Isaac Is Born^(A)

21 And the Lord ^(B)visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah ^(C)as He had spoken. ² For Sarah ^(D)conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, ^(E)at the set time of which God had spoken to him. ³ And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—^(F)Isaac.^{[a] 4} Then Abraham ^(G)circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, ^(H)as God had commanded him. ⁵ Now ^(I)Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. ⁶ And Sarah said, ^(J)“God has ^[b]made me laugh, and all who hear ^(K)will laugh with me.” ⁷ She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? ^(L)For I have borne him a son in his old age.”

Hagar and Ishmael Depart^(M)

⁸ So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.

⁹ And Sarah saw the son of Hagar ^(N)the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, ^(O)scoffing.^{[c] 10} Therefore she said to Abraham, ^(P)“Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” ¹¹ And the matter was very ^[d]displeasing in Abraham’s sight ^(Q)because of his son.

¹² But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for ^(R)in Isaac your seed shall be called. ¹³ Yet I will also make ^(S)a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your ^[e]seed.”

¹⁴ So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and ^[f]a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and ^(T)sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. ¹⁵ And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. ¹⁶ Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.

¹⁷ And ^(U)God heard the voice of the lad. Then the ^(V)angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. ¹⁸ Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for ^(W)I will make him a great nation.”

¹⁹ Then ^(X)God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. ²⁰ So God ^(Y)was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, ^(Z)and became an archer. ²¹ He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother ^(AA)took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

A Covenant with Abimelech

²² And it came to pass at that time that ^(AB)Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, ^(AC)“God is with you in all that you do. ²³ Now therefore, ^(AD)swear^[g] to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.”

²⁴ And Abraham said, “I will swear.”

²⁵ Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants ^(AE)had seized. ²⁶ And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.” ²⁷ So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them ^(AF)made a ^[h]covenant. ²⁸ And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

²⁹ Then Abimelech asked Abraham, ^(AG)“What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?”

³⁰ And he said, “You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that ^(AH)they may be my witness that I have dug this well.” ³¹ Therefore he ^(AI)called that place ^[i]Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there.

³² Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. ³³ Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and ^(AJ)there called on the name of the Lord, ^(AK)the Everlasting God. ³⁴ And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.

Abraham’s Faith Confirmed^(A)

22 Now it came to pass after these things that ^(B)God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

² Then He said, “Take now your son, ^(C)your only son Isaac, whom you ^(D)love, and go ^(E)to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a ^(F)burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

³ So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴ Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. ⁵ And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the ^[a]lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will ^(G)come back to you.”

⁶ So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and ^(H)laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. ⁷ But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”

And he said, “Here I am, my son.”

Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the ^[b]lamb for a burnt offering?”

⁸ And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the ^(I)lamb for a ^(J)burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

⁹ Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and ^(K)laid him on the altar, upon the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

¹¹ But the ^(L)Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

So he said, “Here I am.”

¹² And He said, ^(M)“Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for ^(N)now I know that you fear God, since you have not ^(O)withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

¹³ Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ And Abraham called the name of the place, ^[c]The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

¹⁵ Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, ¹⁶ and said: ^(P)“By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— ¹⁷ blessing I will ^(Q)bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants ^(R)as the stars of the heaven ^(S)and as the sand which is on the seashore; and ^(T)your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. ^18 (U)In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, ^(V)because you have obeyed My voice.” ¹⁹ So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to ^(W)Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

The Family of Nahor

²⁰ Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, “Indeed ^(X)Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: ^21 (Y)Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father ^(Z)of Aram, ²² Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” ²³ And ^(AA)Bethuel begot ^[d]Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. ²⁴ His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.

The Twelve Apostles^(A)

10 And ^(B)when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. ² Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^(C)who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and ^[a]Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; ^4 (D)Simon the ^[b]Cananite, and Judas ^(E)Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

Sending Out the Twelve^(F)

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: ^(G)“Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of ^(H)the Samaritans. ^6 (I)But go rather to the ^(J)lost sheep of the house of Israel. ^7 (K)And as you go, preach, saying, ^(L)‘The kingdom of heaven ^[c]is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, ^[d]cleanse the lepers, ^[e]raise the dead, cast out demons. ^(M)Freely you have received, freely give. ^9 (N)Provide neither gold nor silver nor ^(O)copper in your money belts, ¹⁰ nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; ^(P)for a worker is worthy of his food.

^11 (Q)“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. ¹² And when you go into a household, greet it. ^13 (R)If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. ^(S)But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ^14 (T)And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, ^(U)shake off the dust from your feet. ¹⁵ Assuredly, I say to you, ^(V)it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

Persecutions Are Coming^(W)

^16 (X)“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. ^(Y)Therefore be wise as serpents and ^(Z)harmless^[f] as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men, for ^(AA)they will deliver you up to councils and ^(AB)scourge you in their synagogues. ^18 (AC)You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ^19 (AD)But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For ^(AE)it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; ^20 (AF)for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

^21 (AG)“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²² And ^(AH)you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. ^(AI)But he who endures to the end will be saved. ^23 (AJ)When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have ^(AK)gone through the cities of Israel ^(AL)before the Son of Man comes.

^24 (AM)“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If ^(AN)they have called the master of the house ^[g]Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! ²⁶ Therefore do not fear them. ^(AO)For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

Jesus Teaches the Fear of God^(AP)

²⁷ “Whatever I tell you in the dark, ^(AQ)speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. ^28 (AR)And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather ^(AS)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ^[h]hell. ²⁹ Are not two ^(AT)sparrows sold for a ^[i]copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ^30 (AU)But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Confess Christ Before Men^(AV)

^32 (AW)“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, ^(AX)him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. ^33 (AY)But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

Christ Brings Division^(AZ)

^34 (BA)“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to ^(BB)‘set^[j] a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; ³⁶ and ^(BC)‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ ^37 (BD)He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ^38 (BE)And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ^39 (BF)He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

A Cup of Cold Water^(BG)

^40 (BH)“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. ^41 (BI)He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ^42 (BJ)And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”