The Lord’s Sixth Promise to Abraham

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oak trees belonging to Mamre as he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day. ² Abraham looked up, and suddenly he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them, and he bowed with his face touching the ground.

³ “Please, sir,” Abraham said, “stop by to visit me for a while. ⁴ Why don’t we let someone bring a little water? After you wash your feet, you can stretch out and rest under the tree. ⁵ Let me bring some bread so that you can regain your strength. After that you can leave, since this is why you stopped by to visit me.”

They answered, “That’s fine. Do as you say.”

⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to find Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three measures of flour, knead it, and make bread.”

⁷ Then Abraham ran to the herd and took one of his best calves. He gave it to his servant, who prepared it quickly. ⁸ Abraham took cheese and milk, as well as the meat, and set these in front of them. Then he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

⁹ They asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?”

He answered, “Over there, in the tent.”

¹⁰ The Lord said, “I promise I’ll come back to you next year at this time, and your wife Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah happened to be listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were old. Sarah was past the age of childbearing. ¹² And so Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “Now that I’ve become old, will I enjoy myself again? What’s more, my husband is old!”

¹³ The Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really have a child now that I’m old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will come back to you next year at this time, and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁵ Because she was afraid, Sarah denied that she had laughed.

But the Lord said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

The Lord’s Sixth Promise to Abraham

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oak trees belonging to Mamre as he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day. ² Abraham looked up, and suddenly he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them, and he bowed with his face touching the ground.

³ “Please, sir,” Abraham said, “stop by to visit me for a while. ⁴ Why don’t we let someone bring a little water? After you wash your feet, you can stretch out and rest under the tree. ⁵ Let me bring some bread so that you can regain your strength. After that you can leave, since this is why you stopped by to visit me.”

They answered, “That’s fine. Do as you say.”

⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to find Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three measures of flour, knead it, and make bread.”

⁷ Then Abraham ran to the herd and took one of his best calves. He gave it to his servant, who prepared it quickly. ⁸ Abraham took cheese and milk, as well as the meat, and set these in front of them. Then he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

⁹ They asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?”

He answered, “Over there, in the tent.”

¹⁰ The Lord said, “I promise I’ll come back to you next year at this time, and your wife Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah happened to be listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were old. Sarah was past the age of childbearing. ¹² And so Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “Now that I’ve become old, will I enjoy myself again? What’s more, my husband is old!”

¹³ The Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really have a child now that I’m old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will come back to you next year at this time, and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁵ Because she was afraid, Sarah denied that she had laughed.

But the Lord said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

The Lord’s Sixth Promise to Abraham

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oak trees belonging to Mamre as he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day. ² Abraham looked up, and suddenly he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them, and he bowed with his face touching the ground.

³ “Please, sir,” Abraham said, “stop by to visit me for a while. ⁴ Why don’t we let someone bring a little water? After you wash your feet, you can stretch out and rest under the tree. ⁵ Let me bring some bread so that you can regain your strength. After that you can leave, since this is why you stopped by to visit me.”

They answered, “That’s fine. Do as you say.”

⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to find Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three measures of flour, knead it, and make bread.”

⁷ Then Abraham ran to the herd and took one of his best calves. He gave it to his servant, who prepared it quickly. ⁸ Abraham took cheese and milk, as well as the meat, and set these in front of them. Then he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

⁹ They asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?”

He answered, “Over there, in the tent.”

¹⁰ The Lord said, “I promise I’ll come back to you next year at this time, and your wife Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah happened to be listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were old. Sarah was past the age of childbearing. ¹² And so Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “Now that I’ve become old, will I enjoy myself again? What’s more, my husband is old!”

¹³ The Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really have a child now that I’m old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will come back to you next year at this time, and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁵ Because she was afraid, Sarah denied that she had laughed.

But the Lord said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Recalling John’s Death^(A)

¹⁴ King Herod heard about Jesus, because Jesus’ name had become well-known. Some people were saying, “John the Baptizer has come back to life. That’s why he has the power to perform these miracles.” ¹⁵ Others said, “He is Elijah.” Still others said, “He is a prophet like one of the other prophets.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard about it, he said, “I had John’s head cut off, and he has come back to life!”

¹⁷ Herod had sent men who had arrested John, tied him up, and put him in prison. Herod did that for Herodias, whom he had married. (She used to be his brother Philip’s wife.) ¹⁸ John had been telling Herod, “It’s not right for you to be married to your brother’s wife.”

¹⁹ So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she wasn’t allowed to do it ²⁰ because Herod was afraid of John. Herod knew that John was a fair and holy man, so he protected him. When he listened to John, he would become very disturbed, and yet he liked to listen to him.

²¹ An opportunity finally came on Herod’s birthday. Herod gave a dinner for his top officials, army officers, and the most important people of Galilee. ²² His daughter, that is, Herodias’ daughter, came in and danced. Herod and his guests were delighted with her. The king told the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” ²³ He swore an oath to her: “I’ll give you anything you ask for, up to half of my kingdom.”

²⁴ So she went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”

Her mother said, “Ask for the head of John the Baptizer.”

²⁵ So the girl hurried back to the king with her request. She said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptizer on a platter at once.”

²⁶ The king deeply regretted his promise. But because of his oath and his guests, he didn’t want to refuse her. ²⁷ Immediately, the king sent a guard and ordered him to bring John’s head. The guard cut off John’s head in prison. ²⁸ Then he brought the head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

²⁹ When John’s disciples heard about this, they came for his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand^(B)

³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus. They reported to him everything they had done and taught. ³¹ So he said to them, “Let’s go to a place where we can be alone to rest for a while.” Many people were coming and going, and Jesus and the apostles didn’t even have a chance to eat.

³² So they went away in a boat to a place where they could be alone. ³³ But many people saw them leave and recognized them. The people ran from all the cities and arrived ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd and felt sorry for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he spent a lot of time teaching them.

Recalling John’s Death^(A)

¹⁴ King Herod heard about Jesus, because Jesus’ name had become well-known. Some people were saying, “John the Baptizer has come back to life. That’s why he has the power to perform these miracles.” ¹⁵ Others said, “He is Elijah.” Still others said, “He is a prophet like one of the other prophets.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard about it, he said, “I had John’s head cut off, and he has come back to life!”

¹⁷ Herod had sent men who had arrested John, tied him up, and put him in prison. Herod did that for Herodias, whom he had married. (She used to be his brother Philip’s wife.) ¹⁸ John had been telling Herod, “It’s not right for you to be married to your brother’s wife.”

¹⁹ So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she wasn’t allowed to do it ²⁰ because Herod was afraid of John. Herod knew that John was a fair and holy man, so he protected him. When he listened to John, he would become very disturbed, and yet he liked to listen to him.

²¹ An opportunity finally came on Herod’s birthday. Herod gave a dinner for his top officials, army officers, and the most important people of Galilee. ²² His daughter, that is, Herodias’ daughter, came in and danced. Herod and his guests were delighted with her. The king told the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” ²³ He swore an oath to her: “I’ll give you anything you ask for, up to half of my kingdom.”

²⁴ So she went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”

Her mother said, “Ask for the head of John the Baptizer.”

²⁵ So the girl hurried back to the king with her request. She said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptizer on a platter at once.”

²⁶ The king deeply regretted his promise. But because of his oath and his guests, he didn’t want to refuse her. ²⁷ Immediately, the king sent a guard and ordered him to bring John’s head. The guard cut off John’s head in prison. ²⁸ Then he brought the head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

²⁹ When John’s disciples heard about this, they came for his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand^(B)

³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus. They reported to him everything they had done and taught. ³¹ So he said to them, “Let’s go to a place where we can be alone to rest for a while.” Many people were coming and going, and Jesus and the apostles didn’t even have a chance to eat.

³² So they went away in a boat to a place where they could be alone. ³³ But many people saw them leave and recognized them. The people ran from all the cities and arrived ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd and felt sorry for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he spent a lot of time teaching them.

Recalling John’s Death^(A)

¹⁴ King Herod heard about Jesus, because Jesus’ name had become well-known. Some people were saying, “John the Baptizer has come back to life. That’s why he has the power to perform these miracles.” ¹⁵ Others said, “He is Elijah.” Still others said, “He is a prophet like one of the other prophets.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard about it, he said, “I had John’s head cut off, and he has come back to life!”

¹⁷ Herod had sent men who had arrested John, tied him up, and put him in prison. Herod did that for Herodias, whom he had married. (She used to be his brother Philip’s wife.) ¹⁸ John had been telling Herod, “It’s not right for you to be married to your brother’s wife.”

¹⁹ So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she wasn’t allowed to do it ²⁰ because Herod was afraid of John. Herod knew that John was a fair and holy man, so he protected him. When he listened to John, he would become very disturbed, and yet he liked to listen to him.

²¹ An opportunity finally came on Herod’s birthday. Herod gave a dinner for his top officials, army officers, and the most important people of Galilee. ²² His daughter, that is, Herodias’ daughter, came in and danced. Herod and his guests were delighted with her. The king told the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” ²³ He swore an oath to her: “I’ll give you anything you ask for, up to half of my kingdom.”

²⁴ So she went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”

Her mother said, “Ask for the head of John the Baptizer.”

²⁵ So the girl hurried back to the king with her request. She said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptizer on a platter at once.”

²⁶ The king deeply regretted his promise. But because of his oath and his guests, he didn’t want to refuse her. ²⁷ Immediately, the king sent a guard and ordered him to bring John’s head. The guard cut off John’s head in prison. ²⁸ Then he brought the head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

²⁹ When John’s disciples heard about this, they came for his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand^(B)

³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus. They reported to him everything they had done and taught. ³¹ So he said to them, “Let’s go to a place where we can be alone to rest for a while.” Many people were coming and going, and Jesus and the apostles didn’t even have a chance to eat.

³² So they went away in a boat to a place where they could be alone. ³³ But many people saw them leave and recognized them. The people ran from all the cities and arrived ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd and felt sorry for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he spent a lot of time teaching them.