¹⁷ Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?”

¹⁶ The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him.

⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.”

⁶ And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter.^[a] All who hear about this will laugh with me.

¹² So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?”

³ At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him,

¹⁹ And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.

²⁰ Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.

²⁸ All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me.

⁸ And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.

²⁰ Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship.