Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Lord’s Fifth Promise to Abraham

17 When Abram was 99 years old, Yahweh appeared to him. He said to Abram, “I am El Shadday. Live in my presence with integrity. ² I will give you my promise,^[a] and I will give you very many descendants.” ³ Immediately, Abram bowed with his face touching the ground, and again Elohim spoke to him, ⁴ “My promise is still with you. You will become the father of many nations. ⁵ So your name will no longer be Abram [Exalted Father], but Abraham [Father of Many] because I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will give you many descendants. Many nations and kings will come from you. ⁷ I will make my promise to you and your descendants for generations to come as an everlasting promise. I will be your Elohim and the God of your descendants. ⁸ I am also giving this land where you are living—all of Canaan—to you and your descendants as your permanent possession. And I will be your Elohim.”

⁹ Elohim also said to Abraham, “You and your descendants in generations to come are to be faithful to my promise. ¹⁰ This is how you are to be faithful to my promise: Every male among you is to be circumcised. ¹¹ All of you must be circumcised. That will be the sign of the promise from me to you. ¹² For generations to come every male child who is eight days old must be circumcised, whether he is born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner who’s not related to you. ¹³ Every male born in your household or bought with your money is to be circumcised without exception. So my promise will be a sign on your flesh, an everlasting promise. ¹⁴ Any uncircumcised male must be excluded from his people because he has rejected my promise.”

¹⁵ Elohim said to Abraham, “Don’t call your wife by the name Sarai anymore. Instead, her name is Sarah [Princess]. ¹⁶ I will bless her, and I will also give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will become a mother of nations, and kings will come from her.” ¹⁷ Immediately, Abraham bowed with his face touching the ground. He laughed as he thought to himself, “Can a son be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, have a child?” ¹⁸ Then Abraham said to Elohim, “Why not let Ishmael be my heir?”

¹⁹ Elohim replied, “No! Your wife Sarah will give you a son, and you will name him Isaac [He Laughs]. I will make an everlasting promise to him and his descendants. ²⁰ I have heard your request about Ishmael. Yes, I will bless him, make him fertile, and increase the number of his descendants. He will be the father of 12 princes, and I will make him a great nation. ²¹ But I will make my promise to Isaac. Sarah will give birth to him at this time next year.” ²² When Elohim finished speaking with Abraham, he left him.

Abraham’s Household Circumcised

²³ So Abraham took his son Ishmael, everyone born in his household, and everyone bought with money—every male in his household—and circumcised them that day, as Elohim had told him. ²⁴ Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised. ²⁵ His son Ishmael was 13 years old when he was circumcised. ²⁶ That same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. ²⁷ All the men of his household, whether born in the household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

13 Continue to love each other. ² Don’t forget to show hospitality to believers you don’t know. By doing this some believers have shown hospitality to angels without being aware of it. ³ Remember those in prison as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are mistreated as if you were being mistreated.

⁴ Marriage is honorable in every way, so husbands and wives should be faithful to each other. God will judge those who commit sexual sins, especially those who commit adultery.

⁵ Don’t love money. Be happy with what you have because God has said, “I will never abandon you or leave you.” ⁶ So we can confidently say,

⁷ Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. Think about how their lives turned out, and imitate their faith.

⁸ Yeshua Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

⁹ Don’t get carried away by all kinds of unfamiliar teachings. Gaining inner strength from God’s kindness^[a] is good for us. This strength does not come from following rules about food, rules that don’t help those who follow them. ¹⁰ Those who serve at the tent have no right to eat what is sacrificed at our altar.

¹¹ The chief priest brings the blood of animals into the holy place as an offering for sin. But the bodies of those animals were burned outside the Israelite camp. ¹² That is why Yeshua suffered outside the gates of Jerusalem. He suffered to make the people holy with his own blood. ¹³ So we must go to him outside the camp and endure the insults he endured. ¹⁴ We don’t have a permanent city here on earth, but we are looking for the city that we will have in the future. ¹⁵ Through Yeshua we should always bring God a sacrifice of praise, that is, words that acknowledge him. ¹⁶ Don’t forget to do good things for others and to share what you have with them. These are the kinds of sacrifices that please God.