Genesis 21-23
Christian Standard Bible
The Birth of Isaac
21 The Lord came to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised.(A) 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him.(B) 3 Abraham named his son who was born to him—the one Sarah bore to him—Isaac.(C) 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him.(D) 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.(E)
6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.”[a](F) 7 She also said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him[b] in his old age.”
Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away
8 The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son mocking—the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham.(G) 10 So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!” (H)
11 This was very distressing to[c] Abraham because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed[d] about the boy and about your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac,(I) 13 and I will also make a nation of the slave’s son(J) because he is your offspring.”
14 Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes 16 and went and sat at a distance, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die!” While she sat at a distance, she[e] wept loudly.(K)
17 God heard the boy crying, and the[f] angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the boy crying from the place where he is. 18 Get up, help the boy up, and grasp his hand, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes,(L) and she saw a well. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Abraham’s Covenant with Abimelech
22 At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol the commander of his army,(M) said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.(N) 23 Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have been loyal to you, so you will be loyal to me and to the country where you are a resident alien.”
24 And Abraham said, “I swear it.” 25 But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well that Abimelech’s servants had seized.(O)
26 Abimelech replied, “I don’t know who did this thing. You didn’t report anything to me, so I hadn’t heard about it until today.”
27 Abraham took flocks and herds and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.(P) 28 Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from the flock. 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “Why have you separated these seven ewe lambs?”
30 He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from me so that this act[g] will serve as my witness that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba[h](Q) because it was there that the two of them swore an oath. 32 After they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.
33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.(R) 34 And Abraham lived as an alien in the land of the Philistines for many days.
The Sacrifice of Isaac
22 After these things God tested Abraham(S) and said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
2 “Take your son,” he said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love,(T) go to the land of Moriah,(U) and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
3 So Abraham got up early in the morning,(V) saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day(W) Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac.(X) In his hand he took the fire and the knife,(Y) and the two of them walked on together.
7 Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”
And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”
Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide[i](Z) the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together.
9 When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac[j] and placed him on the altar(AA) on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
He replied, “Here I am.”
12 Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.”(AB) 13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram[k] caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide,[l] so today it is said, “It will be provided[m] on the Lord’s mountain.”
15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn,”(AC) this is the Lord’s declaration: “Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you(AD) and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky(AE) and the sand on the seashore.(AF) Your offspring will possess the city gates of their[n] enemies.(AG) 18 And all the nations of the earth will be blessed[o] by your offspring(AH) because you have obeyed my command.”
19 Abraham went back to his young men, and they got up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham settled in Beer-sheba.
Rebekah’s Family
20 Now after these things Abraham was told, “Milcah also has borne sons to your brother Nahor:(AI) 21 Uz his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 And Bethuel fathered Rebekah.(AJ) Milcah bore these eight to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
Sarah’s Burial
23 Now Sarah lived 127 years; these were all the years of her life. 2 Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron(AK)) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3 When Abraham got up from beside his dead wife, he spoke to the Hethites: 4 “I am an alien residing among you.(AL) Give me burial property among you so that I can bury my dead.”[p](AM)
5 The Hethites replied to Abraham,[q] 6 “Listen to us, my lord. You are a prince of God[r] among us. Bury your dead in our finest burial place.[s] None of us will withhold from you his burial place for burying your dead.”
7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down to the Hethites, the people of the land. 8 He said to them, “If you are willing for me to bury my dead, listen to me and ask Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9 to give me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me in your presence, for the full price, as burial property.”
10 Ephron was sitting among the Hethites. So in the hearing[t] of all the Hethites who came to the gate of his city,(AN) Ephron the Hethite answered Abraham: 11 “No, my lord. Listen to me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the sight[u] of my people. Bury your dead.”
12 Abraham bowed down to the people of the land 13 and said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “Listen to me, if you please. Let me pay the price of the field. Accept it from me, and let me bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham and said to him, 15 “My lord, listen to me. Land worth four hundred shekels of silver(AO)—what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16 Abraham agreed with Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver that he had agreed to in the hearing of the Hethites: four hundred standard shekels[v] of silver.(AP) 17 So Ephron’s field(AQ) at Machpelah near Mamre—the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the boundaries of the field—became 18 Abraham’s possession in the sight of all the Hethites who came to the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 The field with its cave passed from the Hethites to Abraham(AR) as burial property.
Footnotes
- 21:6 Isaac = He Laughs; Gn 17:19
- 21:7 Sam, Tg Jonathan; MT omits him
- 21:11 Lit was very bad in the eyes of
- 21:12 Lit “Let it not be bad in your eyes
- 21:16 LXX reads the boy
- 21:17 Or an
- 21:30 Lit that it
- 21:31 = Well of the Oath, or Seven Wells
- 22:8 Lit see
- 22:9 Or Isaac hand and foot
- 22:13 Some Hb mss, Sam, LXX, Syr, Tg; other Hb mss read saw behind him a ram
- 22:14 = Yahweh-yireh
- 22:14 Or “He will be seen
- 22:17 Lit his
- 22:18 Or will consider themselves blessed, or will find blessing
- 23:4 Lit dead from before me
- 23:5 Lit Abraham, saying to him
- 23:6 Or a mighty prince
- 23:6 Or finest graves
- 23:10 Lit ears, also in vv. 13,16
- 23:11 Lit in the eyes of the sons
- 23:16 Lit 400 shekels passing to the merchant
Psalm 107
Christian Standard Bible
BOOK V
(Psalms 107–150)
Psalm 107
Thanksgiving for God’s Deliverance
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.(A)
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim
that he has redeemed them from the power of the foe(B)
3 and has gathered them from the lands—
from the east and the west,
from the north and the south.(C)
4 Some wandered in the desolate wilderness,
finding no way to a city where they could live.(D)
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
their spirits failed[a] within them.(E)
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
he rescued them from their distress.(F)
7 He led them by the right path
to go to a city where they could live.(G)
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all humanity.(H)
9 For he has satisfied the thirsty
and filled the hungry with good things.(I)
10 Others sat in darkness and gloom[b]—
prisoners in cruel chains(J)—
11 because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the counsel of the Most High.(K)
12 He broke their spirits[c] with hard labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.(L)
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
he saved them from their distress.(M)
14 He brought them out of darkness and gloom
and broke their chains apart.(N)
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all humanity.(O)
16 For he has broken down the bronze gates
and cut through the iron bars.(P)
17 Fools suffered affliction
because of their rebellious ways and their iniquities.(Q)
18 They loathed all food
and came near the gates of death.(R)
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
he saved them from their distress.(S)
20 He sent his word and healed them;
he rescued them from their traps.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all humanity.(T)
22 Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices
and announce his works with shouts of joy.(U)
23 Others went to sea in ships,
conducting trade on the vast water.(V)
24 They saw the Lord’s works,
his wondrous works in the deep.(W)
25 He spoke and raised a stormy wind
that stirred up the waves of the sea.[d](X)
26 Rising up to the sky, sinking down to the depths,
their courage[e] melting away in anguish,(Y)
27 they reeled and staggered like a drunkard,
and all their skill was useless.(Z)
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.(AA)
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.(AB)
30 They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet.
Then he guided them to the harbor they longed for.(AC)
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all humanity.(AD)
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.(AE)
33 He turns rivers into desert,
springs into thirsty ground,(AF)
34 and fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.(AG)
35 He turns a desert into a pool,
dry land into springs.(AH)
36 He causes the hungry to settle there,
and they establish a city where they can live.(AI)
37 They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield a fruitful harvest.(AJ)
38 He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;(AK)
he does not let their livestock decrease.(AL)
39 When they are diminished and are humbled
by cruel oppression and sorrow,(AM)
40 he pours contempt on nobles(AN)
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.(AO)
41 But he lifts the needy out of their suffering(AP)
and makes their families multiply like flocks.(AQ)
42 The upright see it and rejoice,(AR)
and all injustice shuts its mouth.(AS)
43 Let whoever is wise pay attention to these things
and consider the Lord’s acts of faithful love.(AT)
Mark 8
Christian Standard Bible
Feeding Four Thousand
8 In(A) those days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He called(B) the disciples(C) and said to them, 2 “I have compassion(D) on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way,(E) and some of them have come a long distance.”
4 His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed(F) these people?”
5 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked them.
“Seven,” they said. 6 He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke(G) them, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. So they served them to the crowd. 7 They also had a few small fish, and after he had blessed them, he said these were to be served as well. 8 They ate and were satisfied. Then they collected seven large baskets of leftover pieces. 9 About four thousand were there. He dismissed them. 10 And he immediately got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod
11 The(H) Pharisees(I) came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign(J) from heaven(K) to test(L) him. 12 Sighing deeply in his spirit,(M) he said, “Why does this generation(N) demand a sign? Truly I tell you,(O) no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 Then he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.
14 The disciples had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then(P) he gave them strict orders: “Watch out! Beware of the leaven[a](Q) of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”(R) 16 They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. 17 Aware of this, he said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact you have no bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Do you have hardened hearts?(S) 18 Do you have eyes and not see; do you have ears and not hear?[b](T) And do you not remember?(U) 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?”
“Twelve,” they told him.
20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you collect?”
“Seven,” they said.
21 And he said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?” (V)
Healing a Blind Man
22 They came to Bethsaida.(W) They brought a blind(X) man to him and begged him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting(Y) on his eyes and laying his hands on(Z) him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”
24 He looked up and said, “I see people—they look like trees walking.”(AA)
25 Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. 26 Then he sent(AB) him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”[c](AC)
Peter’s Confession of the Messiah
27 Jesus(AD) went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
28 They answered him, “John the Baptist;(AE) others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.”(AF)
29 “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?”
Peter(AG) answered him, “You are the Messiah.”(AH) 30 And he strictly warned(AI) them to tell no one about him.
His Death and Resurrection Predicted
31 Then(AJ) he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man(AK) to suffer many things and be rejected(AL) by the elders,(AM) chief priests, and scribes,(AN) be killed, and rise(AO) after three days.(AP) 32 He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan!(AQ) You are not thinking about God’s concerns[d] but human concerns.”
Take Up Your Cross
34 Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself,(AR) take up his cross,(AS) and follow me.(AT) 35 For whoever wants to save(AU) his life will lose it,(AV) but whoever loses(AW) his life(AX) because of me(AY) and the gospel(AZ) will save it.(BA) 36 For what does it benefit(BB) someone to gain(BC) the whole world(BD) and yet lose(BE) his life?(BF) 37 What can anyone give in exchange for his life?(BG) 38 For whoever is ashamed(BH) of me and my words(BI) in this adulterous and sinful(BJ) generation,(BK) the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory(BL) of his Father(BM) with the holy(BN) angels.”(BO)
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