1:1 From Simeon ¹  Peter, ²  a slave ³  and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God ⁴  and Savior, ⁵  Jesus Christ, have been granted ⁶  a faith just as precious ⁷  as ours. 1:2 May grace and peace be lavished on you ⁸  as you grow ⁹  in the rich knowledge ¹⁰  of God and of Jesus our Lord! ¹¹ 

1:3 I can pray this because his divine power ¹²  has bestowed on us everything necessary ¹³  for life and godliness through the rich knowledge ¹⁴  of the one who called ¹⁵  us by ¹⁶  his own glory and excellence. 1:4 Through these things ¹⁷  he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised ¹⁸  you may become partakers of the divine nature, ¹⁹  after escaping ²⁰  the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire. ²¹  1:5 For this very reason, ²²  make every effort ²³  to add to your faith excellence, ²⁴  to excellence, knowledge; 1:6 to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; ²⁵  to perseverance, godliness; 1:7 to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish ²⁶  love. ²⁷  1:8 For if ²⁸  these things are really yours ²⁹  and are continually increasing, ³⁰  they will keep you from becoming ³¹  ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of ³²  knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately. ³³  1:9 But ³⁴  concerning the one who lacks such things ³⁵  – he is blind. That is to say, he is ³⁶  nearsighted, since he has forgotten about the cleansing of his past sins. 1:10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ³⁷  make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. ³⁸  For by doing this ³⁹  you will never ⁴⁰  stumble into sin. ⁴¹  1:11 For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly provided for you.

1:12 Therefore, I intend to remind you constantly ⁴²  of these things even though you know them and are well established in the truth that you now have. 1:13 Indeed, as long as I am in this tabernacle, ⁴³  I consider it right to stir you up by way of a reminder, 1:14 since I know that my tabernacle will soon be removed, ⁴⁴  because ⁴⁵  our Lord Jesus Christ revealed this to me. ⁴⁶  1:15 Indeed, I will also make every effort that, after my departure, you have a testimony of these things. ⁴⁷ 

1:16 For we did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return ⁴⁸  of our Lord Jesus Christ; ⁴⁹  no, ⁵⁰  we were ⁵¹  eyewitnesses of his ⁵²  grandeur. ⁵³  1:17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when that ⁵⁴  voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory: “This is my dear Son, in whom I am delighted.” ⁵⁵  1:18 When this voice was conveyed from heaven, we ourselves ⁵⁶  heard it, for we were with him on the holy mountain. ⁵⁷  1:19 Moreover, ⁵⁸  we ⁵⁹  possess the prophetic word as an altogether reliable thing. ⁶⁰  You do well if you pay attention ⁶¹  to this ⁶²  as you would ⁶³  to a light shining in a murky place, until the day dawns and the morning star ⁶⁴  rises in your hearts. ⁶⁵  1:20 Above all, you do well if you recognize ⁶⁶  this: ⁶⁷  No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination, ⁶⁸  1:21 for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men ⁶⁹  carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ¹  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ²  in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

20:3 But God appeared ³  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ⁴  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ⁵ 

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, ⁶  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? ⁷  20:5 Did Abraham ⁸  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ⁹  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ¹⁰  and with innocent hands!”

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ¹¹  That is why I have kept you ¹²  from sinning against me and why ¹³  I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ¹⁴  he is a prophet ¹⁵  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ¹⁶  But if you don’t give her back, ¹⁷  know that you will surely die ¹⁸  along with all who belong to you.”

20:8 Early in the morning ¹⁹  Abimelech summoned ²⁰  all his servants. When he told them about all these things, ²¹  they ²²  were terrified. 20:9 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? ²³  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ²⁴  20:10 Then Abimelech asked ²⁵  Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” ²⁶ 

20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ²⁷  ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of ²⁸  my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, ²⁹  she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander ³⁰  from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: ³¹  Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

20:14 So Abimelech gave ³²  sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” ³³ 

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ³⁴  to your ‘brother.’ ³⁵  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ³⁶ 

20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord ³⁷  had caused infertility to strike every woman ³⁸  in the household of Abimelech because he took ³⁹  Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

21:1 The Lord visited ⁴⁰  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ⁴¹  for Sarah what he had promised. ⁴²  21:2 So Sarah became pregnant ⁴³  and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac. ⁴⁴  21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, ⁴⁵  Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. ⁴⁶  21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) ⁴⁷ 

21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. ⁴⁸  Everyone who hears about this ⁴⁹  will laugh ⁵⁰  with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, ⁵¹  “Who would ⁵²  have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”

21:8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared ⁵³  a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ⁵⁴  21:9 But Sarah noticed ⁵⁵  the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. ⁵⁶  21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish ⁵⁷  that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!”

21:11 Sarah’s demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. ⁵⁸  21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ⁵⁹  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ⁶⁰  all that Sarah is telling ⁶¹  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ⁶²  21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”

21:14 Early in the morning Abraham took ⁶³  some food ⁶⁴  and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, ⁶⁵  and sent her away. So she went wandering ⁶⁶  aimlessly through the wilderness ⁶⁷  of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved ⁶⁸  the child under one of the shrubs. 21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot ⁶⁹  away; for she thought, ⁷⁰  “I refuse to watch the child die.” ⁷¹  So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. ⁷² 

21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. ⁷³  The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, ⁷⁴  Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard ⁷⁵  the boy’s voice right where he is crying. 21:18 Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 21:19 Then God enabled Hagar to see a well of water. ⁷⁶  She went over and filled the skin with water, and then gave the boy a drink.

21:20 God was with the boy as he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. ⁷⁷  His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ⁷⁸ 

21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you ⁷⁹  in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name ⁸⁰  that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. ⁸¹  Show me, and the land ⁸²  where you are staying, ⁸³  the same loyalty ⁸⁴  that I have shown you.” ⁸⁵ 

21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” ⁸⁶  21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ⁸⁷  against Abimelech concerning a well ⁸⁸  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ⁸⁹  21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ⁹⁰  you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”

21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. ⁹¹  21:28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves. 21:29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these ⁹²  seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 21:30 He replied, “You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof ⁹³  that I dug this well.” ⁹⁴  21:31 That is why he named that place ⁹⁵  Beer Sheba, ⁹⁶  because the two of them swore ⁹⁷  an oath there.

21:32 So they made a treaty ⁹⁸  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ⁹⁹  to the land of the Philistines. ¹⁰⁰  21:33 Abraham ¹⁰¹  planted a tamarisk tree ¹⁰²  in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, ¹⁰³  the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. ¹⁰⁴