8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ¹  8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit ²  in Christ Jesus has set you ³  free from the law of sin and death. 8:3 For God achieved what the law could not do because ⁴  it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 8:4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

8:5 For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by ⁵  the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. 8:6 For the outlook ⁶  of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, 8:7 because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 8:9 You, however, are not in ⁷  the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. 8:10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but ⁸  the Spirit is your life ⁹  because of righteousness. 8:11 Moreover if the Spirit of the one ¹⁰  who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ ¹¹  from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you. ¹² 

8:12 So then, ¹³  brothers and sisters, ¹⁴  we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh 8:13 (for if you live according to the flesh, you will ¹⁵  die), ¹⁶  but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are ¹⁷  the sons of God. 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, ¹⁸  but you received the Spirit of adoption, ¹⁹  by whom ²⁰  we cry, “Abba, Father.” 8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness to ²¹  our spirit that we are God’s children. 8:17 And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ) ²²  – if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.

8:18 For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared ²³  to the glory that will be revealed to us. 8:19 For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God. 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility – not willingly but because of God ²⁴  who subjected it – in hope 8:21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now. 8:23 Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, ²⁵  groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, ²⁶  the redemption of our bodies. ²⁷  8:24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance. ²⁸ 

8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, ²⁹  but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. 8:27 And he ³⁰  who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit ³¹  intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will. 8:28 And we know that all things work together ³²  for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, 8:29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son ³³  would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁴  8:30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 8:32 Indeed, he who ³⁵  did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? 8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? ³⁶  It is God who justifies. 8:34 Who is the one who will condemn? Christ ³⁷  is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us. 8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁸  8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁹  8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory ⁴⁰  through him ⁴¹  who loved us! 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, ⁴²  nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham ¹  by the oaks ²  of Mamre while ³  he was sitting at the entrance ⁴  to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham ⁵  looked up ⁶  and saw ⁷  three men standing across ⁸  from him. When he saw them ⁹  he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low ¹⁰  to the ground. ¹¹ 

18:3 He said, “My lord, ¹²  if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. ¹³  18:4 Let a little water be brought so that ¹⁴  you may all ¹⁵  wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get ¹⁶  a bit of food ¹⁷  so that you may refresh yourselves ¹⁸  since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” ¹⁹  “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”

18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take ²⁰  three measures ²¹  of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” ²²  18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, ²³  who quickly prepared it. ²⁴  18:8 Abraham ²⁵  then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food ²⁶  before them. They ate while ²⁷  he was standing near them under a tree.

18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, ²⁸  in the tent.” 18:10 One of them ²⁹  said, “I will surely return ³⁰  to you when the season comes round again, ³¹  and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ³²  (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. ³³  18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; ³⁴  Sarah had long since passed menopause.) ³⁵  18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, ³⁶  “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, ³⁷  especially when my husband is old too?” ³⁸ 

18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why ³⁹  did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really ⁴⁰  have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible ⁴¹  for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” ⁴²  18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” ⁴³ 

18:16 When the men got up to leave, ⁴⁴  they looked out over ⁴⁵  Sodom. (Now ⁴⁶  Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) ⁴⁷  18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ⁴⁸  18:18 After all, Abraham ⁴⁹  will surely become ⁵⁰  a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ⁵¹  using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him ⁵²  so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep ⁵³  the way of the Lord by doing ⁵⁴  what is right and just. Then the Lord will give ⁵⁵  to Abraham what he promised ⁵⁶  him.”

18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against ⁵⁷  Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant ⁵⁸  18:21 that I must go down ⁵⁹  and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. ⁶⁰  If not, ⁶¹  I want to know.”

18:22 The two men turned ⁶²  and headed ⁶³  toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. ⁶⁴  18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare ⁶⁵  the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge ⁶⁶  of the whole earth do what is right?” ⁶⁷ 

18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord ⁶⁸  (although I am but dust and ashes), ⁶⁹  18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy ⁷⁰  the whole city because five are lacking?” ⁷¹  He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

18:29 Abraham ⁷²  spoke to him again, ⁷³  “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”

18:30 Then Abraham ⁷⁴  said, “May the Lord not be angry ⁷⁵  so that I may speak! ⁷⁶  What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

18:31 Abraham ⁷⁷  said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

18:32 Finally Abraham ⁷⁸  said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

18:33 The Lord went on his way ⁷⁹  when he had finished speaking ⁸⁰  to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. ⁸¹ 

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ⁸²  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ⁸³  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 ⁸⁴  and wash your feet. Then you can be on your way early in the morning.” ⁸⁵  “No,” they replied, “we’ll spend the night in the town square.” ⁸⁶ 

19:3 But he urged ⁸⁷  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, ⁸⁸  all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house. ⁸⁹  19:5 They shouted to Lot, ⁹⁰  “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can have sex ⁹¹  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! ⁹²  19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never had sexual relations with ⁹³  a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do to them whatever you please. ⁹⁴  Only don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection ⁹⁵  of my roof.” ⁹⁶ 

19:9 “Out of our way!” ⁹⁷  they cried, and “This man came to live here as a foreigner, ⁹⁸  and now he dares to judge us! ⁹⁹  We’ll do more harm ¹⁰⁰  to you than to them!” They kept ¹⁰¹  pressing in on Lot until they were close enough ¹⁰²  to break down the door.

19:10 So the men inside ¹⁰³  reached out ¹⁰⁴  and pulled Lot back into the house ¹⁰⁵  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, ¹⁰⁶  with blindness. The men outside ¹⁰⁷  wore themselves out trying to find the door. 19:12 Then the two visitors ¹⁰⁸  said to Lot, “Who else do you have here? ¹⁰⁹  Do you have ¹¹⁰  any sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or other relatives in the city? ¹¹¹  Get them out of this ¹¹²  place 19:13 because we are about to destroy ¹¹³  it. The outcry against this place ¹¹⁴  is so great before the Lord that he ¹¹⁵  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. ¹¹⁶  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ¹¹⁷  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ¹¹⁸ 

19:15 At dawn ¹¹⁹  the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, ¹²⁰  or else you will be destroyed when the city is judged!” ¹²¹  19:16 When Lot ¹²²  hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters because the Lord had compassion on them. ¹²³  They led them away and placed them ¹²⁴  outside the city. 19:17 When they had brought them outside, they ¹²⁵  said, “Run ¹²⁶  for your lives! Don’t look ¹²⁷  behind you or stop anywhere in the valley! ¹²⁸  Escape to the mountains or you will be destroyed!”

19:18 But Lot said to them, “No, please, Lord! ¹²⁹  19:19 Your ¹³⁰  servant has found favor with you, ¹³¹  and you have shown me great ¹³²  kindness ¹³³  by sparing ¹³⁴  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ¹³⁵  this disaster will overtake ¹³⁶  me and I’ll die. ¹³⁷  19:20 Look, this town ¹³⁸  over here is close enough to escape to, and it’s just a little one. ¹³⁹  Let me go there. ¹⁴⁰  It’s just a little place, isn’t it? ¹⁴¹  Then I’ll survive.” ¹⁴² 

19:21 “Very well,” he replied, ¹⁴³  “I will grant this request too ¹⁴⁴  and will not overthrow ¹⁴⁵  the town you mentioned. 19:22 Run there quickly, ¹⁴⁶  for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.) ¹⁴⁷ 

19:23 The sun had just risen ¹⁴⁸  over the land as Lot reached Zoar. ¹⁴⁹  19:24 Then the Lord rained down ¹⁵⁰  sulfur and fire ¹⁵¹  on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord. ¹⁵²  19:25 So he overthrew those cities and all that region, ¹⁵³  including all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation that grew ¹⁵⁴  from the ground. 19:26 But Lot’s ¹⁵⁵  wife looked back longingly ¹⁵⁶  and was turned into a pillar of salt.

19:27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went ¹⁵⁷  to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 19:28 He looked out toward ¹⁵⁸  Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. ¹⁵⁹  As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace. ¹⁶⁰ 

19:29 So when God destroyed ¹⁶¹  the cities of the region, ¹⁶²  God honored ¹⁶³  Abraham’s request. He removed Lot ¹⁶⁴  from the midst of the destruction when he destroyed ¹⁶⁵  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 ¹⁶⁶  to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby ¹⁶⁷  to have sexual relations with us, ¹⁶⁸  according to the way of all the world. 19:32 Come, let’s make our father drunk with wine ¹⁶⁹  so we can have sexual relations ¹⁷⁰  with him and preserve ¹⁷¹  our family line through our father.” ¹⁷² 

19:33 So that night they made their father drunk with wine, ¹⁷³  and the older daughter ¹⁷⁴  came and had sexual relations with her father. ¹⁷⁵  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ¹⁷⁶  19:34 So in the morning the older daughter ¹⁷⁷  said to the younger, “Since I had sexual relations with my father last night, let’s make him drunk again tonight. ¹⁷⁸  Then you go and have sexual relations with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” ¹⁷⁹  19:35 So they made their father drunk ¹⁸⁰  that night as well, and the younger one came and had sexual relations with him. ¹⁸¹  But he was not aware that she had sexual relations with him and then got up. ¹⁸² 

19:36 In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 19:37 The older daughter ¹⁸³  gave birth to a son and named him Moab. ¹⁸⁴  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. ¹⁸⁵  He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ¹⁸⁶  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ¹⁸⁷  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 ¹⁸⁸  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ¹⁸⁹  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ¹⁹⁰ 

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, ¹⁹¹  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? ¹⁹²  20:5 Did Abraham ¹⁹³  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ¹⁹⁴  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ¹⁹⁵  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. ¹⁹⁶  That is why I have kept you ¹⁹⁷  from sinning against me and why ¹⁹⁸  I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ¹⁹⁹  he is a prophet ²⁰⁰  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ²⁰¹  But if you don’t give her back, ²⁰²  know that you will surely die ²⁰³  along with all who belong to you.”

20:8 Early in the morning ²⁰⁴  Abimelech summoned ²⁰⁵  all his servants. When he told them about all these things, ²⁰⁶  they ²⁰⁷  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? ²⁰⁸  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ²⁰⁹  20:10 Then Abimelech asked ²¹⁰  Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” ²¹¹ 

20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ²¹²  ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of ²¹³  my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, ²¹⁴  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 ²¹⁵  from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: ²¹⁶  Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

20:14 So Abimelech gave ²¹⁷  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.” ²¹⁸ 

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ²¹⁹  to your ‘brother.’ ²²⁰  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ²²¹ 

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 ²²²  had caused infertility to strike every woman ²²³  in the household of Abimelech because he took ²²⁴  Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

21:1 The Lord visited ²²⁵  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ²²⁶  for Sarah what he had promised. ²²⁷  21:2 So Sarah became pregnant ²²⁸  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. ²²⁹  21:4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, ²³⁰  Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded him to do. ²³¹  21:5 (Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.) ²³² 

21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. ²³³  Everyone who hears about this ²³⁴  will laugh ²³⁵  with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, ²³⁶  “Who would ²³⁷  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 ²³⁸  a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ²³⁹  21:9 But Sarah noticed ²⁴⁰  the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. ²⁴¹  21:10 So she said to Abraham, “Banish ²⁴²  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. ²⁴³  21:12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be upset ²⁴⁴  about the boy or your slave wife. Do ²⁴⁵  all that Sarah is telling ²⁴⁶  you because through Isaac your descendants will be counted. ²⁴⁷  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 ²⁴⁸  some food ²⁴⁹  and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put them on her shoulders, gave her the child, ²⁵⁰  and sent her away. So she went wandering ²⁵¹  aimlessly through the wilderness ²⁵²  of Beer Sheba. 21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she shoved ²⁵³  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 ²⁵⁴  away; for she thought, ²⁵⁵  “I refuse to watch the child die.” ²⁵⁶  So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. ²⁵⁷ 

21:17 But God heard the boy’s voice. ²⁵⁸  The angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and asked her, “What is the matter, ²⁵⁹  Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard ²⁶⁰  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. ²⁶¹  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. ²⁶²  His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ²⁶³ 

21:22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you ²⁶⁴  in all that you do. 21:23 Now swear to me right here in God’s name ²⁶⁵  that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. ²⁶⁶  Show me, and the land ²⁶⁷  where you are staying, ²⁶⁸  the same loyalty ²⁶⁹  that I have shown you.” ²⁷⁰ 

21:24 Abraham said, “I swear to do this.” ²⁷¹  21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ²⁷²  against Abimelech concerning a well ²⁷³  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ²⁷⁴  21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ²⁷⁵  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. ²⁷⁶  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 ²⁷⁷  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 ²⁷⁸  that I dug this well.” ²⁷⁹  21:31 That is why he named that place ²⁸⁰  Beer Sheba, ²⁸¹  because the two of them swore ²⁸²  an oath there.

21:32 So they made a treaty ²⁸³  at Beer Sheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, returned ²⁸⁴  to the land of the Philistines. ²⁸⁵  21:33 Abraham ²⁸⁶  planted a tamarisk tree ²⁸⁷  in Beer Sheba. There he worshiped the Lord, ²⁸⁸  the eternal God. 21:34 So Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for quite some time. ²⁸⁹ 

22:1 Some time after these things God tested ²⁹⁰  Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham ²⁹¹  replied. 22:2 God ²⁹²  said, “Take your son – your only son, whom you love, Isaac ²⁹³  – and go to the land of Moriah! ²⁹⁴  Offer him up there as a burnt offering ²⁹⁵  on one of the mountains which I will indicate to ²⁹⁶  you.”

22:3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. ²⁹⁷  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 ²⁹⁸  for the place God had spoken to him about.

22:4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of ²⁹⁹  the place in the distance. 22:5 So he ³⁰⁰  said to his servants, “You two stay ³⁰¹  here with the donkey while ³⁰²  the boy and I go up there. We will worship ³⁰³  and then return to you.” ³⁰⁴ 

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, ³⁰⁵  and the two of them walked on together. 22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, ³⁰⁶  “My father?” “What is it, ³⁰⁷  my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, ³⁰⁸  “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 22:8 “God will provide ³⁰⁹  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 ³¹⁰  and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up ³¹¹  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 ³¹²  his son. 22:11 But the Lord’s angel ³¹³  called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 22:12 “Do not harm the boy!” ³¹⁴  the angel said. ³¹⁵  “Do not do anything to him, for now I know ³¹⁶  that you fear ³¹⁷  God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

22:13 Abraham looked up ³¹⁸  and saw ³¹⁹  behind him ³²⁰  a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he ³²¹  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.” ³²²  It is said to this day, ³²³  “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.” ³²⁴ 

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,’ ³²⁵  decrees the Lord, ³²⁶  ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 22:17 I will indeed bless you, ³²⁷  and I will greatly multiply ³²⁸  your descendants ³²⁹  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 ³³⁰  of the strongholds ³³¹  of their enemies. 22:18 Because you have obeyed me, ³³²  all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ³³³  using the name of your descendants.’”

22:19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set out together ³³⁴  for Beer Sheba where Abraham stayed. ³³⁵ 

22:20 After these things Abraham was told, “Milcah ³³⁶  also has borne children to your brother Nahor – 22:21 Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ³³⁷  22:22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 22:23 (Now ³³⁸  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. ³³⁹  23:2 Then she ³⁴⁰  died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. ³⁴¹ 

23:3 Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife ³⁴²  and said to the sons of Heth, ³⁴³  23:4 “I am a temporary settler ³⁴⁴  among you. Grant ³⁴⁵  me ownership ³⁴⁶  of a burial site among you so that I may ³⁴⁷  bury my dead.” ³⁴⁸ 

23:5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, ³⁴⁹  23:6 “Listen, sir, ³⁵⁰  you are a mighty prince ³⁵¹  among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you ³⁵²  from burying your dead.”

23:7 Abraham got up and bowed down to the local people, ³⁵³  the sons of Heth. 23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree ³⁵⁴  that I may bury my dead, ³⁵⁵  then hear me out. ³⁵⁶  Ask ³⁵⁷  Ephron the son of Zohar 23:9 if he will sell ³⁵⁸  me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly ³⁵⁹  for the full price, ³⁶⁰  so that I may own it as a burial site.”

23:10 (Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite ³⁶¹  replied to Abraham in the hearing ³⁶²  of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate ³⁶³  of his city – 23:11 “No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell ³⁶⁴  you both the field and the cave that is in it. ³⁶⁵  In the presence of my people ³⁶⁶  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 ³⁶⁷  to you the price ³⁶⁸  of the field. Take it from me so that I may ³⁶⁹  bury my dead there.”

23:14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth ³⁷⁰  400 pieces of silver, ³⁷¹  but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”

23:16 So Abraham agreed to Ephron’s price ³⁷²  and weighed ³⁷³  out for him ³⁷⁴  the price ³⁷⁵  that Ephron had quoted ³⁷⁶  in the hearing of the sons of Heth – 400 pieces of silver, according to the standard measurement at the time. ³⁷⁷ 

23:17 So Abraham secured ³⁷⁸  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. ³⁷⁹ 

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 ³⁸⁰  from the sons of Heth.

24:1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, ³⁸¹  and the Lord had blessed him ³⁸²  in everything. 24:2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one ³⁸³  in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh ³⁸⁴  24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise ³⁸⁵  by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire ³⁸⁶  a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives ³⁸⁷  to find ³⁸⁸  a wife for my son Isaac.”

24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me ³⁸⁹  to this land? Must I then ³⁹⁰  take your son back to the land from which you came?”

24:6 “Be careful ³⁹¹  never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. ³⁹²  24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, ³⁹³  promised me with a solemn oath, ³⁹⁴  ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel ³⁹⁵  before you so that you may find ³⁹⁶  a wife for my son from there. 24:8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, ³⁹⁷  you will be free ³⁹⁸  from this oath of mine. But you must not take my son back there!” 24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. ³⁹⁹ 

24:10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. ⁴⁰⁰  He journeyed ⁴⁰¹  to the region of Aram Naharaim ⁴⁰²  and the city of Nahor. 24:11 He made the camels kneel down by the well ⁴⁰³  outside the city. It was evening, ⁴⁰⁴  the time when the women would go out to draw water. 24:12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. ⁴⁰⁵  Be faithful ⁴⁰⁶  to my master Abraham. 24:13 Here I am, standing by the spring, ⁴⁰⁷  and the daughters of the people ⁴⁰⁸  who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 24:14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ ⁴⁰⁹  In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” ⁴¹⁰ 

24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah ⁴¹¹  with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). ⁴¹²  24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. ⁴¹³  She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 24:17 Abraham’s servant ⁴¹⁴  ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 24:18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering ⁴¹⁵  her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 24:19 When she had done so, ⁴¹⁶  she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 24:20 She quickly emptied ⁴¹⁷  her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 24:21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine ⁴¹⁸  if the Lord had made his journey successful ⁴¹⁹  or not.

24:22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka ⁴²⁰  and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels ⁴²¹  and gave them to her. ⁴²²  24:23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. ⁴²³  “Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

24:24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. ⁴²⁴  24:25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, ⁴²⁵  “and room for you ⁴²⁶  to spend the night.”

24:26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 24:27 saying “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love ⁴²⁷  for my master! The Lord has led me ⁴²⁸  to the house ⁴²⁹  of my master’s relatives!” ⁴³⁰ 

24:28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about ⁴³¹  these things. 24:29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) ⁴³²  Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring. 24:30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring ⁴³³  and heard his sister Rebekah say, ⁴³⁴  “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing ⁴³⁵  by the camels near the spring. 24:31 Laban said to him, ⁴³⁶  “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord! ⁴³⁷  Why are you standing out here when I have prepared ⁴³⁸  the house and a place for the camels?”

24:32 So Abraham’s servant ⁴³⁹  went to the house and unloaded ⁴⁴⁰  the camels. Straw and feed were given ⁴⁴¹  to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. ⁴⁴²  24:33 When food was served, ⁴⁴³  he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” ⁴⁴⁴  “Tell us,” Laban said. ⁴⁴⁵ 

24:34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. ⁴⁴⁶  The Lord ⁴⁴⁷  has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 24:36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him ⁴⁴⁸  when she was old, ⁴⁴⁹  and my master ⁴⁵⁰  has given him everything he owns. 24:37 My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 24:38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find ⁴⁵¹  a wife for my son.’ 24:39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go ⁴⁵²  with me?’ ⁴⁵³  24:40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, ⁴⁵⁴  will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 24:41 You will be free from your oath ⁴⁵⁵  if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’ 24:42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, ⁴⁵⁶  may events unfold as follows: ⁴⁵⁷  24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. ⁴⁵⁸  When ⁴⁵⁹  the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, ⁴⁶⁰  along came Rebekah ⁴⁶¹  with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ ⁴⁶²  I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter ⁴⁶³  of my master’s brother for his son. 24:49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” ⁴⁶⁴ 

24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. ⁴⁶⁵  Our wishes are of no concern. ⁴⁶⁶  24:51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become ⁴⁶⁷  the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” ⁴⁶⁸ 

24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 24:53 Then he ⁴⁶⁹  brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother. 24:54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. ⁴⁷⁰ 

When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” ⁴⁷¹  24:55 But Rebekah’s ⁴⁷²  brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.” 24:56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me – the Lord ⁴⁷³  has granted me success on my journey. Let me leave now so I may return ⁴⁷⁴  to my master.” 24:57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” ⁴⁷⁵  24:58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want ⁴⁷⁶  to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”

24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 24:60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: ⁴⁷⁷ 

“Our sister, may you become the mother ⁴⁷⁸  of thousands of ten thousands!

May your descendants possess the strongholds ⁴⁷⁹  of their enemies.”

24:61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with ⁴⁸⁰  the man. So Abraham’s servant ⁴⁸¹  took Rebekah and left.

24:62 Now ⁴⁸²  Isaac came from ⁴⁸³  Beer Lahai Roi, ⁴⁸⁴  for ⁴⁸⁵  he was living in the Negev. ⁴⁸⁶  24:63 He ⁴⁸⁷  went out to relax ⁴⁸⁸  in the field in the early evening. ⁴⁸⁹  Then he looked up ⁴⁹⁰  and saw that ⁴⁹¹  there were camels approaching. 24:64 Rebekah looked up ⁴⁹²  and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 24:65 and asked ⁴⁹³  Abraham’s servant, ⁴⁹⁴  “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. ⁴⁹⁵  So she took her veil and covered herself.

24:66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah ⁴⁹⁶  into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her ⁴⁹⁷  as his wife and loved her. ⁴⁹⁸  So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. ⁴⁹⁹ 

25:1 Abraham had taken ⁵⁰⁰  another ⁵⁰¹  wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. ⁵⁰²  The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants ⁵⁰³  of Keturah.

25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines ⁵⁰⁴  and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. ⁵⁰⁵ 

25:7 Abraham lived a total of ⁵⁰⁶  175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. ⁵⁰⁷  He joined his ancestors. ⁵⁰⁸  25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah ⁵⁰⁹  near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. ⁵¹⁰  There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed ⁵¹¹  his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. ⁵¹² 

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ⁵¹³  whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.

25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: ⁵¹⁴  Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes ⁵¹⁵  according to their clans.

25:17 Ishmael lived a total of ⁵¹⁶  137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. ⁵¹⁷  25:18 His descendants ⁵¹⁸  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ⁵¹⁹  to Egypt all the way ⁵²⁰  to Asshur. ⁵²¹  They settled ⁵²²  away from all their relatives. ⁵²³ 

25:19 This is the account of Isaac, ⁵²⁴  the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, ⁵²⁵  the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. ⁵²⁶ 

25:21 Isaac prayed to ⁵²⁷  the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled ⁵²⁸  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ⁵²⁹  So she asked the Lord, ⁵³⁰  25:23 and the Lord said to her,

“Two nations ⁵³¹  are in your womb,

and two peoples will be separated from within you.

One people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, ⁵³²  there were ⁵³³  twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish ⁵³⁴  all over, ⁵³⁵  like a hairy ⁵³⁶  garment, so they named him Esau. ⁵³⁷  25:26 When his brother came out with ⁵³⁸  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ⁵³⁹  Isaac was sixty years old ⁵⁴⁰  when they were born.

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ⁵⁴¹  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ⁵⁴²  25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, ⁵⁴³  but Rebekah loved ⁵⁴⁴  Jacob.

25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, ⁵⁴⁵  and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed ⁵⁴⁶  me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called ⁵⁴⁷  Edom.) ⁵⁴⁸ 

25:31 But Jacob replied, “First ⁵⁴⁹  sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” ⁵⁵⁰  25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” ⁵⁵¹  So Esau ⁵⁵²  swore an oath to him and sold his birthright ⁵⁵³  to Jacob.

25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. ⁵⁵⁴  So Esau despised his birthright. ⁵⁵⁵