Called to Believe, Tested by Wait

1. Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. 2. I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 3. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treates you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” 4. So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5. Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan. 6. Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land. 7. Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him. 8. He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on Yahweh’s name. 9. Abram traveled, still going on toward the South. 10. There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11. When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at. 12. It will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive. 13. Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.” 14. When Abram had come into Egypt, Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15. The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16. He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17. Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18. Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? 19. Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now therefore, see your wife, take her, and go your way.” 20. Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, and they escorted him away with his wife and all that he had. 1. Abram went up out of Egypt—he, his wife, all that he had, and Lot with him—into the South. 2. Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3. He went on his journeys from the South even to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4. to the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first. There Abram called on Yahweh’s name. 5. Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, herds, and tents. 6. The land was not able to bear them, that they might live together; for their substance was great, so that they could not live together. 7. There was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in the land at that time. 8. Abram said to Lot, “Please, let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are relatives. 9. Isn’t the whole land before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you go to the left hand, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right hand, then I will go to the left.” 10. Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere, before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar. 11. So Lot chose the Plain of the Jordan for himself. Lot traveled east, and they separated themselves the one from the other. 12. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13. Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against Yahweh. 14. Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15. for all the land which you see, I will give to you, and to your offspring forever. 16. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring may also be counted. 17. Arise, walk through the land in its length and in its width; for I will give it to you.” 18. Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to Yahweh. 1. In the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim, 2. they made war with Bera, king of Sodom, and with Birsha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Admah, and Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar). 3. All these joined together in the valley of Siddim (also called the Salt Sea). 4. They served Chedorlaomer for twelve years, and in the thirteenth year, they rebelled. 5. In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer came, and the kings who were with him, and struck the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6. and the Horites in their Mount Seir, to El Paran, which is by the wilderness. 7. They returned, and came to En Mishpat (also called Kadesh), and struck all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that lived in Hazazon Tamar. 8. The king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar) went out; and they set the battle in array against them in the valley of Siddim; 9. against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings against the five. 10. Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and some fell there, and those who remained fled to the hills. 11. They took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their food, and went their way. 12. They took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. 13. One who had escaped came and told Abram, the Hebrew. At that time, he lived by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and they were allies of Abram. 14. When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan. 15. He divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16. He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative, Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the other people. 17. The king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18. Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High. 19. He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth: 20. and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave him a tenth of all. 21. The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, and take the goods for yourself.” 22. Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, 23. that I will not take a thread nor a sandal strap nor anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24. I will accept nothing from you except that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their portion.” 1. After these things Yahweh’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” 2. Abram said, “Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3. Abram said, “Behold, to me you have given no children: and, behold, one born in my house is my heir.” 4. Behold, Yahweh’s word came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but he who will come out of your own body will be your heir.” 5. Yahweh brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So will your offspring be.” 6. He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness. 7. He said to Abram, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.” 8. He said, “Lord Yahweh, how will I know that I will inherit it?” 9. He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10. He brought him all these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he didn’t divide the birds. 11. The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. 12. When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Now terror and great darkness fell on him. 13. He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years. 14. I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth, 15. but you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried at a good old age. 16. In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.” 17. It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18. In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: 19. the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20. the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21. the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

1. When Jesus had finished directing his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach and preach in their cities. 2. Now when John heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3. and said to him, “Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?” 4. Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5. the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6. Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.” 7. As these went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8. But what did you go out to see? A man in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9. But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. 10. For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11. Most certainly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. 12. From the days of John the Baptizer until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14. If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come. 15. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 16. “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call to their companions 17. and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you didn’t dance. We mourned for you, and you didn’t lament.’ 18. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.” 20. Then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they didn’t repent. 21. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23. You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until today. 24. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, on the day of judgment, than for you.” 25. At that time, Jesus answered, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants. 26. Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight. 27. All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him. 28. “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. 29. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. 30. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 1. At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2. But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3. But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him; 4. how he entered into God’s house, and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5. Or have you not read in the law, that on the Sabbath day, the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? 6. But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you wouldn’t have condemned the guiltless. 8. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” 9. He departed there, and went into their synagogue. 10. And behold there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” that they might accuse him. 11. He said to them, “What man is there among you, who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it, and lift it out? 12. Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.” 13. Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other. 14. But the Pharisees went out, and conspired against him, how they might destroy him. 15. Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all, 16. and commanded them that they should not make him known: 17. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, 18. “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit on him. He will proclaim justice to the nations. 19. He will not strive, nor shout; neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets. 20. He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a smoking flax, until he leads justice to victory. 21. In his name, the nations will hope.” 22. Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23. All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?” 24. But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.” 25. Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27. If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28. But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you. 29. Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house. 30. “He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters. 31. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come. 33. “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34. You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 35. The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. 36. I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” 38. Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 39. But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41. The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here. 42. The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here. 43. When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and doesn’t find it. 44. Then he says, ‘I will return into my house from which I came out,’ and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45. Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.” 46. While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. 47. One said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you.” 48. But he answered him who spoke to him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49. He stretched out his hand towards his disciples, and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! 50. For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.” 1. On that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside. 2. Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the multitude stood on the beach. 3. He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow. 4. As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. 5. Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. 6. When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away. 7. Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them. 8. Others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 9. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 10. The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11. He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them. 12. For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has. 13. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand. 14. In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive: 15. for this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again; and I would heal them.’ 16. “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. 17. For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them. 18. “Hear, then, the parable of the farmer. 19. When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside. 20. What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it; 21. yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22. What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23. What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit, and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.” 24. He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25. but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. 26. But when the blade sprang up and produced fruit, then the darnel weeds appeared also. 27. The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’ 28. “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’ 29. “But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. 30. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” 31. He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; 32. which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.” 33. He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.” 34. Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them, 35. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.” 36. Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.” 37. He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38. the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one. 39. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40. As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age. 41. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity, 42. and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 43. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 44. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. 45. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46. who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. 47. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind, 48. which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach. They sat down, and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49. So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous, 50. and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.” 51. Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes, Lord.” 52. He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.” 53. When Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there. 54. Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works? 55. Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56. Aren’t all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?” 57. They were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house.” 58. He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

1. Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. 2. You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? Will you love vanity, and seek after falsehood? Selah. 3. But know that Yahweh has set apart for himself him who is godly: Yahweh will hear when I call to him. 4. Stand in awe, and don’t sin. Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah. 5. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness. Put your trust in Yahweh. 6. Many say, “Who will show us any good?” Yahweh, let the light of your face shine on us. 7. You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and their new wine are increased. 8. In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety.