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The Offering of Isaac

22 Now it happened after these things, that (A)God tested Abraham and said to him, “(B)Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now (C)your son, your only one, whom you love, Isaac, and (D)go forth to the land of (E)Moriah, and offer him there as a (F)burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” 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 wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from a distance. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there; and we will worship, and we will return to you.” Then Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and (G)put it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.

Then Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the (H)lamb for the burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “God will [a]provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

Then they came to (I)the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built (J)the altar there and arranged the wood and bound his son Isaac and (K)put him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But (L)the angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the boy, and do nothing to him; for now (M)I know that you [b]fear God, since you have not withheld (N)your son, your only one, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there was a ram after it had been caught in the thicket by its horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place [c]Yahweh Will Provide, as it is said this day, “In the mount of Yahweh (O)it will [d]be provided.”

15 Then the angel of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, “(P)By Myself I have sworn, declares Yahweh, because you have done this thing and have not spared your son, your only one, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly (Q)multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as (R)the sand which is on the seashore; and (S)your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. 18 (T)In your [e]seed all the nations of the earth shall [f]be blessed, because you have (U)listened to My voice.” 19 (V)So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and walked together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 22:8 Lit see
  2. Genesis 22:12 Or reverence; lit are a fearer of God
  3. Genesis 22:14 Heb Yahweh-jireh
  4. Genesis 22:14 Lit be seen
  5. Genesis 22:18 Or descendants
  6. Genesis 22:18 Or experience blessing repeatedly, bless themselves

Abraham’s Faith Tested

22 Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.

“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”

“God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”

12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

15 Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. 16 “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants[a] beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. 18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

19 Then they returned to the servants and traveled back to Beersheba, where Abraham continued to live.

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Footnotes

  1. 22:17 Hebrew seed; also in 22:17b, 18.