21 Adonai remembered Sarah as he had said, and Adonai did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah conceived and bore Avraham a son in his old age, at the very time God had said to him. ³ Avraham called his son, born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Yitz’chak. ⁴ Avraham circumcised his son Yitz’chak when he was eight days old, as God had ordered him to do.

(v) ⁵ Avraham was one hundred years old when his son Yitz’chak [laughter] was born to him. ⁶ Sarah said, “God has given me good reason to laugh; now everyone who hears about it will laugh with me.” ⁷ And she said, “Who would have said to Avraham that Sarah would nurse children? Nevertheless, I have borne him a son in his old age!”

⁸ The child grew and was weaned, and Avraham gave a great banquet on the day that Yitz’chak was weaned. ⁹ But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom Hagar had borne to Avraham, making fun of Yitz’chak; ¹⁰ so Sarah said to Avraham, “Throw this slave-girl out! And her son! I will not have this slave-girl’s son as your heir along with my son Yitz’chak!”

¹¹ Avraham became very distressed over this matter of his son. ¹² But God said to Avraham, “Don’t be distressed because of the boy and your slave-girl. Listen to everything Sarah says to you, because it is your descendants through Yitz’chak who will be counted. ¹³ But I will also make a nation from the son of the slave-girl, since he is descended from you.”

¹⁴ Avraham got up early in the morning, took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child; then he sent her away. After leaving, she wandered in the desert around Be’er-Sheva. ¹⁵ When the water in the skin was gone, she left the child under a bush, ¹⁶ and went and sat down, looking the other way, about a bow-shot’s distance from him; because she said, “I can’t bear to watch my child die.” So she sat there, looking the other way, crying out and weeping. ¹⁷ God heard the boy’s voice, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong with you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, because God has heard the voice of the boy in his present situation. ¹⁸ Get up, lift the boy up, and hold him tightly in your hand, because I am going to make him a great nation.” ¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went, filled the skin with water and gave the boy water to drink.

²⁰ God was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the desert and became an archer. ²¹ He lived in the Pa’ran Desert, and his mother chose a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

(vi) ²² At that time Avimelekh and Pikhol the commander of his army spoke to Avraham. They said, “God is with you in everything you do. ²³ Therefore, swear to me here by God that you will never deal falsely with me or with my son or grandson; but according to the kindness with which I have treated you, you will treat me and the land in which you have lived as a foreigner. ²⁴ Avraham said, “I swear it.”

²⁵ Now Avraham had complained to Avimelekh about a well which Avimelekh’s servants had seized. ²⁶ Avimelekh answered, “I don’t know who has done this. You didn’t tell me, and I heard about it only today.” ²⁷ Avraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Avimelekh, and the two of them made a covenant. ²⁸ Avraham put seven female lambs from the flock by themselves. ²⁹ Avimelekh asked Avraham, “What is the meaning of these seven female lambs you have put by themselves?” ³⁰ He answered, “You are to accept these seven female lambs from me as witness that I dug this well.” ³¹ This is why that place was called Be’er-Sheva [well of seven, well of an oath] — because they both swore an oath there. ³² When they made the covenant at Be’er-Sheva, Avimelekh departed with Pikhol the commander of his army and returned to the land of the P’lishtim. ³³ Avraham planted a tamarisk tree in Be’er-Sheva, and there he called on the name of Adonai, the everlasting God. ³⁴ Avraham lived for a long time as a foreigner in the land of the P’lishtim.

29 “‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work; it is a day of blowing the shofar for you. ² Prepare a burnt offering to make a fragrant aroma for Adonai — one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs in their first year and without defect — ³ with their grain offering, consisting of fine flour mixed with olive oil — six quarts for the bull, four quarts for the ram, ⁴ and two quarts for each of the seven lambs — ⁵ also one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you. ⁶ This is to be in addition to the burnt offering for Rosh-Hodesh with its grain offering, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to the rule for them; this will be a fragrant aroma, an offering made by fire to Adonai.

1 There was a man from Ramatayim-Tzofim, in the hills of Efrayim, whose name was Elkanah the son of Yerocham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tochu, the son of Tzuf, from Efrat. ² He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other P’ninah. P’ninah had children, but Hannah had no children. ³ This man went up from his city every year to worship and sacrifice to Adonai-Tzva’ot in Shiloh. The two sons of ‘Eli, Hofni and Pinchas, were cohanim of Adonai there.

⁴ One day, when Elkanah was sacrificing, he gave a portion of the sacrifice to his wife P’ninah and portions to each of her sons and daughters; ⁵ but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved Hannah, even though Adonai had kept her from having children. ⁶ Her rival taunted her and made her feel bad, because Adonai had kept her from having children. ⁷ He did the same every year; and each time she went up to the house of Adonai, she taunted her so much that she would cry and not eat. ⁸ Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you crying, and why aren’t you eating? Why be so sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” ⁹ So Hannah got up after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. ‘Eli the cohen was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of the temple of Adonai. ¹⁰ In deep depression she prayed to Adonai and cried. ¹¹ Then she took a vow; she said, “Adonai-Tzva’ot, if you will notice how humiliated your servant is, if you will remember me and not forget your servant but will give your servant a male child, then I will give him to Adonai for as long as he lives; and no razor will ever come on his head.” ¹² She prayed for a long time before Adonai; and as she did so, ‘Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ Hannah was speaking in her heart — her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard — so ‘Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴ ‘Eli said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Stop drinking your wine!” ¹⁵ But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a very unhappy woman. I have not drunk either wine or other strong liquor; rather, I’ve been pouring out my soul before Adonai. ¹⁶ Don’t think of your servant as a worthless woman; because I have been speaking from the depth of my distress and anger.” ¹⁷ Then ‘Eli replied, “Go in peace. May the God of Isra’el grant what you have asked of him.” ¹⁸ She replied, “May your servant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went on her way, and she ate, and her face was no longer sad. ¹⁹ They got up early in the morning and worshipped before Adonai, then returned and came to their house in Ramah.

Elkanah had sexual relations with Hannah his wife, and Adonai remembered her. ²⁰ She conceived; and in due time she gave birth to a son, whom she named Sh’mu’el, “because I asked Adonai for him.”

²¹ The husband, Elkanah, went up with all his household to offer the yearly sacrifice to Adonai and fulfill his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, explaining to her husband, “Not till the child has been weaned. Then I will bring him, so that he can appear before Adonai and live there forever.” ²³ Her husband Elkanah answered her, “Do what seems good to you; stay here until you have weaned him. Only may Adonai bring about what he said.” So the woman stayed behind and nursed the child, until she weaned him. ²⁴ After weaning him, she took him up with her, along with three young bulls, a bushel of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of Adonai in Shiloh, even though he was just a child. ²⁵ After the bull had been slaughtered, the child was brought to ‘Eli; ²⁶ and she said, “My lord, as sure as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here near you, praying to Adonai. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and Adonai has granted the request I asked of him. ²⁸ Therefore, I too have loaned him to Adonai — as long as he lives, he is on loan to Adonai.” And he prostrated himself there before Adonai.

¹³ Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people ¹⁴ do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died. ¹⁵ When we say this, we base it on the Lord’s own word: we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; ¹⁷ then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words.