The Call of Abram

12 Now ^(A)the Lord said^[a] to Abram, “Go from your country^[b] and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. ^2 (B)And 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. ^3 (C)I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and ^(D)in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”^[c]

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from ^(E)Haran.

⁵ And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and ^(A)number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, ^(B)“So shall your offspring be.”

¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ^(A)“To your offspring I give^[a] this land, from ^(B)the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

¹⁷ I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring ^(A)as the stars of heaven and ^(B)as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess ^(C)the gate of his^[a] enemies,

⁴ When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, ^(A)God called to him ^(B)out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵ Then he said, “Do not come near; ^(C)take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ And he said, ^(D)“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for ^(E)he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Then the Lord said, ^(F)“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their ^(G)taskmasters. I know their sufferings, ⁸ and ^(H)I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and ^(I)to bring them up out of that land to a ^(J)good and broad land, a land ^(K)flowing with milk and honey, to the place of ^(L)the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹ And now, behold, ^(M)the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the ^(N)oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ^10 (O)Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” ¹¹ But Moses said to God, ^(P)“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹² He said, ^(Q)“But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, ^(R)you shall serve God on this mountain.”

¹³ Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”^[a] And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ^(S)‘I am has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord,^[b] the ^(T)God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is ^(U)my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. ¹⁶ Go and ^(V)gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, ^(W)“I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, ¹⁷ and I promise that ^(X)I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land ^(Y)flowing with milk and honey.”’ ¹⁸ And ^(Z)they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel ^(AA)shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has ^(AB)met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ ¹⁹ But I know that the king of Egypt ^(AC)will not let you go unless compelled ^(AD)by a mighty hand.^{[c] 20} So ^(AE)I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with ^(AF)all the wonders that I will do in it; ^(AG)after that he will let you go. ²¹ And ^(AH)I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, ²² but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for ^(AI)silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So ^(AJ)you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

Oholiab and Bezalel

31 The Lord said to Moses, ² “See, I have called by name ^(A)Bezalel the son of Uri, son of ^(B)Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³ and I have ^(C)filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, ⁴ to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, ⁵ in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. ⁶ And behold, I have appointed with him ^(D)Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ^(E)ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: ^7 (F)the tent of meeting, and ^(G)the ark of the testimony, and ^(H)the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, ^8 (I)the table and its utensils, and ^(J)the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and ^(K)the altar of incense, ⁹ and ^(L)the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and ^(M)the basin and its stand, ¹⁰ and ^(N)the finely worked garments,^[a] the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, ¹¹ and ^(O)the anointing oil and the fragrant ^(P)incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”

The Lord Calls Samuel

3 ^(A)Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. ^(B)And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

² At that time Eli, ^(C)whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. ^3 (D)The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down ^(E)in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

⁴ Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” ⁵ and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

⁶ And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” ⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

⁸ And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” ¹¹ Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel ^(F)at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. ¹² On that day I will fulfill against Eli ^(G)all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ^13 (H)And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, ^(I)because his sons were blaspheming God,^{[a] (J)}and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴ Therefore I swear to the house of Eli ^(K)that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵ Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. ¹⁶ But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷ And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. ^(L)May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, ^(M)“It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”

^19 (N)And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him ^(O)and let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰ And all Israel ^(P)from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel ^(Q)at Shiloh ^(R)by the word of the Lord.

Isaiah's Vision of the Lord

6 In the year that ^(A)King Uzziah died I ^(B)saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train^[a] of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him stood the seraphim. Each had ^(C)six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one called to another and said:

⁴ And ^(F)the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and ^(G)the house was filled with smoke. ⁵ And I said: “Woe is me! ^(H)For I am lost; ^(I)for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the ^(J)King, the Lord of hosts!”

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ And he ^(K)touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah's Commission from the Lord

⁸ And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for ^(L)us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” ⁹ And he said, “Go, and say to this people: