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Abram’s family moves to Canaan

12 The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,
    those who curse you I will curse;
        all the families of the earth
            will be blessed because of you.”[a]

Abram left just as the Lord told him, and Lot went with him. Now Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 12:3 Or will bless themselves because of you; or will find a blessing because of you

The Call of Abram

12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.(A) I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.(B) I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”[a](C)

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 12.3 Or by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves

Psalm 121

A pilgrimage song.

121 I raise my eyes toward the mountains.
    Where will my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the maker of heaven and earth.
God won’t let your foot slip.
    Your protector won’t fall asleep on the job.
No! Israel’s protector
    never sleeps or rests!
The Lord is your protector;
    the Lord is your shade right beside you.
The sun won’t strike you during the day;
    neither will the moon at night.
The Lord will protect you from all evil;
    God will protect your very life.[a]
The Lord will protect you on your journeys—
    whether going or coming—
    from now until forever from now.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 121:7 Or your soul

Psalm 121

Assurance of God’s Protection

A Song of Ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
    from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.(A)

He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.(B)
He who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand.(C)
The sun shall not strike you by day
    nor the moon by night.(D)

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.(E)
The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time on and forevermore.(F)

Abraham’s faith was credited as righteousness

So what are we going to say? Are we going to find that Abraham is our ancestor on the basis of genealogy? Because if Abraham was made righteous because of his actions, he would have had a reason to brag, but not in front of God. What does the scripture say? Abraham had faith in God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.[a] Workers’ salaries aren’t credited to them on the basis of an employer’s grace but rather on the basis of what they deserve. But faith is credited as righteousness to those who don’t work, because they have faith in God who makes the ungodly righteous.

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 4:3 Gen 15:6

The Example of Abraham

What then are we to say was gained by[a] Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.(A) For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed[b] God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”(B) Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due.(C) But to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.

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Footnotes

  1. 4.1 Other ancient authorities read say about
  2. 4.3 Or trusted in

Abraham’s promise is received through faith

13 The promise to Abraham and to his descendants, that he would inherit the world, didn’t come through the Law but through the righteousness that comes from faith. 14 If they inherit because of the Law, then faith has no effect and the promise has been canceled. 15 The Law brings about wrath. But when there isn’t any law, there isn’t any violation of the law. 16 That’s why the inheritance comes through faith, so that it will be on the basis of God’s grace. In that way, the promise is secure for all of Abraham’s descendants, not just for those who are related by Law but also for those who are related by the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us. 17 As it is written: I have appointed you to be the father of many nations.[a] So Abraham is our father in the eyes of God in whom he had faith, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that don’t exist into existence.

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God’s Promise Realized through Faith

13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.(A) 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there transgression.(B)

16 For this reason the promise depends on faith, in order that it may rest on grace, so that it may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (who is the father of all of us,(C) 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”), in the presence of the God in whom he believed,[a] who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 4.17 Or trusted

Jesus and Nicodemus

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a Jewish leader. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could do these miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him.”

Jesus answered, “I assure you, unless someone is born anew,[a] it’s not possible to see God’s kingdom.”

Nicodemus asked, “How is it possible for an adult to be born? It’s impossible to enter the mother’s womb for a second time and be born, isn’t it?”

Jesus answered, “I assure you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, it’s not possible to enter God’s kingdom. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Don’t be surprised that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ God’s Spirit[b] blows wherever it wishes. You hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. It’s the same with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said, “How are these things possible?”

10 “Jesus answered, “You are a teacher of Israel and you don’t know these things? 11 I assure you that we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but you don’t receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Human One.[c] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must the Human One[d] be lifted up 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. 16 God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. 17 God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

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Footnotes

  1. John 3:3 Or from above
  2. John 3:8 Or wind
  3. John 3:13 Or Son of Man
  4. John 3:14 Or Son of Man

Nicodemus Visits Jesus

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus[a] by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.”(A) Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”[b](B) Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.(C) What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You[c] must be born from above.’[d] The wind[e] blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”(D) Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”(E) 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

11 “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet you[f] do not receive our testimony.(F) 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.[g](G) 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,(H) 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.[h](I)

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.(J)

17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.(K)

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Footnotes

  1. 3.2 Gk him
  2. 3.3 Or born anew
  3. 3.7 The Greek word for you here is plural
  4. 3.7 Or born anew
  5. 3.8 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit
  6. 3.11 The Greek word for you here and in 3.12 is plural
  7. 3.13 Other ancient authorities add who is in heaven
  8. 3.15 Some interpreters hold that the quotation concludes with 3.15