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Abraham and Abimelech
20 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev[a] region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident[b] in Gerar, 2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.
3 But God appeared[c] to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead[d] because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.”[e]
4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord,[f] would you really slaughter an innocent nation?[g] 5 Did Abraham[h] not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said,[i] ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience[j] and with innocent hands!”
6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience.[k] That is why I have kept you[l] from sinning against me and why[m] I did not allow you to touch her. 7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed[n] he is a prophet[o] and he will pray for you; thus you will live.[p] But if you don’t give her back,[q] know that you will surely die[r] along with all who belong to you.”
8 Early in the morning[s] Abimelech summoned[t] all his servants. When he told them about all these things,[u] they[v] were terrified. 9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom?[w] You have done things to me that should not be done!”[x] 10 Then Abimelech asked[y] Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?”[z]
11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought,[aa] ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of[ab] my wife.’ 12 What’s more,[ac] she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 13 When God made me wander[ad] from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me:[ae] Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”
14 So Abimelech gave[af] sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.”[ag]
16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given 1,000 pieces of silver[ah] to your ‘brother.’[ai] This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.”[aj]
17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 18 For the Lord[ak] had caused infertility to strike every woman[al] in the household of Abimelech because he took[am] Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
The Birth of Isaac
21 The Lord visited[an] Sarah just as he had said he would and did[ao] for Sarah what he had promised.[ap] 2 So Sarah became pregnant[aq] and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 3 Abraham named his son—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.[ar] 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old,[as] Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do.[at] 5 (Now Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.)[au]
6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh.[av] Everyone who hears about this[aw] will laugh[ax] with me.” 7 She went on to say,[ay] “Who would[az] have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”
8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared[ba] a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.[bb] 9 But Sarah noticed[bc] the son of Hagar the Egyptian—the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham—mocking.[bd] 10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish[be] that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”
11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son.[bf] 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset[bg] about the boy or your slave wife. Do[bh] all that Sarah is telling[bi] you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted.[bj] 13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation,[bk] for he is your descendant too.”
14 Early in the morning Abraham took[bl] some food[bm] and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child,[bn] and sent her away. So she went wandering[bo] aimlessly through the wilderness[bp] of Beer Sheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved[bq] the child under one of the shrubs. 16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot,[br] away; for she thought,[bs] “I refuse to watch the child die.”[bt] So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably.[bu]
17 But God heard the boy’s voice.[bv] The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter,[bw] Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard[bx] the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water.[by] She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.
20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran.[bz] His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt.[ca]
22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you[cb] in all that you do. 23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name[cc] that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants.[cd] Show me, and the land[ce] where you are staying,[cf] the same loyalty[cg] that I have shown you.”[ch]
24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.”[ci] 25 But Abraham lodged a complaint against[cj] Abimelech concerning a well[ck] that Abimelech’s servants had seized.[cl] 26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover,[cm] you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”
27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty.[cn] 28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves. 29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning[co] of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof[cp] that I dug this well.”[cq] 31 That is why he named that place[cr] Beer Sheba,[cs] because the two of them swore an oath[ct] there.
32 So they made a treaty[cu] at Beer Sheba; then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned[cv] to the land of the Philistines.[cw] 33 Abraham[cx] planted a tamarisk tree[cy] in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord,[cz] the eternal God. 34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time.[da]
The Sacrifice of Isaac
22 Some time after these things God tested[db] Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham[dc] replied. 2 God[dd] said, “Take your son—your only son, whom you love, Isaac[de]—and go to the land of Moriah![df] Offer him up there as a burnt offering[dg] on one of the mountains which I will indicate to[dh] you.”
3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey.[di] He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out[dj] for the place God had spoken to him about.
4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of[dk] the place in the distance. 5 So he[dl] said to his servants, “You two stay[dm] here with the donkey while[dn] the boy and I go up there. We will worship[do] and then return to you.”[dp]
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand,[dq] and the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac said to his father Abraham,[dr] “My father?” “What is it,[ds] my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said,[dt] “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide[du] for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.
9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there[dv] and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up[dw] his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter[dx] his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord[dy] called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 12 “Do not harm the boy!”[dz] the angel said.[ea] “Do not do anything to him, for now I know[eb] that you fear[ec] God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
13 Abraham looked up[ed] and saw[ee] behind him[ef] a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he[eg] went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.”[eh] It is said to this day,[ei] “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.”[ej]
15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “I solemnly swear by my own name,[ek] decrees the Lord,[el] that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you,[em] and I will greatly multiply[en] your descendants[eo] so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of[ep] the strongholds[eq] of their enemies. 18 Because you have obeyed me,[er] all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another[es] using the name of your descendants.”
19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together[et] for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed.[eu]
20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah[ev] also has borne children to your brother Nahor— 21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram),[ew] 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 (Now[ex] Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children—Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Watch out for false prophets,[a] who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves.[b] 16 You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered[c] from thorns or figs from thistles, are they?[d] 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad[e] tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will recognize them by their fruit.
Judgment of Pretenders
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’[f] will enter into the kingdom of heaven—only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many powerful deeds in your name?’[g] 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’[h]
Hearing and Doing
24 “Everyone[i] who hears these words of mine and does them is like[j] a wise man[k] who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the flood[l] came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because its foundation had been laid on rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed—it was utterly destroyed!”[m]
28 When[n] Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed by his teaching, 29 because he taught them like one who had authority,[o] not like their experts in the law.[p]
Psalm 9[a]
For the music director, according to the alumoth-labben style;[b] a psalm of David.
9 I will thank the Lord with all my heart!
I will tell about all your amazing deeds.[c]
2 I will be happy and rejoice in you.
I will sing praises to you, O Most High.[d]
3 When my enemies turn back,
they trip and are defeated[e] before you.
4 For you defended my just cause;[f]
from your throne you pronounced a just decision.[g]
5 You terrified the nations with your battle cry.[h]
You destroyed the wicked;[i]
you permanently wiped out all memory of them.[j]
6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins.[k]
You destroyed their cities;[l]
all memory of the enemies has perished.[m]
7 But the Lord[n] rules[o] forever;
he reigns in a just manner.[p]
8 He judges the world fairly;
he makes just legal decisions for the nations.[q]
9 Consequently[r] the Lord provides safety for the oppressed;[s]
he provides safety in times of trouble.[t]
10 Your loyal followers trust in you,[u]
for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help.[v]
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules[w] in Zion.
Tell the nations what he has done.[x]
12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed;[y]
he did not overlook[z] their cry for help[aa]
16 to deliver you[a] from the adulterous woman,[b]
from the loose woman[c] who has flattered[d] you with her words;[e]
17 who leaves[f] the husband[g] from her younger days,[h]
and has ignored[i] her marriage covenant[j] made before God.[k]
18 For she has set[l] her house by death,
and her paths by the place of the departed spirits.[m]
19 None who go in to her will return,[n]
nor will they reach the paths of life.[o]
20 So[p] you will walk in the way of good people,[q]
and will keep on the paths of the righteous.[r]
21 For the upright will reside in the land,
and those with integrity[s] will remain in it,
22 but the wicked[t] will be removed[u] from the land,
and the treacherous[v] will be torn away[w] from it.
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