1:12 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, ¹  that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel: ²  1:13 The ³  whole imperial guard ⁴  and everyone else knows ⁵  that I am in prison ⁶  for the sake of Christ, 1:14 and most of the brothers and sisters, ⁷  having confidence in the Lord ⁸  because of my imprisonment, now more than ever ⁹  dare to speak the word ¹⁰  fearlessly.

1:15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. 1:16 The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel. 1:17 The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment. ¹¹  1:18 What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

Yes, ¹²  and I will continue to rejoice,

2:1 The heavens and the earth ¹  were completed with everything that was in them. ²  2:2 By ³  the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, ⁴  and he ceased ⁵  on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing. 2:3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy ⁶  because on it he ceased all the work that he ⁷  had been doing in creation. ⁸ 

2:4 This is the account ⁹  of the heavens and the earth ¹⁰  when they were created – when the Lord God ¹¹  made the earth and heavens. ¹² 

2:5 Now ¹³  no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field ¹⁴  had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. ¹⁵  2:6 Springs ¹⁶  would well up ¹⁷  from the earth and water ¹⁸  the whole surface of the ground. ¹⁹  2:7 The Lord God formed ²⁰  the man from the soil of the ground ²¹  and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, ²²  and the man became a living being. ²³ 

2:8 The Lord God planted an orchard ²⁴  in the east, ²⁵  in Eden; ²⁶  and there he placed the man he had formed. ²⁷ 

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ¹  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ²  When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

19:2 He said, “Here, my lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house. Stay the night ³  and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” ⁴  “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” ⁵ 

19:3 But he urged ⁶  them persistently, so they turned aside with him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, including bread baked without yeast, and they ate. 19:4 Before they could lie down to sleep, ⁷  all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. ⁸  19:5 They shouted to Lot, ⁹  “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex ¹⁰  with them!”

19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him. 19:7 He said, “No, my brothers! Don’t act so wickedly! ¹¹  19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with ¹²  a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. ¹³  Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection ¹⁴  of my roof.” ¹⁵ 

19:9 “Out of our way!” ¹⁶  they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, ¹⁷  and now he dares to judge us! ¹⁸  We’ll do more harm ¹⁹  to you than to them!” They kept ²⁰  pressing in on Lot until they were close enough ²¹  to break down the door.

19:10 So the men inside ²²  reached out ²³  and pulled Lot back into the house ²⁴  as they shut the door. 19:11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, from the youngest to the oldest, ²⁵  with blindness. The men outside ²⁶  wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors ²⁷  said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? ²⁸  Do you have ²⁹  any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? ³⁰  Get them out of this ³¹  place 19:13 because we are about to destroy ³²  it. The outcry against this place ³³  is so great before the Lord that he ³⁴  has sent us to destroy it.”

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. ³⁵  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ³⁶  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ³⁷ 

19:15 At dawn ³⁸  the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, ³⁹  or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” ⁴⁰  19:16 When Lot ⁴¹  hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. ⁴²  They led them away and placed them ⁴³  outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ⁴⁴  said, “Run ⁴⁵  for your lives! Don’t look ⁴⁶  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ⁴⁷  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! ⁴⁸  19:19 Your ⁴⁹  servant has found favor with you, ⁵⁰  and you have shown me great ⁵¹  kindness ⁵²  by sparing ⁵³  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ⁵⁴  this disaster will overtake ⁵⁵  me and I’ll die. ⁵⁶  19:20 Look, this town ⁵⁷  over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. ⁵⁸  Let me go there. ⁵⁹  It’s just a little place, isn’t it? ⁶⁰  Then I’ll survive.” ⁶¹ 

19:21 “Very well,” he replied, ⁶²  “I will grant this request too ⁶³  and will not overthrow ⁶⁴  the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, ⁶⁵  for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) ⁶⁶ 

19:23 The sun had just risen ⁶⁷  over the land as Lot reached Zoar. ⁶⁸  19:24 Then the Lord rained down ⁶⁹  sulfur and fire ⁷⁰  on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. ⁷¹  19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, ⁷²  including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew ⁷³  from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s ⁷⁴  wife looked back longingly ⁷⁵  and was turned into a pillar of salt.

19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went ⁷⁶  to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward ⁷⁷  Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. ⁷⁸  As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. ⁷⁹ 

19:29 So when God destroyed ⁸⁰  the cities of the region, ⁸¹  God honored ⁸²  Abraham’s request. He removed Lot ⁸³  from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed ⁸⁴  the cities Lot had lived in.

19:30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 19:31 Later the older daughter said ⁸⁵  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ⁸⁶  to have sexual relations with us, ⁸⁷  according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine ⁸⁸  so we can have sexual relations ⁸⁹  with him and preserve ⁹⁰  our family line through our father.” ⁹¹ 

19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, ⁹²  and the older daughter ⁹³  came and had sexual relations with her father. ⁹⁴  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ⁹⁵  19:34 So in the morning the older daughter ⁹⁶  said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. ⁹⁷  Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ⁹⁸  19:35 So they made their father drunk ⁹⁹  that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. ¹⁰⁰  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ¹⁰¹ 

19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter ¹⁰²  gave birth to a son and named him Moab. ¹⁰³  He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 19:38 The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. ¹⁰⁴  He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ¹⁰⁵  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ¹⁰⁶  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 ¹⁰⁷  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ¹⁰⁸  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ¹⁰⁹ 

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, ¹¹⁰  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? ¹¹¹  20:5 Did Abraham ¹¹²  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ¹¹³  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ¹¹⁴  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. ¹¹⁵  That is why I have kept you ¹¹⁶  from sinning against me and why ¹¹⁷  I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ¹¹⁸  he is a prophet ¹¹⁹  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ¹²⁰  But if you don’t give her back, ¹²¹  know that you will surely die ¹²²  along with all who belong to you.”

20:8 Early in the morning ¹²³  Abimelech summoned ¹²⁴  all his servants. When he told them about all these things, ¹²⁵  they ¹²⁶  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? ¹²⁷  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ¹²⁸  20:10 Then Abimelech asked ¹²⁹  Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” ¹³⁰ 

20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ¹³¹  ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of ¹³²  my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, ¹³³  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 ¹³⁴  from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: ¹³⁵  Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

20:14 So Abimelech gave ¹³⁶  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.” ¹³⁷ 

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ¹³⁸  to your ‘brother.’ ¹³⁹  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ¹⁴⁰ 

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 ¹⁴¹  had caused infertility to strike every woman ¹⁴²  in the household of Abimelech because he took ¹⁴³  Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

21:1 The Lord visited ¹⁴⁴  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ¹⁴⁵  for Sarah what he had promised. ¹⁴⁶  21:2 So Sarah became pregnant ¹⁴⁷  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. ¹⁴⁸  21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, ¹⁴⁹  Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. ¹⁵⁰  21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) ¹⁵¹ 

21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. ¹⁵²  Everyone who hears about this ¹⁵³  will laugh ¹⁵⁴  with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, ¹⁵⁵  “Who would ¹⁵⁶  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 ¹⁵⁷  a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ¹⁵⁸  21:9 But Sarah noticed ¹⁵⁹  the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. ¹⁶⁰  21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish ¹⁶¹  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. ¹⁶²  21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ¹⁶³  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ¹⁶⁴  all that Sarah is telling ¹⁶⁵  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ¹⁶⁶  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 ¹⁶⁷  some food ¹⁶⁸  and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, ¹⁶⁹  and sent her away. So she went wandering ¹⁷⁰  aimlessly through the wilderness ¹⁷¹  of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved ¹⁷²  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 ¹⁷³  away; for she thought, ¹⁷⁴  “I refuse to watch the child die.” ¹⁷⁵  So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. ¹⁷⁶ 

21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. ¹⁷⁷  The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, ¹⁷⁸  Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard ¹⁷⁹  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. ¹⁸⁰  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. ¹⁸¹  His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ¹⁸² 

21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you ¹⁸³  in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name ¹⁸⁴  that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. ¹⁸⁵  Show me, and the land ¹⁸⁶  where you are staying, ¹⁸⁷  the same loyalty ¹⁸⁸  that I have shown you.” ¹⁸⁹ 

21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” ¹⁹⁰  21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ¹⁹¹  against Abimelech concerning a well ¹⁹²  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ¹⁹³  21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ¹⁹⁴  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. ¹⁹⁵  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 ¹⁹⁶  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 ¹⁹⁷  that I dug this well.” ¹⁹⁸  21:31 That is why he named that place ¹⁹⁹  Beer Sheba, ²⁰⁰  because the two of them swore ²⁰¹  an oath there.

21:32 So they made a treaty ²⁰²  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ²⁰³  to the land of the Philistines. ²⁰⁴  21:33 Abraham ²⁰⁵  planted a tamarisk tree ²⁰⁶  in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, ²⁰⁷  the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. ²⁰⁸ 

22:1 Some time after these things God tested ²⁰⁹  Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham ²¹⁰  replied. 22:2 God ²¹¹  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ²¹²  – and go to the land of Moriah! ²¹³  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ²¹⁴  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ²¹⁵  you.”

22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. ²¹⁶  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 ²¹⁷  for the place God had spoken to him about.

22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of ²¹⁸  the place in the distance. 22:5 So he ²¹⁹  said to his servants, “You two stay ²²⁰  here with the donkey while ²²¹  the boy and I go up there. We will worship ²²²  and then return to you.” ²²³ 

22:6 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, ²²⁴  and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, ²²⁵  “My father?” “What is it, ²²⁶  my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, ²²⁷  “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide ²²⁸  for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.

22:9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there ²²⁹  and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up ²³⁰  his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter ²³¹  his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel ²³²  called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ²³³  the angel said. ²³⁴  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ²³⁵  that you fear ²³⁶  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

22:13 Abraham looked up ²³⁷  and saw ²³⁸  behind him ²³⁹  a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he ²⁴⁰  went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” ²⁴¹  It is said to this day, ²⁴²  “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” ²⁴³ 

22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven 22:16 and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ ²⁴⁴  decrees the Lord, ²⁴⁵  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, ²⁴⁶  and I will greatly multiply ²⁴⁷  your descendants ²⁴⁸  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 ²⁴⁹  of the strongholds ²⁵⁰  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ²⁵¹  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ²⁵²  using the name of your descendants.’”

22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together ²⁵³  for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. ²⁵⁴ 

22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah ²⁵⁵  also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ²⁵⁶  22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now ²⁵⁷  Bethuel became the father of Rebekah.) These were the eight sons Milcah bore to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore him children – Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. ²⁵⁸  23:2 Then she ²⁵⁹  died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ²⁶⁰ 

23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife ²⁶¹  and said to the sons of Heth, ²⁶²  23:4 “I am a temporary settler ²⁶³  among you. Grant ²⁶⁴  me ownership ²⁶⁵  of a burial site among you so that I may ²⁶⁶  bury my dead.” ²⁶⁷ 

23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, ²⁶⁸  23:6 “Listen, sir, ²⁶⁹  you are a mighty prince ²⁷⁰  among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you ²⁷¹  from burying your dead.”

23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, ²⁷²  the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree ²⁷³  that I may bury my dead, ²⁷⁴  then hear me out. ²⁷⁵  Ask ²⁷⁶  Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell ²⁷⁷  me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly ²⁷⁸  for the full price, ²⁷⁹  so that I may own it as a burial site.”

23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite ²⁸⁰  replied to Abraham in the hearing ²⁸¹  of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate ²⁸²  of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell ²⁸³  you both the field and the cave that is in it. ²⁸⁴  In the presence of my people ²⁸⁵  I sell it to you. Bury your dead.”

23:12 Abraham bowed before the local people 23:13 and said to Ephron in their hearing, “Hear me, if you will. I pay ²⁸⁶  to you the price ²⁸⁷  of the field. Take it from me so that I may ²⁸⁸  bury my dead there.”

23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth ²⁸⁹  400 pieces of silver, ²⁹⁰  but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”

23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price ²⁹¹  and weighed ²⁹²  out for him ²⁹³  the price ²⁹⁴  that Ephron had quoted ²⁹⁵  in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. ²⁹⁶ 

23:17 So Abraham secured ²⁹⁷  Ephron’s field in Machpelah, next to Mamre, including the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, 23:18 as his property in the presence of the sons of Heth before all who entered the gate of Ephron’s city. ²⁹⁸ 

23:19 After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah next to Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 23:20 So Abraham secured the field and the cave that was in it as a burial site ²⁹⁹  from the sons of Heth.

4:2 Then she gave birth ¹  to his brother Abel. ²  Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground. ³ 

4:3 At the designated time ⁴  Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering ⁵  to the Lord.