God’s Covenant with Abram^(A)

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram ^(B)in a vision, saying, ^(C)“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your ^(D)shield, ^[a]your exceedingly ^(E)great reward.”

^2 (F)But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, ^(G)seeing I ^[b]go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed ^(H)one^[c] born in my house is my heir!”

⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who ^(I)will come from your own body shall be your heir.” ⁵ Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and ^(J)count the ^(K)stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, ^(L)“So shall your ^(M)descendants be.”

⁶ And he ^(N)believed in the Lord, and He ^(O)accounted it to him for righteousness.

⁷ Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who ^(P)brought you out of ^(Q)Ur of the Chaldeans, ^(R)to give you this land to inherit it.”

⁸ And he said, “Lord God, ^(S)how shall I know that I will inherit it?”

⁹ So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ Then he brought all these to Him and ^(T)cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut ^(U)the birds in two. ¹¹ And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

¹² Now when the sun was going down, ^(V)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly ^(W)that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and ^(X)they will afflict them four hundred years. ¹⁴ And also the nation whom they serve ^(Y)I will judge; afterward ^(Z)they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ Now as for you, ^(AA)you shall ^[d]go ^(AB)to your fathers in peace; ^(AC)you shall be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ But ^(AD)in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity ^(AE)of the Amorites ^(AF)is not yet complete.”

¹⁷ And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that ^(AG)passed between those pieces. ¹⁸ On the same day the Lord ^(AH)made a covenant with Abram, saying:

^(AI)“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— ¹⁹ the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, ^(AJ)had borne him no children. And she had ^(AK)an Egyptian maidservant whose name was ^(AL)Hagar. ^2 (AM)So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord ^(AN)has restrained me from bearing children. Please, ^(AO)go in to my maid; perhaps I shall ^[e]obtain children by her.” And Abram ^(AP)heeded the voice of Sarai. ³ Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram ^(AQ)had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. ⁴ So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became ^(AR)despised in her ^[f]eyes.

⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, ^[g]“My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. ^(AS)The Lord judge between you and me.”

^6 (AT)So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, ^(AU)she fled from her presence.

⁷ Now the ^(AV)Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, ^(AW)by the spring on the way to ^(AX)Shur. ⁸ And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

⁹ The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and ^(AY)submit yourself under her hand.” ¹⁰ Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, ^(AZ)“I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” ¹¹ And the Angel of the Lord said to her:

¹³ Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-^[i]the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here ^[j]seen Him ^(BD)who sees me?” ¹⁴ Therefore the well was called ^(BE)Beer Lahai Roi;^[k] observe, it is ^(BF)between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ So ^(BG)Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

The Sign of the Covenant^(BH)

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord ^(BI)appeared to Abram and said to him, ^(BJ)“I am ^[l]Almighty God; ^(BK)walk before Me and be ^(BL)blameless. ² And I will make My ^(BM)covenant between Me and you, and ^(BN)will multiply you exceedingly.” ³ Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: ⁴ “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be ^(BO)a father of ^[m]many nations. ⁵ No longer shall ^(BP)your name be called ^[n]Abram, but your name shall be ^[o]Abraham; ^(BQ)for I have made you a father of ^[p]many nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make ^(BR)nations of you, and ^(BS)kings shall come from you. ⁷ And I will ^(BT)establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, ^(BU)to be God to you and ^(BV)your descendants after you. ⁸ Also ^(BW)I give to you and your descendants after you the land ^(BX)in^[q] which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and ^(BY)I will be their God.”

⁹ And God said to Abraham: “As for you, ^(BZ)you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. ¹⁰ This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: ^(CA)Every male child among you shall be circumcised; ¹¹ and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be ^(CB)a sign of the covenant between Me and you. ¹² He who is eight days old among you ^(CC)shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. ¹³ He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person ^(CD)shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but ^[r]Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶ And I will bless her ^(CE)and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother ^(CF)of nations; ^(CG)kings of peoples shall be from her.”

¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face ^(CH)and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” ¹⁸ And Abraham ^(CI)said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”

¹⁹ Then God said: “No, ^(CJ)Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My ^(CK)covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. ²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and ^(CL)will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget ^(CM)twelve princes, ^(CN)and I will make him a great nation. ²¹ But My ^(CO)covenant I will establish with Isaac, ^(CP)whom Sarah shall bear to you at this ^(CQ)set time next year.” ²² Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

²³ So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same 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 same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; ²⁷ and ^(CR)all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath^(A)

6 Now ^(B)it happened ^[a]on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. ² And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing ^(C)what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”

³ But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, ^(D)what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: ⁴ how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, ^(E)which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?” ⁵ And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Healing on the Sabbath^(F)

^6 (G)Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. ⁷ So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would ^(H)heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an ^(I)accusation against Him. ⁸ But He ^(J)knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: ^(K)Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or ^[b]to destroy?” ¹⁰ And when He had looked around at them all, He said to ^[c]the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored ^[d]as whole as the other. ¹¹ But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

The Twelve Apostles^(L)

¹² Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in ^(M)prayer to God. ¹³ And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; ^(N)and from them He chose ^(O)twelve whom He also named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, ^(P)whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas ^(Q)the son of James, and ^(R)Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

Jesus Heals a Great Multitude^(S)

¹⁷ And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples ^(T)and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, ¹⁸ as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. ¹⁹ And the whole multitude ^(U)sought to ^(V)touch Him, for ^(W)power went out from Him and healed them all.

The Beatitudes^(X)

²⁰ Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

Jesus Pronounces Woes

Love Your Enemies^(AO)

^27 (AP)“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ^28 (AQ)bless those who curse you, and ^(AR)pray for those who spitefully use you. ^29 (AS)To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. ^(AT)And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. ^30 (AU)Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. ^31 (AV)And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

^32 (AW)“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ^34 (AX)And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. ³⁵ But ^(AY)love your enemies, ^(AZ)do good, and ^(BA)lend, ^[h]hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and ^(BB)you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. ^36 (BC)Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Do Not Judge^(BD)

^37 (BE)“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. ^(BF)Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ^38 (BG)Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your ^(BH)bosom. For ^(BI)with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

³⁹ And He spoke a parable to them: ^(BJ)“Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? ^40 (BK)A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. ^41 (BL)And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? ⁴² Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit^(BM)

^43 (BN)“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ For ^(BO)every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. ^45 (BP)A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil ^[i]treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out ^(BQ)of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Build on the Rock^(BR)

^46 (BS)“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? ^47 (BT)Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was ^[j]founded on the rock. ⁴⁹ But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it ^[k]fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”