Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴¹ [Waw.] And meet me doth Thy kindness, O Jehovah, Thy salvation according to Thy saying.

⁴² And I answer him who is reproaching me a word, For I have trusted in Thy word.

⁴³ And Thou takest not utterly away From my mouth the word of truth, Because for Thy judgment I have hoped.

⁴⁴ And I keep Thy law continually, To the age and for ever.

⁴⁵ And I walk habitually in a broad place, For Thy precepts I have sought.

⁴⁶ And I speak of Thy testimonies before kings, And I am not ashamed.

⁴⁷ And I delight myself in Thy commands, That I have loved,

⁴⁸ And I lift up my hands unto Thy commands, That I have loved, And I do meditate on Thy statutes!

16 And Sarai, Abram's wife, hath not borne to him, and she hath an handmaid, an Egyptian, and her name [is] Hagar;

² and Sarai saith unto Abram, `Lo, I pray thee, Jehovah hath restrained me from bearing, go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid; perhaps I am built up from her;' and Abram hearkeneth to the voice of Sarai.

³ And Sarai, Abram's wife, taketh Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, at the end of the tenth year of Abram's dwelling in the land of Canaan, and giveth her to Abram her husband, to him for a wife,

⁴ and he goeth in unto Hagar, and she conceiveth, and she seeth that she hath conceived, and her mistress is lightly esteemed in her eyes.

⁵ And Sarai saith unto Abram, `My violence [is] for thee; I -- I have given mine handmaid into thy bosom, and she seeth that she hath conceived, and I am lightly esteemed in her eyes; Jehovah doth judge between me and thee.'

⁶ And Abram saith unto Sarai, `Lo, thine handmaid [is] in thine hand, do to her that which is good in thine eyes;' and Sarai afflicted her, and she fleeth from her presence.

⁷ And a messenger of Jehovah findeth her by the fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way [to] Shur,

⁸ and he saith, `Hagar, Sarai's handmaid, whence hast thou come, and whither dost thou go?' and she saith, `From the presence of Sarai, my mistress, I am fleeing.'

⁹ And the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, `Turn back unto thy mistress, and humble thyself under her hands;'

¹⁰ and the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, `Multiplying I multiply thy seed, and it is not numbered from multitude;'

¹¹ and the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, `Behold thou [art] conceiving, and bearing a son, and hast called his name Ishmael, for Jehovah hath hearkened unto thine affliction;

¹² and he is a wild-ass man, his hand against every one, and every one's hand against him -- and before the face of all his brethren he dwelleth.'

¹³ And she calleth the name of Jehovah who is speaking unto her, `Thou [art], O God, my beholder;' for she said, `Even here have I looked behind my beholder?'

¹⁴ therefore hath one called the well, `The well of the Living One, my beholder;' lo, between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ And Hagar beareth to Abram a son; and Abram calleth the name of his son, whom Hagar hath borne, Ishmael;

¹⁴ Become not yoked with others -- unbelievers, for what partaking [is there] to righteousness and lawlessness?

¹⁵ and what fellowship to light with darkness? and what concord to Christ with Belial? or what part to a believer with an unbeliever?

¹⁶ and what agreement to the sanctuary of God with idols? for ye are a sanctuary of the living God, according as God said -- `I will dwell in them, and will walk among [them], and I will be their God, and they shall be My people,

¹⁷ wherefore, come ye forth out of the midst of them, and be separated, saith the Lord, and an unclean thing do not touch, and I -- I will receive you,

¹⁸ and I will be to you for a Father, and ye -- ye shall be to Me for sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.'

7 Having, then, these promises, beloved, may we cleanse ourselves from every pollution of flesh and spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God;

² receive us; no one did we wrong; no one did we waste; no one did we defraud;