Isaac's Birth Promised

¹⁵ And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah^[a] shall be her name. ¹⁶ I will bless her, and moreover, I will ^(A)give^[b] you a son by her. I will bless her, and ^(B)she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” ¹⁷ Then Abraham ^(C)fell on his face ^(D)and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall 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, “No, but ^(E)Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name ^(F)Isaac.^[c] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and ^(G)multiply him greatly. He ^(H)shall father twelve princes, and ^(I)I will make him into a great nation. ²¹ But ^(J)I will establish my covenant with Isaac, ^(K)whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”

²² When he had finished talking with him, ^(L)God 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.

18 And the Lord appeared to him by the ^(M)oaks^[d] of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. ² He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. ^(N)When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth ³ and said, “O Lord,^[e] if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. ⁴ Let a ^(O)little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, ⁵ while I bring a morsel of bread, that ^(P)you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—^(Q)since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” ⁶ And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs^[f] of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” ⁷ And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. ⁸ Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

⁹ They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is ^(R)in the tent.” ¹⁰ The Lord said, “I will surely return to you ^(S)about this time next year, and ^(T)Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. ¹¹ Now ^(U)Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. ^12 (V)So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ^(W)“After I am worn out, and ^(X)my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” ¹³ The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ ^14 (Y)Is anything too hard^[g] for the Lord? ^(Z)At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁵ But Sarah denied it,^[h] saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

¹⁶ Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. ¹⁷ The Lord said, ^(AA)“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, ¹⁸ seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be ^(AB)blessed in him? ¹⁹ For I have ^(AC)chosen^[i] him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” ²⁰ Then the Lord said, “Because ^(AD)the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, ^21 (AE)I will go down to see whether they have done altogether^[j] according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, ^(AF)I will know.”

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

^22 (AG)So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham ^(AH)still stood before the Lord. ²³ Then Abraham drew near and said, ^(AI)“Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, ^(AJ)so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! ^(AK)Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” ²⁶ And the Lord said, ^(AL)“If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

²⁷ Abraham answered and said, ^(AM)“Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. ²⁸ Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹ Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” ³⁰ Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” ³¹ He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” ³² Then he said, ^(AN)“Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” ³³ And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and ^(A)sin which clings so closely, and ^(B)let us run ^(C)with endurance the race that is ^(D)set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, ^(E)who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising ^(F)the shame, and ^(G)is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Do Not Grow Weary

^3 (H)Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or ^(I)fainthearted. ⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

⁷ It is for discipline that you have to endure. ^(M)God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ If you are left without discipline, ^(N)in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹ Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to ^(O)the Father of spirits ^(P)and live? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, ^(Q)that we may share his holiness. ^11 (R)For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields ^(S)the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

¹² Therefore ^(T)lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, ¹³ and ^(U)make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint ^(V)but rather be healed. ^14 (W)Strive for peace with everyone, and for the ^(X)holiness ^(Y)without which no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one ^(Z)fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ^(AA)“root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; ¹⁶ that no one is ^(AB)sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. ¹⁷ For you know that ^(AC)afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

¹⁸ For you have not come to ^(AD)what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest ¹⁹ and ^(AE)the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words ^(AF)made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. ²⁰ For they could not endure the order that was given, ^(AG)“If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” ²¹ Indeed, ^(AH)so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” ²² But you have come to ^(AI)Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, ^(AJ)the heavenly Jerusalem, and to ^(AK)innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³ and to ^(AL)the assembly^[a] of the firstborn who are ^(AM)enrolled in heaven, and to ^(AN)God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ and to Jesus, ^(AO)the mediator of a new covenant, and to ^(AP)the sprinkled blood ^(AQ)that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵ See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For ^(AR)if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. ²⁶ At that time ^(AS)his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ^(AT)“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷ This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates ^(AU)the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore let us be grateful for receiving ^(AV)a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus ^(AW)let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our ^(AX)God is a consuming fire.

Sacrifices Pleasing to God

13 Let ^(AY)brotherly love continue. ^2 (AZ)Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby ^(BA)some have entertained angels unawares. ^3 (BB)Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. ^4 (BC)Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge ^(BD)the sexually immoral and adulterous. ⁵ Keep your life ^(BE)free from love of money, and ^(BF)be content with what you have, for he has said, ^(BG)“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶ So we can confidently say,

⁷ Remember ^(BJ)your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and ^(BK)imitate their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is ^(BL)the same yesterday and today and forever. ⁹ Do not be ^(BM)led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, ^(BN)not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. ¹⁰ We have an altar ^(BO)from which those who serve the tent^[b] have no right to eat. ¹¹ For ^(BP)the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned ^(BQ)outside the camp. ¹² So Jesus also ^(BR)suffered ^(BS)outside the gate in order to sanctify the people ^(BT)through his own blood. ¹³ Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear ^(BU)the reproach he endured. ¹⁴ For ^(BV)here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. ^15 (BW)Through him then let us continually offer up ^(BX)a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, ^(BY)the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. ¹⁶ Do not neglect to do good and ^(BZ)to share what you have, for such ^(CA)sacrifices are pleasing to God.

¹⁷ Obey ^(CB)your leaders and submit to them, ^(CC)for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to ^(CD)give an account. ^(CE)Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

^18 (CF)Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. ¹⁹ I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order ^(CG)that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Benediction

²⁰ Now ^(CH)may the God of peace ^(CI)who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, ^(CJ)the great shepherd of the sheep, by ^(CK)the blood of the eternal covenant, ^21 (CL)equip you with everything good that you may do his will, ^(CM)working in us^[c] that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, ^(CN)to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

²² I appeal to you, brothers,^[d] bear with my word of exhortation, for ^(CO)I have written to you briefly. ²³ You should know that ^(CP)our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. ²⁴ Greet all ^(CQ)your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. ^25 (CR)Grace be with all of you.