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Genesis 16

Birth of Ishmael.^*

1Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children. Now she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.^a

2Sarai said to Abram: “The LORD has kept me from bearing children. Have intercourse with my maid; perhaps I will have sons through her.” Abram obeyed Sarai.^{* b}

3Thus, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, his wife Sarai took her maid, Hagar the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

4He had intercourse with her, and she became pregnant. As soon as Hagar knew she was pregnant, her mistress lost stature in her eyes.^{* c}

5^d So Sarai said to Abram: “This outrage against me is your fault. I myself gave my maid to your embrace; but ever since she knew she was pregnant, I have lost stature in her eyes. May the LORD decide between you and me!”

6Abram told Sarai: “Your maid is in your power. Do to her what you regard as right.” Sarai then mistreated her so much that Hagar ran away from her.

7The LORD’s angel^* found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the road to Shur,^e

8and he asked, “Hagar, maid of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She answered, “I am running away from my mistress, Sarai.”

9But the LORD’s angel told her: “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.

10I will make your descendants so numerous,” added the LORD’s angel, “that they will be too many to count.”^f

11Then the LORD’s angel said to her:

“You are now pregnant and shall bear a son;

you shall name him Ishmael,^*

For the LORD has heeded your affliction.

12He shall be a wild ass of a man,

his hand against everyone,

and everyone’s hand against him;

Alongside^* all his kindred

shall he encamp.”^g

13To the LORD who spoke to her she gave a name, saying, “You are God who sees me”;^* she meant, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after he saw me?”^h

14That is why the well is called Beer-lahai-roi.^* It is between Kadesh and Bered.

15Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram named the son whom Hagar bore him Ishmael.ⁱ

16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

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Genesis 17

Covenant of Circumcision.^*

1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said: I am God the Almighty. Walk in my presence and be blameless.^a

2Between you and me I will establish my covenant, and I will multiply you exceedingly.^b

3Abram fell face down and God said to him:

4For my part, here is my covenant with you: you are to become the father of a multitude of nations.^c

5No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham,^* for I am making you the father of a multitude of nations.^d

6I will make you exceedingly fertile; I will make nations of you; kings will stem from you.

7I will maintain my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting covenant, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.^e

8I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are now residing as aliens, the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God.^f

9God said to Abraham: For your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages.

10This is the covenant between me and you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised.^{* g}

11Circumcise the flesh of your foreskin. That will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.^h

12Throughout the ages, every male among you, when he is eight days old, shall be circumcised, including houseborn slaves and those acquired with money from any foreigner who is not of your descendants.ⁱ

13Yes, both the houseborn slaves and those acquired with money must be circumcised. Thus my covenant will be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant.

14If a male is uncircumcised, that is, if the flesh of his foreskin has not been cut away, such a one will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.

15God further said to Abraham: As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.^*

16I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. Her also will I bless; she will give rise to nations, and rulers of peoples will issue from her.^j

17Abraham fell face down and laughed^* as he said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at ninety?”^k

18So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael could live in your favor!”

19God replied: Even so, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac. It is with him that I will maintain my covenant as an everlasting covenant and with his descendants after him.^l

20Now as for Ishmael, I will heed you: I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly. He will become the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation.^m

21But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year.ⁿ

22When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God departed from him.

23Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all his slaves, whether born in his house or acquired with his money—every male among the members of Abraham’s household—and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on that same day, as God had told him to do.

24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised,^o

25and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised.

26Thus, on that same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised;

27and all the males of his household, including the slaves born in his house or acquired with his money from foreigners, were circumcised with him.

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Genesis 18

Abraham’s Visitors.

1^* The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oak of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot.

2Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground,^a

3he said: “Sir,^* if it please you, do not go on past your servant.

4Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest under the tree.

5Now that you have come to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way.” “Very well,” they replied, “do as you have said.”

6Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick, three measures^* of bran flour! Knead it and make bread.”

7He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it.

8Then he got some curds^* and milk, as well as the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them, waiting on them under the tree while they ate.

9“Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There in the tent,” he replied.

10One of them^* said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son.” Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him.^b

11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years, and Sarah had stopped having her menstrual periods.^c

12So Sarah laughed^* to herself and said, “Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, am I still to have sexual pleasure?”

13But the LORD said to Abraham: “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really bear a child, old as I am?’

14Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do? At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you, and Sarah will have a son.”^d

15Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But he said, “Yes, you did.”

Abraham Intercedes for Sodom.

16With Abraham walking with them to see them on their way, the men set out from there and looked down toward Sodom.

17The LORD considered: Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,

18now that he is to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth are to find blessing in him?^e

19Indeed, I have singled him out that he may direct his children and his household in the future to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD may put into effect for Abraham the promises he made about him.

20^f So the LORD said: The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave,^*

21that I must go down to see whether or not their actions are as bad as the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out.

22As the men turned and walked on toward Sodom, Abraham remained standing before the LORD.

23Then Abraham drew near and said: “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

24Suppose there were fifty righteous people in the city; would you really sweep away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people within it?

25Far be it from you to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Should not the judge of all the world do what is just?”^g

26The LORD replied: If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.

27Abraham spoke up again: “See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am only dust and ashes!^h

28What if there are five less than fifty righteous people? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?” I will not destroy it, he answered, if I find forty-five there.

29But Abraham persisted, saying, “What if only forty are found there?” He replied: I will refrain from doing it for the sake of the forty.

30Then he said, “Do not let my Lord be angry if I go on. What if only thirty are found there?” He replied: I will refrain from doing it if I can find thirty there.

31Abraham went on, “Since I have thus presumed to speak to my Lord, what if there are no more than twenty?” I will not destroy it, he answered, for the sake of the twenty.

32But he persisted: “Please, do not let my Lord be angry if I speak up this last time. What if ten are found there?” For the sake of the ten, he replied, I will not destroy it.ⁱ

33The LORD departed as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned home.

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Mark 3:1-12

A Man with a Withered Hand.

1^* Again he entered the synagogue.^a There was a man there who had a withered hand.

2They watched him closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him.

3He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.”

4Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent.

5Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored.^b

6^* The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.

The Mercy of Jesus.

7^* Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples.^c A large number of people [followed] from Galilee and from Judea.

8Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.

9He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him.

10He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him.^d

11^* And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, “You are the Son of God.”^e

12He warned them sternly not to make him known.

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