Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Aleph^[a]

Isaac Lies to Abimelech

26 Now there was a famine. This was like the famine that happened during Abraham’s life. So Isaac went to the town of Gerar, to King Abimelech of the Philistines. ² The Lord spoke to Isaac and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I commanded you to live in. ³ Stay in this land, and I will be with you. I will bless you. I will give you and your family all these lands. I will do what I promised to Abraham your father. ⁴ I will make your family as many as the stars of heaven, and I will give all these lands to your family. Through your descendants^[a] every nation on earth will be blessed. ⁵ I will do this because your father Abraham obeyed my words and did what I said. He obeyed my commands, my laws, and my rules.”

Temptation Does Not Come From God

¹² Great blessings belong to those who are tempted and remain faithful! After they have proved their faith, God will give them the reward^[a] of eternal life. God promised this to all people who love him. ¹³ Whenever you feel tempted to do something bad, you should not say, “God is tempting me.” Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴ You are tempted by the evil things you want. Your own desire leads you away and traps you. ¹⁵ Your desire grows inside you until it results in sin. Then the sin grows bigger and bigger and finally ends in death.

¹⁶ My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled about this.