brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is ha sign of your innocence in the eyes of all1 who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” 17 Then iAbraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the Lord jhad closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
The Birth of Isaac
1 The Lord kvisited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah las he had promised. 2 And Sarah mconceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age nat the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, oIsaac.2 4 And Abraham pcircumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, qas God had commanded him. 5 rAbraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, s“God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? tYet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
God Protects Hagar and Ishmael
8 And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah usaw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, vlaughing.3 10 So she said to Abraham, w“Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for xthrough Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13 And I will make ya nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of zBeersheba.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then aGod opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness band became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
A Treaty with Abimelech
22 At that time cAbimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, d“God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but eas I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.”
25 When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants fhad seized, 26 Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men gmade a covenant. 28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 30 He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this4 may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore hthat place was called Beersheba,5 because there both of them swore an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and icalled there on the name of the Lord, jthe Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.
The Sacrifice of Isaac
1 After these things kGod tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to lthe land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy6 will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and mlaid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, n“God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and olaid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, p“Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for qnow I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, r“The Lord will provide”;7 as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”8
15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, s“By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring tas the stars of heaven and uas the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess vthe gate of his9 enemies, 18 and win your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, xbecause you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to yBeersheba. And Abraham lived at yBeersheba.
20 Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, zMilcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 aUz his firstborn, bBuz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 (cBethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
Women Accompanying Jesus
1 Soon afterward he went on nthrough cities and villages, proclaiming and obringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also psome women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: qMary, called Magdalene, rfrom whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and sJoanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them1 out of their means.
The Parable of the Sower
4 tAnd when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 u“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, vit withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among wthorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded xa hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, y“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables
9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, z“To you it has been given to know athe secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so bthat ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 cNow the parable is this: The seed is dthe word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not ebelieve and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it fwith joy. But these have no root; they gbelieve for a while, and in time of testing hfall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but ias they go on their way they are choked by the jcares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and kbear fruit lwith patience.
A Lamp Under a Jar
16 mn“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 oFor nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 pTake care then how you hear, qfor to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
19 rThen his mother and shis brothers2 came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those twho hear the word of God and do it.”
Jesus Calms a Storm
22 uOne day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of vthe lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on vthe lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and wrebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, xand there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they ywere afraid, and they zmarveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that ahe commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon
26 bThen they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes,3 which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus4 had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house cbut among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he dcried out and fell down before him and said dwith a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, eSon of fthe Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon ginto the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, h“Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into ithe abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into jthe lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting kat the feet of Jesus, lclothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed5 man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes masked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and ndeclare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus’s Daughter
40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd owelcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 pAnd there came a man named Jairus, who was qa ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, 42 for he had ran only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
As Jesus went, the people spressed around him. 43 And there was a woman twho had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her uliving on physicians,6 she could not be healed by anyone. 44 She came up behind him and touched vthe fringe of his garment, and wimmediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45 And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter7 said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that xpower has gone out from me.” 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48 And he said to her, “Daughter, yyour faith has made you well; ygo in peace.”
49 While he was still speaking, someone from zthe ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; ado not trouble bthe Teacher any more.” 50 But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” 51 And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except cPeter and dJohn and James, and the father and mother of the child. 52 And all were weeping and emourning for her, but he fsaid, “Do not weep, for gshe is not dead but hsleeping.” 53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But itaking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, jarise.” 55 And kher spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. 56 And her parents were amazed, but lhe charged them to tell no one what had happened.
