Genesis 21:22 – 22:24

Genesis 21

Abraham and Abimelek

²² At that time Abimelek and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham. He said, “God is with you in everything that you do. ²³ Now swear to me here by God that you will not deal treacherously with me, or with my son, or with my grandson. But just as I have been kind to you, you shall do the same for me and for the land in which you have lived as an alien.”

²⁴ Abraham said, “I will swear it.”

²⁵ Abraham complained to Abimelek because of a well which Abimelek’s servants had seized violently. ²⁶ Abimelek said, “I do not know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I did not hear about it until today.”

²⁷ Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek. The two of them made a treaty. ^{[1] 28} Abraham set aside seven ewe lambs from the flock.

²⁹ Abimelek said to Abraham, “Why have you set these seven ewe lambs by themselves?”

³⁰ He said, “You shall accept these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal testimony that I have dug this well.” ³¹ Therefore, he called that place Beersheba, ^[2] because they both took an oath there. ³² So they made a treaty at Beersheba. Then Abimelek got up with Phicol, the commander of his army, and they returned into the land of the Philistines. ³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he proclaimed ^[3] the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. ³⁴ Abraham lived as an alien in the land of the Philistines for a long time. ^[4]

Abraham Offers Isaac

Genesis 22

¹ Some time later God tested Abraham. He called to him, “Abraham!”

Abraham answered, “I am here.”

² God said, “Now take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there, the one to which I direct you.”

³ Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, along with Isaac his son. Abraham split the wood for the burnt offering. Then he set out to go to the place that God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

⁵ Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go on over there. We will worship, and then we will come back to you.” ⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and loaded it on Isaac his son. He took the firepot and the knife in his hand. The two of them went on together.

⁷ Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father?”

He said, “I am here, my son.”

He said, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

⁸ Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them went on together. ⁹ They came to the place that God had told him about. Abraham built the altar there. He arranged the wood, tied up Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

¹¹ The Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!”

Abraham said, “I am here.”

¹² He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

¹³ Abraham looked around and saw that behind him there was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord Will Provide.” ^[5] So it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

¹⁵ The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven ¹⁶ and said, “I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your descendants greatly, like the stars of the sky and like the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the city gates of their enemies. ¹⁸ In your seed ^[6] all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

¹⁹ Then Abraham returned to his young men, and they set out and traveled together to Beersheba. Abraham lived at Beersheba.

²⁰ Some time after these things Abraham was told, “Listen. Milcah also has borne children for your brother Nahor. ²¹ They are Uz his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel the father of Aram, ²² Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” ²³ Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These eight sons Milcah bore for Nahor, Abraham’s brother. ²⁴ Nahor’s concubine, whose name was Reumah, also gave birth to Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Ma’akah.

Genesis 19

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

¹ The two angels came to Sodom at evening. Lot, who was sitting in the gatehouse of Sodom, saw them and got up to meet them. He bowed down with his face to the ground, ² and he said, “See now, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house and spend the night. Wash your feet, and you can get up early and go on your way.”

They said, “No, we will spend the night in the street.”

³ But he kept urging them, so they came with him and entered his house. He made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. ⁴ But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from all parts of town. ⁵ They called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may be intimate with them.” ^[1]

⁶ Lot went out to them and shut the door behind him. ⁷ He said, “Please, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. ⁸ See now, I have two daughters who have not had relations with a man. Please let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them whatever seems good to you. Only do not do anything to these men, because they have come under the protection ^[2] of my roof.”

⁹ They said, “Get out of our way!” They also said, “This fellow came to live here as an alien, and now he appoints himself as a judge. Now we will treat you worse than them!” They kept pushing Lot back and were ready to break down the door. ¹⁰ But the men inside reached out and grabbed Lot and pulled him into the house with them and shut the door. ¹¹ They struck the men who were pressing against the door of the house, both young and old, with blindness so that they wore themselves out trying to find the door.

¹² The men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here? Sons-in-law, your sons, your daughters, whoever you have in the city, get them out of this place, ¹³ for we are going to destroy this place, because the outcry against it has grown great before the Lord, so the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

¹⁴ So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to his daughters in marriage. He said, “Get up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is going to destroy the city.” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.

¹⁵ When the dawn came, the angels urged Lot, “Get going! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, so that you will not be swept away by the guilt of the city.” ¹⁶ But Lot was taking too much time, so the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, because of the Lord’s compassion for him. They led him out and placed him outside of the city. ¹⁷ Then when they had taken them out, one of them said, “Run for your life! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, so that you are not swept away!”

¹⁸ Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lord. ^{[3] 19} See now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great mercy by saving my life. I cannot flee to the mountains, or this disaster will stick with me, and I will die. ²⁰ Look, this city is close enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Please let me flee there—isn’t it just a little one?—so that my life will be saved.”

²¹ The man said to him, “Very well, I have granted your request concerning this thing, so I will not overthrow the city that you have spoken about. ²² Hurry, flee there, because I cannot do anything until you get there.” So the city was named Zoar. ^[4]

²³ The sun had risen over the land when Lot came to Zoar. ²⁴ Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire out of the sky from the Lord. ²⁵ He overthrew those cities, as well as all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew in the soil.

²⁶ But Lot’s wife, who was behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

²⁷ Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord. ²⁸ He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain. As he looked, he saw that the smoke from the land was going up like the smoke from a kiln.

²⁹ And so when God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham and brought Lot out through the middle of the devastation, when he overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

Lot and His Daughters

³⁰ Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the mountains, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. His two daughters were with him. He lived in a cave with his two daughters. ³¹ The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man in the land to come to us as normally takes place everywhere on earth. ³² Come on, let’s get our father to drink wine, and we will lie down with him, that we may preserve our father’s seed.” ^{[5] 33} They got their father to drink wine that night, and the firstborn went and lay down with her father. He did not know it when she lay down or when she got up.

³⁴ Then the next day the firstborn said to the younger, “Look, last night I lay down with my father. Let us get him to drink wine again tonight. You go and lie down with him, so that we may preserve our father’s seed.” ³⁵ They got their father to drink wine that night also. Then the younger went and lay with him. He did not know it when she lay down or when she got up. ³⁶ In this way both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.

³⁷ The firstborn gave birth to a son and named him Moab. ^[6] He is the father of the Moabites to this day. ³⁸ The younger also gave birth to a son and called his name Ben Ammi. ^[7] He is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.

Genesis 16 – 17

Hagar and Ishmael

Genesis 16

¹ Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore no children for him. She had a servant girl, ^[1] an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. ² Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my servant girl. It may be that I can build up a family through her.” Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

³ After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took her servant girl, Hagar the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. ⁴ He went to Hagar, and she conceived. When she saw that she had conceived, she looked down on her mistress. ⁵ Sarai said to Abram, “This wrong that I am suffering is on account of you. I gave my servant girl into your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked down on me. May the Lord judge between me and you.”

⁶ But Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your servant girl is in your hands. Do to her whatever seems good to you.” Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her presence.

⁷ The Angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a flowing spring in the wilderness, beside the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸ He said, “Hagar, servant girl of Sarai, where did you come from? Where are you going?”

She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

⁹ The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.” ¹⁰ The Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants, so that they will be too many to count.” ¹¹ The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Listen, you are expecting a child and will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, ^[2] because the Lord has heard your affliction. ¹² He will be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. He will dwell in hostility toward ^[3] all of his brothers.”

¹³ She called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees,” for she said, “Here have I really seen him who sees me?” ^{[4] 14} Therefore the well was called Be’er Lahai Roi. ^[5] It is right there between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ Hagar gave birth to a son for Abram. Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael for him.

The Covenant of Circumcision

Genesis 17

¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. ² I will make my covenant between me and you, and I will make your descendants very numerous.”

³ Abram fell on his face. God spoke with him. He said, ⁴ “As for me, this is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. ⁵ Your name will not be Abram anymore, but your name will be Abraham, ^[6] for I have made you the father of a large group of nations. ⁶ I will make you extremely fruitful, and I will produce nations from you. Kings will come out of you. ⁷ I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you as an everlasting covenant throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ I will give the land where you are living as an alien, all the land of Canaan, to you and to your descendants after you as a permanent possession. I will be their God.”

⁹ God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. ¹⁰ This is my covenant, which you shall keep, a covenant between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ You shall be circumcised by cutting the foreskin off your flesh. It will be a sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² Every boy among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised, every male throughout your generations, whether he is born in your house or purchased with money ^[7] from any foreigner who is not descended from you. ¹³ Every male who is born in your house or one who is purchased with your money must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked on your flesh as an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ The uncircumcised male who is not circumcised by removing the foreskin from his flesh, that person must be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.”

¹⁵ God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai anymore, but her name will be Sarah. ^{[8] 16} I will bless her and even give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations. Kings of many peoples will come from her.”

¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to someone who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh, let Ishmael live in your presence!”

¹⁹ But God said, “No, Sarah, your wife, will bear a son for you. You shall name him Isaac. ^[9] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

²⁰ “As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Yes, I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful and will multiply him very greatly. He will become the father of twelve chiefs, and I will make him into a great nation. ²¹ But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear for you at this set time next year.”

²² When he finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. ²³ Abraham took his son Ishmael, along with every male in Abraham’s house, all those who were born in his house, and all those who were purchased with his money, and he circumcised them by cutting off the foreskin from their flesh. He did this on that very day, just as God had said to him. ²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when the foreskin of his flesh was circumcised. ²⁵ Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when the foreskin of his flesh was circumcised. ²⁶ On the same day both Abraham and Ishmael, his son, were circumcised. ²⁷ All the men of his house, those born in the house as well as those purchased with money from a foreigner, were circumcised along with him.

Genesis 13:5 – 14:24

Genesis 13

⁵ Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. ⁶ The land was not able to support them if they lived close together, because their possessions were so great that they could not live together. ⁷ There was conflict 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, because we are close relatives, let there be no conflict between me and you and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen. ⁹ Doesn’t the whole land lie before you? Please separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”

¹⁰ Lot looked up and saw the whole region around the Jordan River as you come to Zoar. ^[1] (Before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, it was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.) ¹¹ So Lot chose the region around the Jordan for himself. Lot headed out toward the east, and they separated from each other. ¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived among the cities of the region around the Jordan and moved his tent close to Sodom. ¹³ Now the men of Sodom were extremely wicked sinners against the Lord.

¹⁴ After Lot was separated from him, the Lord said to Abram, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look around from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west, ¹⁵ because all the land that you see, I will give to you and to your descendants permanently. ¹⁶ I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if a man could count the dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted. ¹⁷ Get up, walk through the length and breadth of the land, because I will give it to you.”

¹⁸ Abram moved his tent and went to live by the oaks at Mamre, which are at Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.

The Attack on Sodom

Genesis 14

¹ In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goyim ^{[2] 2} made war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³ All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea ^[3]). ⁴ For twelve years they served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵ In the fourteenth year Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and struck the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, ⁶ and the Horites in their Mount Seir, all the way to El Paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷ They returned and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and struck all the territory of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon Tamar. ⁸ The king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and lined up for battle in the Valley of Siddim ⁹ against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell there. ^[4]Those who survived fled to the hills. ¹¹ The raiders took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food, and then they went on their way. ¹² Because he had been living in Sodom, they took also Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, and his possessions and went on their way.

¹³ One person escaped and came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks that belonged to Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and Aner. They were allies of Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led out all his trained men who were born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, and pursued them as far as Dan. ¹⁵ During the night he divided his servants into groups to attack them. He struck them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶ He brought back all the possessions. He also brought back his relative Lot, and his possessions, and the women also, and the rest of the people.

¹⁷ After Abram’s return from the defeat of Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). ¹⁸ Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of God Most High. ¹⁹ He blessed Abram and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator 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 everything.

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 swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, so that you cannot say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will take nothing except that which the young men have eaten and the share belonging to the men who went with me, namely, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.”

Genesis 10:1 – 11:9

Genesis 10

¹ Now this is the account about the development of groups of people who descended from Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah. Sons ^[1] were born to them after the flood.

The Descendants of Japheth

² The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek, and Tiras. ^[2]

³ The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

⁴ The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim, and the Dodanim. ^[3]

⁵ The islands and coastlands were divided into different lands among these peoples on the basis of their languages, their ethnic groups, and their nations.

The Descendants of Ham

⁶ The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, ^[4] Put, and Canaan.

⁷ The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Ra’amah, and Sabteca.

The sons of Ra’amah were Sheba and Dedan.

⁸ Cush became the father of Nimrod. He was the first to be a mighty warrior on the earth. ⁹ He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. That is why the saying is “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” ¹⁰ The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Uruk, Akkad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar. ^{[5] 11} From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, ¹² and Resen between Nineveh and Calah, the great city.

¹³ Mizraim ^[6] became the father of the Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, ¹⁴ Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines descended), and the Caphtorim.

¹⁵ Canaan became the father of Sidon (his firstborn) and Heth, ¹⁶ as well as the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, ¹⁷ the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, ¹⁸ the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the families of the Canaanites spread out. ¹⁹ Then the borders of the Canaanites extended from Sidon, southward toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; from there it extended eastward toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

²⁰ These were the sons of Ham, according to their ethnic groups, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

The Descendants of Shem

²¹ Sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth, ^[7] the father of all the descendants of Eber.

²² The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

²³ The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. ^[8]

²⁴ Arphaxad became the father of Shelah. ^[9] Shelah became the father of Eber. ²⁵ To Eber two sons were born. The name of one was Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided. ^[10]

Eber’s brother’s name was Joktan. ²⁶ Joktan became the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²⁷ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²⁸ Obal, Abimael, Sheba, ²⁹ Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. ³⁰ Their dwelling was from Mesha all the way to Sephar, in the hill country of the east.

³¹ These were the descendants of Shem according to their ethnic groups, their languages, their lands, and their nations.

³² These are the families and groups of peoples descended from the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations. From these, nations spread out over the earth after the flood.

The Division of the Earth

Genesis 11

¹ The whole earth had one language and a single vocabulary. ² As people traveled in the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they settled there. ³ They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used mud brick instead of stone for building material, and they used tar for mortar. ⁴ They said, “Come, let’s build a city for ourselves and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, so that we will not be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵ The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people were building. ⁶ The Lord said, “If this is the first thing they are doing as one people, who all have one language, then nothing that they intend to do will be too difficult for them. ⁷ Come, let’s go down there and confuse their language, so that they cannot understand one another’s speech.”

⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ It was named Babel, ^[11] because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Genesis 7:1 – 8:19

Genesis 7

¹ The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and your entire household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. ² From every clean animal take with you seven pairs, ^[1] a male and his female. From the animals that are not clean, take two, a male and his female. ³ Also from the ⎣clean⎦ birds of the sky take seven and seven, male and female, ⎣and of all the unclean birds, one pair, a male and a female⎦ ^[2] to keep their offspring alive on the face of the whole earth. ⁴ In seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. Every living thing that I have made, I will wipe off the face of the earth.”

⁵ Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him.

The Flood

⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the flood ^[3] came, and water covered the earth.

⁷ Noah went into the ark with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the waters of the flood. ⁸ Clean animals, animals that are not clean, birds, and everything that creeps on the ground ⁹ went into the ark with Noah two by two (male and female), just as God had commanded Noah.

¹⁰ After seven days, the waters of the flood came on the earth. ¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that very day, all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates ^[4] of the sky were opened. ¹² The rain came down on the earth for forty days and forty nights.

¹³ On that same day Noah, Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons along with them entered the ark. ¹⁴ They went in with every animal according to its kind, all the livestock according to their kinds, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and everything that flies according to its kind, flying birds of every sort. ¹⁵ Pairs of all the animals ^[5] that have the breath of life in them went to Noah in the ark. ¹⁶ A male and female of each animal that breathes went in, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut Noah in.

¹⁷ The flood kept coming on the earth for forty days. The waters became deeper and lifted up the ark until it floated high above the earth. ¹⁸ The water kept increasing and overwhelmed the earth, and the ark was carried along on the surface of the water. ¹⁹ The water overwhelmed the earth. All the high mountains that were under the entire sky were covered. ²⁰ The waters rose more than twenty feet above the mountains and covered them. ²¹ All living creatures ^[6] that moved on the earth perished, including birds, livestock, wild animals, every creeping thing that crawls on the earth, and all mankind. ²² Everything that breathed the breath of life through its nostrils, that is, everything that was on the dry land, died. ²³ Every living thing that was on the face of the earth was wiped out, including mankind, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They all were wiped off the earth. Only Noah was left, as well as those who were with him in the ark. ²⁴ The waters overwhelmed the earth for one hundred fifty days.

Genesis 8

¹ God remembered Noah, as well as all the animals and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. So God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. ² The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were also closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained. ³ The waters kept receding from the earth. After the end of one hundred fifty days the waters had decreased. ⁴ In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. ⁵ The waters receded continuously until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were visible.

⁶ Then at the end of forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark. ⁷ He sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth, until the waters were dried up from the earth. ⁸ Then he sent out a dove to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground, ⁹ but the dove found no place to rest its foot, and it returned to him in the ark, because there was water on the surface of the whole earth. Noah reached out his hand, took the dove, and brought it back to him in the ark. ¹⁰ He waited another seven days. Then he sent the dove out of the ark again. ¹¹ The dove came back to him at evening, and there in its mouth was an olive leaf it had just plucked. So Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. ¹² He waited another seven days and sent the dove out again. This time it did not return to him anymore.

¹³ And so in the six hundred first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth. Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked out. He saw that the surface of the ground was dry. ¹⁴ In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.

¹⁵ God spoke to Noah. He said, ¹⁶ “Go out of the ark—you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁷ Bring out with you every living thing of every sort that is with you, all flesh, including birds, livestock, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may swarm over the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”

¹⁸ Noah went out with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives along with him. ¹⁹ Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever swarms on the earth went out of the ship, species by species. ^[7]

Genesis 4 – 5

The First Children: Cain and Abel

Genesis 4

¹ The man was intimate with Eve, his wife. She conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have gotten a man with the Lord.” ^{[1] 2} She also gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel.

Abel tended sheep, but Cain worked the ground. ³ As time passed, one day Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the soil. ⁴ Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. The Lord looked favorably on Abel and his offering, ⁵ but he did not look favorably on Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and his face showed it.

⁶ The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why do you have that angry look on your face? ^{[2] 7} If you do good, will you not be lifted up? If you do not do good, sin is crouching at the door. It has a strong desire for you, but you must rule over it.”

⁸ Cain said to Abel, his brother, “Let’s go into the field.” ^[3] When they were in the field, Cain attacked Abel, his brother, and killed him.

⁹ The Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?”

He said, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

¹⁰ The Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the soil. ¹¹ Now you are cursed and sent away from the soil ^[4] which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² When you work the soil, it will no longer give its strength to you. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

¹³ Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great for me to bear. ¹⁴ Look, today you have driven me away from the soil. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. And whoever finds me will kill me.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “No! ^[5] If anyone kills Cain, he will face sevenfold revenge.” And the Lord appointed a sign for ^[6] Cain, so that anyone who found him would not strike him down.

The Descendants of Cain

¹⁶ Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, ^[7] east of Eden.

¹⁷ Cain was intimate with his wife. She conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Cain built a city and named the city after his son Enoch. ¹⁸ To Enoch, Irad was born. Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. Methushael became the father of Lamech.

¹⁹ Lamech took two wives. The name of one was Adah, and the name of the other was Zillah. ²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the predecessor ^[8] of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. ²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal, who was the predecessor of all who play the lyre and flute. ²² Zillah also gave birth to Tubal Cain, who made all kinds of tools and weapons from bronze and iron. Tubal Cain’s sister was Na’amah.

The Family Line of Seth

²⁵ Adam was intimate with his wife again. She gave birth to a son and named him Seth, ^[9] because she said, “God has set another child in place of Abel for me, since Cain killed him.” ²⁶ Later a son was born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. This is when people began to proclaim ^[10] the name of the Lord.

Genesis 5

¹ This is the account about the development of Adam’s family:

In the day that God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. ² He created them male and female and blessed them, and on the day they were created, he named them “mankind.” ^[11]

³ Adam lived 130 years, and he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his own image, and he named him Seth. ⁴ The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were 800 years, and he became the father of sons and daughters. ⁵ All the days that Adam lived were 930 years. Then he died.

⁶ Seth lived 105 years, and he became the father of Enosh. ⁷ Seth lived 807 years after he became the father of Enosh, and he became the father of sons and daughters. ⁸ All the days of Seth were 912 years. Then he died.

⁹ Enosh lived 90 years, and he became the father of Kenan. ¹⁰ Enosh lived 815 years after he became the father of Kenan, and he became the father of sons and daughters. ¹¹ All the days of Enosh were 905 years. Then he died.

¹² Kenan lived 70 years, and he became the father of Mahalalel. ¹³ Kenan lived 840 years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he became the father of sons and daughters. ¹⁴ All the days of Kenan were 910 years. Then he died.

¹⁵ Mahalalel lived 65 years, and he became the father of Jared. ¹⁶ Mahalalel lived 830 years after he became the father of Jared, and he became the father of sons and daughters. ¹⁷ All the days of Mahalalel were 895 years. Then he died.

¹⁸ Jared lived 162 years, and he became the father of Enoch. ¹⁹ Jared lived 800 years after he became the father of Enoch, and he became the father of sons and daughters. ²⁰ All the days of Jared were 962 years. Then he died.

²¹ Enoch lived 65 years, and he became the father of Methuselah. ²² After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years, and he became the father of sons and daughters. ²³ All the days of Enoch were 365 years. ²⁴ Enoch walked with God. Then, he was not there, for God took him.

²⁵ Methuselah lived 187 years, and he became the father of Lamech. ²⁶ After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years, and he became the father of sons and daughters. ²⁷ All the days of Methuselah were 969 years. Then he died.

²⁸ Lamech lived 182 years and became the father of a son. ²⁹ He named him Noah ^[12] and said, “This one will bring us comfort during our work and the hard labor that we must perform with our hands because the Lord has cursed the soil.” ³⁰ Lamech lived 595 years after he became father of Noah, and he became the father of sons and daughters. ³¹ All the days of Lamech were 777 years. Then he died.

³² Noah was 500 years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. ^[13]

Genesis 1 – 2

The Creation of the World

Genesis 1

¹ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was undeveloped ^[1] and empty. Darkness covered the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

³ God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was evening and there was morning—the first day.

⁶ God said, “Let there be an expanse ^[2] between the waters, and let it separate the water from the water.” ⁷ God made the expanse, and he separated the water that was below the expanse from the water that was above the expanse, and it was so. ⁸ God called the expanse “sky.” ^[3]There was evening and there was morning—the second day.

⁹ God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear,” and it was so. ⎣The waters under the sky gathered to their own places, and the dry land appeared.⎦ ^{[4] 10} God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathering places of the waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good. ¹¹ God said, “Let the earth produce plants—vegetation that produces seed, and trees that bear fruit with its seed in it—each according to its own kind on the earth,” and it was so. ¹² The earth brought forth plants, vegetation that produces seed according to its own kind, and trees that bear fruit with its seed in it, each according to its own kind, and God saw that it was good. ¹³ There was evening and there was morning—the third day.

¹⁴ God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night, and let them serve as markers to indicate seasons, days, and years. ¹⁵ Let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth,” and it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set these lights in place in the expanse of the sky to provide light for the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ There was evening and there was morning—the fourth day.

²⁰ God said, “Let the waters swarm with living creatures, and let birds and other winged creatures ^[5] fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” ²¹ God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their own kind, and every winged bird according to its own kind. God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them when he said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ There was evening and there was morning—the fifth day.

²⁴ God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their own kind, livestock, ^[6] creeping things, and wild animals according to their own kind,” and it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their own kind, and the livestock according to their own kind, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its own kind. God saw that it was good.

²⁶ God said, “Let us make man ^[7] in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that crawls on the earth.”

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ God said, “Look, I have given you every plant that produces seed on the face of the whole earth, and every tree that bears fruit that produces seed. It will be your food. ³⁰ To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

³¹ God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning—the sixth day.

Genesis 2

¹ The heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. ^{[8] 2} On the seventh day God had finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had been doing. ³ God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy, because on it he rested from all his work of creation that he had done.

The Creation of Man and Woman

⁴ This is the account about the development ^[9] of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens:

⁵ No bushes that grow in the field were yet on the earth, ^[10] and no plants of the field had yet sprung up, since the Lord God had not yet caused it to rain on the earth. There was not yet a man to till the soil, ⁶ but water ^[11] came up from the earth and watered the entire surface of the ground.

⁷ The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground ^[12] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. ⁸ The Lord God planted a garden ^[13] in Eden in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground the Lord God made every kind of tree grow—trees that are pleasant to look at and good for food, including the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

¹⁰ A river went out from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided and became the headwaters of four rivers. ¹¹ The name of the first river is Pishon. It flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold, ¹² and the gold of that land is good. Incense ^[14] and onyx stone are also found there. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the same river that winds through the whole land of Cush. ^{[15] 14} The name of the third river is Tigris. This is the one which flows along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it. ¹⁶ The Lord God gave a command to the man. He said, “You may freely eat from every tree in the garden, ¹⁷ but you shall not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for on the day that you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

¹⁸ The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is a suitable partner for him.” ¹⁹ Out of the soil the Lord God had formed every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature, that became its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal, but for Adam ^[16] no helper was found who was a suitable partner for him. ²¹ The Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, the Lord God took a rib ^[17] and closed up the flesh where it had been. ²² The Lord God built a woman from the rib that he had taken from the man and brought her to the man.

Luke 9:18-36

Luke 9

Jesus Is the Christ

¹⁸ One time when Jesus was praying alone and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

¹⁹ They answered, “‘John the Baptist,’ but others say, ‘Elijah,’ and others say, ‘one of the ancient prophets come back to life.’”

²⁰ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

²¹ He gave them a strict command not to tell this to anyone. ²² He said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law. He must be killed and be raised on the third day.”

Take Up the Cross

²³ Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ²⁵ After all, what will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world, but destroys himself or is lost? ²⁶ In fact, whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels. ²⁷ I am telling you the truth: There are some standing here who will certainly not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

²⁸ About eight days after he said these words, Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothing became dazzling white. ³⁰ Just then, two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with him! ³¹ They appeared in glory and were talking about his departure, ^[1] which he was going to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem.

³² Peter and those with him were weighed down with sleep, but when they were completely awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

³³ As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not realize what he was saying.

³⁴ While he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them. They were afraid as they went into the cloud. ³⁵ Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love. ^[2] Listen to him!” ³⁶ After the voice had spoken, they found Jesus alone. They kept this secret and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

Luke 8:40-56

Luke 8

The Daughter of Jairus

⁴⁰ When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, because they were all waiting for him. ⁴¹ Just then a man named Jairus arrived. He was a ruler of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come to his house, ⁴² because he had an only daughter who was about twelve years old and she was dying.

As he went, the crowds pressed tightly against him. ⁴³ There was a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, yet although she had paid physicians all she had to live on, she could not be healed by anyone. ⁴⁴ She approached Jesus from behind and touched the fringe of his garment. Immediately her flow of blood stopped. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who touched me?”

As everyone was denying it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the crowds are pressing in and crowding you, yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, because I know that power has gone out from me.” ⁴⁷ When the woman saw that she did not escape his notice, she came trembling and fell down before Jesus. In the presence of all the people she told him why she had touched him and how she was healed immediately. ⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue ruler’s house, saying, “Your daughter has died. Don’t trouble the Teacher anymore.”

⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard it, he told Jairus, “Do not be afraid. Only believe, and she will be saved.”

⁵¹ When he came to the house, he did not let anyone enter, except Peter, John, James, and the child’s father and mother. ⁵² All the people were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Stop weeping, because she is not dead, but sleeping.”

⁵³ They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ But he ^[1] took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!” ⁵⁵ Her spirit returned, and she immediately got up. He ordered that something be given to her to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were amazed, but he instructed them not to tell anyone what had happened.

Luke 8:4-21

Luke 8

The Parable of the Sower

⁴ As a large crowd was gathering and people from one town after another were making their way to him, he spoke using a parable. ⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path. It was trampled, and the birds of the sky devoured it. ⁶ Other seed fell on rocky ground. As soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸ Other seed fell into good soil. It grew and produced fruit—one hundred times as much as was sown.” As he said these things, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!”

⁹ His disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?”

¹⁰ He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest I speak in parables so that ‘even though they see, they may not see, and even though they hear, they may not understand.’ ^{[1] 11} This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. ¹² Those along the path are the ones who hear it, but then the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts to keep them from believing and being saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root. So they believe for a while, but then fall away in a time of testing. ¹⁴ The seeds that fell into the thorns are the ones who hear the word, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of life, so they do not mature. ¹⁵ And the seeds in the good ground are the ones who hear the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it tightly, and produce fruit as they patiently endure.

¹⁶ “No one lights a lamp and then hides it under a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand so that those who enter may see the light. ¹⁷ For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known and come to light. ¹⁸ So listen carefully, because whoever has will be given more, and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

¹⁹ Jesus’ mother and brothers came to him, but they could not get near him because of the crowd. ²⁰ Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”

²¹ But he answered them, “My mother and brothers are those who are hearing and doing the word of God.”

Luke 7:18-35

Luke 7

John the Baptist and Christ

¹⁸ John’s disciples told him about all these things. ¹⁹ Calling two of his disciples to him, he sent them to Jesus ^[1] to ask, “Are you the one who was to come or should we look for someone else?” ²⁰ When the men had arrived, they said to Jesus, “John the Baptist sent us to ask you, ‘Are you the one who was to come or should we look for someone else?’”

²¹ At that time Jesus healed many people of their diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits. And he gave many blind people the ability to see. ²² Jesus answered them, “Go, tell John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. ²³ Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of me.”

²⁴ After John’s messengers had left, Jesus began to talk to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵ No. Then what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Yet those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces. ²⁶ But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ ^[2]

²⁸ “Yes, I tell you, ^[3] among those born of women there is no prophet ^[4] greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

²⁹ When all the people (including the tax collectors) heard this, they declared that God was just, since they were baptized with the baptism of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the legal experts rejected God’s purpose for themselves by not being baptized by him.

³¹ “To what then will I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance. We sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ ³³ For John the Baptist has come without eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a man who is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ Yet wisdom is declared right by all her children.”

Luke 6:37-49

Luke 6

Consider the Beam in Your Own Eye

³⁷ “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. In fact, the measure with which you measure will be measured back to you.”

³⁹ He also told them a parable: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Won’t they both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. ⁴¹ Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? ⁴² Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck in your eye,’ when you do not see the beam in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck in your brother’s eye.

Listen and Do

⁴³ “Certainly a good tree does not produce bad fruit, and a bad tree does not produce good fruit. ⁴⁴ In fact, each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorn bushes, and they do not gather grapes from a bramble bush. ⁴⁵ The good person brings what is good out of the good stored in his heart, and the evil person brings what is evil out of the evil within. ^[1] To be sure, what his mouth speaks flows from the heart.

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and does them—I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house who dug down deep and laid a foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river beat against that house but could not shake it, because it was founded on bedrock. ^{[2] 49} But the one who listened to my words and did not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river broke against it, it fell immediately, and that house was completely destroyed.”

Luke 5:27 – 6:11

Luke 5

The Calling of Levi (Matthew)

²⁷ After these things, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at the tax collector’s booth. He said to him, “Follow me.”

²⁸ Levi left everything, got up, and followed Jesus. ²⁹ Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house. There was a large crowd of tax collectors and others dining with them. ³⁰ The Pharisees and experts in the law grumbled against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “The healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

A Question About Fasting

³³ They said to him, “Why do John’s disciples fast and pray often, and so do the Pharisees’ disciples, but yours go on eating and drinking?”

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? ³⁵ But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then, in those days, they will fast.”

³⁶ He told them a parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new garment, and the patch from the new garment will not match the old one. ³⁷ And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. ³⁸ Instead, new wine must be put into fresh wineskins so both are preserved. ³⁹ And no one wants new wine while drinking old wine, because he says, ‘The old is fine.’”

Lord of the Sabbath

Luke 6

¹ When Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath day, his disciples were picking heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. ² But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

³ Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry (he and his companions)? ⁴ He went into the house of God, took and ate the Bread of the Presence, which is lawful only for the priests to eat. He also gave some to his companions.” ⁵ Jesus also said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Jesus Heals a Man With a Withered Hand

⁶ On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and taught. A man was there whose right hand was withered. ⁷ The experts in the law and the Pharisees were watching him closely, to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. They wanted to find a reason to accuse him. ⁸ But he always knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up and step forward.” ^[1] He got up and stood there. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you something. Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ He looked around at all of them and told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did, and his hand was restored. ¹¹ They were filled with rage and began discussing with one another what they could do to Jesus.