Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
41 Lord, show me your love.
Save me as you have promised.
42 Then I will have an answer for people who insult me.
I trust what you say.
43 Never keep me from speaking your truth.
I depend on your fair laws.
44 I will obey your teachings
forever and ever.
45 So I will live in freedom
because I want to follow your orders.
46 I will discuss your rules with kings.
And I will not be ashamed.
47 I enjoy obeying your commands.
I love them.
48 I praise your commands, which I love.
And I think about your demands.
Proof of the Agreement
17 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. The Lord said, “I am God All-Powerful. Obey me and do what is right. 2 I will make an agreement between us. I will make you the ancestor of many people.”
3 Then Abram bowed facedown on the ground. God said to him, 4 “I am making my agreement with you: I will make you the father of many nations. 5 I am changing your name from Abram[a] to Abraham.[b] This is because I am making you a father of many nations. 6 I will give you many descendants. New nations will be born from you. Kings will come from you. 7 And I will make an agreement between me and you and all your descendants from now on: I will be your God and the God of all your descendants. 8 You live in the land of Canaan now as a stranger. But I will give you and your descendants all this land forever. And I will be the God of your descendants.”
9 Then God said to Abraham, “You and your descendants must keep this agreement from now on. 10 This is my agreement with you and all your descendants: Every male among you must be circumcised. You must obey this agreement. 11 Cut away the foreskin to show that you follow the agreement between me and you. 12 From now on when a baby boy is eight days old, you will circumcise him. This includes any boy born among your people or any who is your slave. (He would not be one of your descendants.) 13 So circumcise every baby boy. Circumcise him whether he is born in your family or bought as a slave. Your bodies will be marked. This will show that you are part of my agreement that lasts forever. 14 Any male who is not circumcised will be separated from his people. He has broken my agreement.”
Isaac—the Promised Son
15 God said to Abraham, “I will change the name of Sarai,[c] your wife. Her new name will be Sarah.[d] 16 I will bless her. I will give her a son, and you will be the father. She will be the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will come from her.”
17 Abraham bowed facedown on the ground and laughed. He said to himself, “Can a man have a child when he is 100 years old? Can Sarah give birth to a child when she is 90?” 18 Then Abraham said to God, “Please let Ishmael be the son you promised.”
19 God said, “No. Sarah your wife will have a son, and you will name him Isaac.[e] I will make my agreement with him. It will be an agreement that continues forever with all his descendants.
20 “You asked me about Ishmael, and I heard you. I will bless him. I will give him many descendants. And I will cause their numbers to grow very greatly. He will be the father of 12 great leaders. I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will make my agreement with Isaac. He is the son whom Sarah will have at this same time next year.” 22 After God finished talking with Abraham, God rose and left him.
23 Then Abraham gathered Ishmael and all the males born in his camp. He also gathered the slaves he had bought. So that day Abraham circumcised every man and boy in his camp. This was what God had told him to do. 24 Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised. 25 And Ishmael, his son, was 13 years old when he was circumcised. 26 Abraham and his son were circumcised on that same day. 27 Also on that day all the men in Abraham’s camp were circumcised. This included all those born in his camp and all the slaves he had bought from other nations.
13 Keep on loving each other as brothers in Christ. 2 Remember to welcome strangers into your homes. Some people have done this and have welcomed angels without knowing it. 3 Do not forget those who are in prison. Remember them as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering as if you were suffering with them.
4 Marriage should be honored by everyone. Husband and wife should keep their marriage pure. God will judge guilty those who are sexually immoral and commit adultery. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money. And be satisfied with what you have. God has said,
“I will never leave you;
I will never abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
6 So we can feel sure and say,
“I will not be afraid because the Lord is my helper.
People can’t do anything to me.” Psalm 118:6
7 Remember your leaders. They taught God’s message to you. Remember how they lived and died, and copy their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
9 Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules about foods. Obeying such rules does not help anyone.
10 We have a sacrifice. But the priests who serve in the Holy Tent cannot eat from it. 11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place. There he offers this blood for sins. But the bodies of the animals are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the city. He died to make his people holy with his own blood. 13 So let us go to Jesus outside the camp. We should accept the same shame that Jesus had.
14 Here on earth we do not have a city that lasts forever. But we are looking for the city that we will have in the future. 15 So through Jesus let us always offer our sacrifice to God. This sacrifice is our praise, coming from lips that speak his name. 16 Do not forget to do good to others. And share with them what you have. These are the sacrifices that please God.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.