18 And the Lord appeared to him by the ^(A)oaks^[a] 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. ^(B)When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth ³ and said, “O Lord,^[b] if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. ⁴ Let a ^(C)little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, ⁵ while I bring a morsel of bread, that ^(D)you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—^(E)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^[c] 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 ^(F)in the tent.” ¹⁰ The Lord said, “I will surely return to you ^(G)about this time next year, and ^(H)Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. ¹¹ Now ^(I)Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. ^12 (J)So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ^(K)“After I am worn out, and ^(L)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 (M)Is anything too hard^[d] for the Lord? ^(N)At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”

^21 (A)And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, ^(B)doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled ^(C)in his body of flesh by his death, ^(D)in order to present you holy and blameless and ^(E)above reproach before him, ^23 (F)if indeed you continue in the faith, ^(G)stable and steadfast, not shifting from ^(H)the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed ^(I)in all creation^[a] under heaven, ^(J)and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Paul's Ministry to the Church

²⁴ Now ^(K)I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh ^(L)I am filling up ^(M)what is lacking in Christ's afflictions ^(N)for the sake of his body, that is, the church, ^25 (O)of which I became a minister according to ^(P)the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, ^26 (Q)the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. ^27 (R)To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are ^(S)the riches of the glory of ^(T)this mystery, which is Christ in you, ^(U)the hope of glory. ²⁸ Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that ^(V)we may present everyone ^(W)mature in Christ. ²⁹ For this ^(X)I toil, ^(Y)struggling ^(Z)with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Martha and Mary

³⁸ Now as they went on their way, Jesus^[a] entered a village. And a woman named ^(A)Martha ^(B)welcomed him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called ^(C)Mary, who ^(D)sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are ^(E)anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is necessary.^[b] Mary has chosen ^(F)the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”