God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

Abraham and Abimelech

20 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between ^(A)Kadesh and Shur; and he ^(B)sojourned in ^(C)Gerar. ² And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, ^(D)“She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. ^3 (E)But God came to Abimelech ^(F)in 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, ^(G)“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 ^(H)against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now then, return the man's wife, ^(I)for 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 ^(J)and 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, ^(K)‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and ^(L)they will kill me because of my wife.’ ¹² Besides, ^(M)she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. ¹³ And when ^(N)God 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, ^(O)say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

¹⁴ Then Abimelech ^(P)took 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, ^(Q)my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” ¹⁶ To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given ^(R)your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is ^(S)a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all^[a] who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” ¹⁷ Then ^(T)Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. ¹⁸ For the Lord ^(U)had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

I Am the Good Shepherd

10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ^5 (A)A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ This figure of speech Jesus ^(B)used with them, but they ^(C)did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷ So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(D)I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, ^(E)he will be saved and will go in and out and ^(F)find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and ^(G)kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. ^11 (H)I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd ^(I)lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² He who is ^(J)a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ^(K)leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and ^(L)scatters them. ¹³ He flees because ^(M)he is a hired hand and ^(N)cares nothing for the sheep. ^14 (O)I am the good shepherd. ^(P)I know my own and ^(Q)my own know me, ^15 (R)just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and ^(S)I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And ^(T)I have other sheep that are not of this fold. ^(U)I must bring them also, and ^(V)they will listen to my voice. So there will be ^(W)one flock, ^(X)one shepherd. ^17 (Y)For this reason the Father loves me, ^(Z)because ^(AA)I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ^18 (AB)No one takes it from me, but ^(AC)I lay it down ^(AD)of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and ^(AE)I have authority to take it up again. ^(AF)This charge I have received from my Father.”

^19 (AG)There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. ²⁰ Many of them said, ^(AH)“He has a demon, and ^(AI)is insane; why listen to him?” ²¹ Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. ^(AJ)Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”