Genesis 22 Cross References - ISV

¹ The Command to Offer IsaacSometime later, God tested Abraham. He called out to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am!” he answered.
² God said, “Please take your son, your unique son whom you love—Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering there on one of the mountains that I will point out to you.”
³ So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his male servants with him, along with his son Isaac. He cut the wood for the burnt offering and set out to go to the place about which God had spoken to him. ⁴ On the third day he looked ahead and saw the place from a distance.
⁵ Abraham ordered his two servants, “Both of you are to stay here with the donkey. Now as for the youth and me, we’ll go up there, we’ll worship, and then we’ll return to you.” ⁶ Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac. Abraham carried the fire and the knife. And so the two of them went on together.
⁷ Abraham Answers Isaac’s QuestionIsaac addressed his father Abraham: “My father!”
“I’m here, my son,” Abraham replied.
Isaac asked, “The fire and the wood are here, but where’s the lamb for the burnt offering?”
⁸ Abraham answered, “God will provide himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
The two of them went on together ⁹ and came to the place about which God had spoken. Abraham built an altar there, arranged the wood, tied up his son Isaac, and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he stretched out his hand and grabbed the knife to slaughter his son.
¹¹ The Angel of the LORD IntervenesJust then, an angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
¹² “Don’t lay your hand on the youth!” he said. “Don’t do anything to him, because I’ve just demonstrated that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only unique one, from me.”
¹³ Then Abraham looked up and behind him to see a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went over, grabbed the ram, and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴ Abraham named that place, “The LORD Will Provide,” as it is told this day, “On the LORD’s mountain, he will provide.”
¹⁵ The angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven ¹⁶ and said, “I have taken an oath to swear by myself,” declares the LORD, “that since you have carried this out and have not withheld your only unique son, ¹⁷ I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in heaven and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the gates of their enemies. ¹⁸ Furthermore, through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my command.”
¹⁹ After this, Abraham returned to his servants and they set out together for Beer-sheba, where Abraham settled.
²⁰ Nahor’s ChildrenNow after these things somebody told Abraham, “Look, Milcah has given birth to sons for your brother Nahor. ²¹ Uz is his firstborn, Buz is his brother, and Kemuel is the father of Aram, ²² Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” ²³ Bethuel fathered Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. ²⁴ Also, his concubine Reumah gave birth to Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

⁷ Abraham Answers Isaac’s QuestionIsaac addressed his father Abraham: “My father!”
“I’m here, my son,” Abraham replied.
Isaac asked, “The fire and the wood are here, but where’s the lamb for the burnt offering?”

¹¹ The Angel of the LORD IntervenesJust then, an angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he answered.

⁴ When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from the center of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
He said, “Here I am.”

²⁵ Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree, which he threw into the water, and the water became sweet.
There the LORD presented to them a statute and an ordinance, and there he tested them. ²⁶ He said, “If you will carefully obey the LORD your God, do what he sees to be right, listen to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then I won’t inflict on you all the diseases that I inflicted on the Egyptians, because I am the LORD your healer.”

⁴ The LORD told Moses, “Listen very carefully! I’ll cause food to rain down for you from heaven, and the people are to go out and gather each day’s portion on that day. In this way I’ll test them to demonstrate whether or not they’ll live according to my instructions.

² Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way these 40 years in the desert, to humble and test you in order to make known what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

¹⁶ and fed you in the desert with manna that neither you nor your ancestors had known, to humble and test you so that things go well with you later.

³ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or that diviner of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to make known whether or not you’ll continue to love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.

²² That way, I’ll use them to demonstrate whether or not Israel will keep the LORD’s lifestyle by walking on that road like their ancestors did.”

¹ David Takes a Census of Israel
Later, God’s anger blazed forth against Israel, so he incited David to move against them by telling him, “Go take a census of Israel and Judah.”

³¹ Hezekiah’s Heart is Tested by GodLater on, envoys came from the princes of Babylon to inquire about the miracle that had happened in the land. God left Hezekiah to himself, so that he might make known what was really in Hezekiah’s heart.

³ The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold— but the LORD assays hearts.

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the LORD as he was asking, “Whom will I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am!” I replied. “Send me.”

¹³ No temptation has overtaken you that is unusual for human beings. But God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. Instead, along with the temptation he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to endure it.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac—he who had received the promises was about to offer his unique son in sacrifice,

¹² Trial and TemptationHow blessed is the man who endures temptation! When he has passed the test, he will receive the victor’s crown of life that God has promised to those who keep on loving him. ¹³ When someone is tempted, he should not say, “I am being tempted by God,” because God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. ¹⁴ Instead, each person is tempted by his own desire, being lured and trapped by it.

²¹ Our ancestor Abraham was justified by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar, wasn’t he?

⁷ so that your genuine faith, which is more valuable than gold that perishes when tested by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus, the Messiah, is revealed.

¹⁹ But God replied, “No, but your wife Sarah will give birth to your son, and you are to name him Isaac. I’ll confirm my covenant with him as an eternal covenant for his descendants.

¹² but God told Abraham, “Don’t be troubled about the youth and your slave girl. Pay attention to Sarah in everything she tells you, because your offspring are to be named through Isaac.

¹² “Don’t lay your hand on the youth!” he said. “Don’t do anything to him, because I’ve just demonstrated that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only unique one, from me.”

¹⁶ and said, “I have taken an oath to swear by myself,” declares the LORD, “that since you have carried this out and have not withheld your only unique son,

³¹ then if I return from the Ammonites without incident, whatever comes out the doors of my house to meet me will become the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

³⁹ Later, after the two months were concluded, she returned to her father, and he fulfilled what he had solemnly vowed—and she never married. That’s how the custom arose in Israel

²⁷ So he took his firstborn son, whom he intended to reign after him, and offered him up as a burnt offering on the wall. There subsequently came great anger against Israel, so they abandoned the attack and returned to their homeland.

¹ Temple Construction
So Solomon began construction of the LORD’s Temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah where the LORD had appeared to his father David, that is, where David had prepared Ornan the Jebusite’s threshing floor.

⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with endless rivers of oil? Am I to give my firstborn to pay for my rebellion, the fruit of my body in exchange for my soul?

¹⁶ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his unique Son so that everyone who believes in him might not be lost but have eternal life.

⁸ But God demonstrates his love for us by the fact that the Messiah died for us while we were still sinners.

³² The one who did not spare his own Son, but offered him as a sacrifice for all of us, surely will give us all things, along with his Son, won’t he?

⁹ This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent his unique Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

²³ Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the servants born in his house or purchased with his money—every male among the men of his household—and circumcised them that very day, just as God had spoken to him.

¹⁴ So early the next morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a leather bottle of water, gave them to Hagar, and placed them on her shoulder. He then sent her away, along with the child. She went off and roamed in the Beer-sheba wilderness.

⁶⁰ I hurried and did not procrastinate to keep your commands.

¹⁰ Whatever the activity in which you engage, do it with all your ability, because there is no work, no planning, no learning, and no wisdom in the next world where you’re going.

³ You will keep perfectly peaceful the one whose mind remains focused on you, because he remains in you. ⁴ “Trust in the LORD forever, for in the LORD GOD you have an everlasting rock.

³⁷ The Cost of Discipleship
“The one who loves his father or mother more than me isn’t worthy of me, and the one who loves a son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me.

²⁸ Then Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “I tell all of you with certainty, there is no one who has left his home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields because of me and the gospel ³⁰ who will not receive a hundred times as much here in this world—homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields, along with persecution—as well as eternal life in the age to come. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, as well as his own life, he can’t be my disciple.

¹⁶ to reveal his Son to me so that I might proclaim him among the gentiles, I did not confer with another human being at any time,

⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac—he who had received the promises was about to offer his unique son in sacrifice, ¹⁸ about whom it had been said, “It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you.” ¹⁹ Abraham was certain that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did get Isaac back in this way.

³ Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God so he does not strike us with pestilence or sword.”

²² God Provides Water for the PeopleThen Moses led Israel from the Reed Sea and they went to the desert of Shur. They traveled into the desert for three days and did not find water.

¹¹ and be ready for the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

¹⁵ He told the people, “Be ready for the third day; don’t go near a woman.”

¹⁷ but whatever remains uneaten from the meat of the sacrifice by the third day is to be incinerated.

³³ So they traveled from the mountain of the LORD, a three-day trip, with the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD traveling in front of them—a three day trip to explore a place for them to rest.

¹² He is to purify himself on the third day and he will be clean on the seventh day. But if he can’t purify himself on the third day then he can’t be clean on the seventh day.

¹⁹ The clean person is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and seventh day and then he is to purify himself on the seventh day, wash his clothes, and bathe with water. He is to be considered clean at evening.

¹⁹ Purification after the Battle“Now you are to stay outside the camp for seven days, after which any of you who has killed a person or touched someone who was killed may purify yourselves on the third day. You and your captives will be pure on the seventh day.

¹¹ “Go through the camp,” he said, “and command the people, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, because within three days you’ll be crossing the Jordan River to take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you—so go get it!’”

¹³ Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away with a large distance between them.

⁵ “Return to Hezekiah,” he said, “and tell the Commander-in-Chief of my people: ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says: “I’ve heard your prayer and I’ve observed your tears. Look! I’m healing you. Three days from now, you’ll go visit the LORD’s Temple.

¹ Esther Goes before the KingOn the third day, Esther put on her royal attire and stood in the inner courtyard of the palace in front of the king’s quarters. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room, opposite the entrance to the building.

² After two days, he will restore us to life, on the third day he will raise us up, and we will live in his presence.

²³ They will kill him, but he will be raised on the third day.” Then they were filled with grief.

³² He told them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Listen! I am driving out demons and healing today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will finish my work.

⁴ he was buried, he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures—and is still alive!—

¹⁹ Abraham was certain that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did get Isaac back in this way.

¹ We Must Look Off to JesusTherefore, having so vast a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, and throwing off everything that hinders us and especially the sin that so easily entangles us, let us keep running with endurance the race set before us,

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned, each of us, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “It was he who took our illnesses away and removed our diseases.”

²⁶ The Messiah had to suffer these things and then enter his glory, didn’t he?” ²⁷ Then, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them all the passages of Scripture about himself.

¹⁷ Jesus is Crucified
Carrying the cross all by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of a Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.

²⁴ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the tree, so that we might die to those sins and live righteously. “By his wounds you have been healed.”

² And she did it again, giving birth to his brother Abel. Abel shepherded flocks and Cain became a farmer.
³ Later, after a while, Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit that he had harvested, ⁴ while Abel brought the best parts of some of the firstborn from his flock. The LORD looked favorably upon Abel and his offering,

²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings on it from every clean animal and every clean bird.

³ Tell the entire congregation of Israel, ‘On the tenth of this month they’re each to take a lamb for themselves, according to their ancestors’ households, one lamb for each household.

³⁹ Going on a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed, “O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not what I want but what you want.”

⁴² He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot go away unless I drink it, let your will be done.”

¹¹ Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shouldn’t I drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

¹⁴ Is anything impossible for the LORD? At the time set for it, I will return to you—about a year from now—and Sarah will have a son.”

⁹ Amaziah asked the man of God, “What are we to do about the 100 talents that I have paid to the army of Israel?”
The man of God answered, “The LORD has a lot more than that to give you!”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them intently and said, “For humans this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

²⁹ The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

³⁶ As he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

¹⁹ but with the precious blood of the Messiah, like that of a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ On the one hand, he was foreknown before the creation of the world, but on the other hand, he was revealed at the end of time for your sake.

⁶ The Vision of the Lamb Taking the ScrollThen I saw a lamb standing in the middle of the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders. He looked like he had been slaughtered. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth.

¹² They sang with a loud voice, “Worthy is the lamb who was slaughtered to receive power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and praise!”

¹⁴ I told him, “Sir, you know.”
Then he told me, “These are the people who are coming out of the terrible suffering. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.

⁸ All those who had become settled down and at home, living on the earth, will worship it, everyone whose name had not been written in the Book of Life belonging to the lamb that had been slaughtered since the foundation of the world.

⁷ Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I’ll give this land to your descendants.” So Abram built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

² God said, “Please take your son, your unique son whom you love—Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering there on one of the mountains that I will point out to you.”
³ So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his male servants with him, along with his son Isaac. He cut the wood for the burnt offering and set out to go to the place about which God had spoken to him. ⁴ On the third day he looked ahead and saw the place from a distance.

²⁷ The LORD is God—he will be our light! Bind the festival sacrifice with ropes to the horn at the altar.

⁴ “Surely he has borne our sufferings and carried our sorrows; yet we considered him stricken, and struck down by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, and he was crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment that made us whole was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned, each of us, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he didn’t open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. ⁸ “From detention and judgment he was taken away— and who can even think about his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living, he was stricken for the transgression of my people. ⁹ Then they made his grave with the wicked, and with rich people in his death, although he had committed no violence, nor was there any deceit in his mouth.”
¹⁰ The Exaltation of the Servant“Yet the LORD was willing to crush him, and he made him suffer. Although you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring, and he will prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will triumph in his hand.

¹ The King Enters Jerusalem
When they came near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples on ahead and ² told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. At once you will find a donkey tied up and a colt with it. Untie them, and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, tell him, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and that person will send them at once.”
⁴ Now this happened to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet when he said, ⁵ “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Look, your king is coming to you! He is humble and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt of a donkey.’”
⁶ So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put their coats on them, and he sat upon them. ⁸ Many people in the crowd spread their own coats on the road, while others began cutting down branches from the trees and spreading them on the road. ⁹ Both the crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed him kept shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! How blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
¹⁰ When he came into Jerusalem, the whole city was trembling with excitement. The people were asking, “Who is this?”
¹¹ The crowds kept saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, the man from Nazareth in Galilee.”
¹² Confrontation in the Temple over Money
Then Jesus went into the Temple, threw out everyone who was selling and buying in the Temple, and overturned the moneychangers’ tables and the chairs of those who sold doves. ¹³ He told them, “It is written, ‘My house is to be called a house of prayer,’ but you are turning it into a hideout for bandits!”
¹⁴ Blind and lame people came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the high priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he had done and the children shouting in the Temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became furious ¹⁶ and asked him, “Do you hear what these people are saying?”
Jesus told them, “Yes! Haven’t you ever read, ‘From the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have created praise’?” ¹⁷ Then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.
¹⁸ Jesus Curses a Fig Tree
In the morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, he became hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the roadside, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. He told it, “May fruit never come from you again!” And immediately the fig tree dried up.
²⁰ When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?” they asked.
²¹ Jesus answered them, “I tell all of you with certainty, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you be able to do what has been done to the fig tree, but you will also say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. ²² You will receive whatever you ask for in prayer, if you believe.”
²³ Jesus’ Authority is Challenged
Then Jesus went into the Temple. While he was teaching, the high priests and the elders of the people came to him and asked, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I, too, will ask you one question. If you answer it for me, I will also tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ Where did John’s authority to baptize come from? From heaven or from humans?”
They began discussing this among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From humans,’ we are afraid of the crowd, because everyone regards John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they told Jesus, “We don’t know.”
He in turn told them, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
²⁸ The Parable about Two Sons“But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ His son replied, ‘I don’t want to,’ but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ Then the father went to the other son and told him the same thing. He replied, ‘I will, sir,’ but he didn’t go. ³¹ Which of the two did the father’s will?”
They answered, “The first one.”
Jesus told them, “I tell all of you with certainty, tax collectors and prostitutes will get into God’s kingdom ahead of you! ³² John came to you living a righteous life, and you didn’t believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. But even when you saw that, you didn’t change your minds at last and believe him.”
³³ The Parable about the Tenant Farmers
“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went abroad. ³⁴ When harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his produce. ³⁵ But the farmers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and attacked another with stones. ³⁶ Again, he sent other servants to them, a greater number than the first, but the tenant farmers treated them the same way. ³⁷ Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they told one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ ³⁹ So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ Now when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those farmers?”
⁴¹ They told him, “He will put those horrible men to a horrible death. Then he will lease the vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at harvest time.”
⁴² Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes.’?
⁴³ That is why I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce fruit for it. ⁴⁴ The person who falls over this stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
⁴⁵ When the high priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ Although they wanted to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.

¹ The Plot to Kill Jesus
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples, ² “You know that the Passover will take place in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
³ Then the high priests and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. ⁴ They conspired to arrest Jesus by treachery and to kill him. ⁵ But they kept saying, “This must not happen during the festival. Otherwise, there’ll be a riot among the people.”
⁶ A Woman Anoints Jesus
While Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, ⁷ a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume and poured it on his head while he sat at the table. ⁸ But when the disciples saw this, they became irritated and said, “Why this waste? ⁹ Surely this perfume could’ve been sold for a high price and the money given to the destitute.”
¹⁰ But knowing this, Jesus asked them, “Why are you bothering the woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. ¹¹ You’ll always have the destitute with you, but you’ll not always have me. ¹² When she poured this perfume on my body, she was preparing me for burial. ¹³ I tell all of you with certainty, wherever this gospel is proclaimed throughout the whole world, what she has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
¹⁴ Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the high priests ¹⁵ and inquired, “What are you willing to give me if I betray Jesus to you?” They offered him 30 pieces of silver, ¹⁶ and from then on he began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
¹⁷ The Passover with the Disciples
On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover meal?”
¹⁸ He said, “Go to a certain man in the city and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I will celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.”’” ¹⁹ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal.
²⁰ When evening came, Jesus was sitting at the table with the Twelve. ²¹ While they were eating, he said, “I tell all of you with certainty, one of you is going to betray me.”
²² Feeling deeply distressed, each one began to ask him, “Surely I am not the one, Lord?”
²³ He replied, “The man who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. ²⁴ The Son of Man is going away, just as it has been written about him. How terrible it will be for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had never been born.”
²⁵ Then Judas, who was going to betray him, asked, “Rabbi, I’m not the one, am I?”
Jesus told him, “You have said so.”
²⁶ The Lord’s Supper
While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and handed it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it. This is my body.”
²⁷ Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you,

² They bound him with chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pontius Pilate, the governor.

¹ Jesus is Taken to Pilate
As soon as it was morning, the high priests convened a meeting with the elders and scribes and the whole Council. They bound Jesus with chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.

¹⁷ This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it back again. ¹⁸ No one is taking it from me; I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This is what my Father has commanded me.”

³² This was the passage of Scripture he was reading: “Like a sheep he was led away to be slaughtered, and like a lamb is silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth.

¹³ The Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, “A curse on everyone who is hung on a tree!”

² Live lovingly, just as the Messiah also loved us and gave himself for us as an offering and sacrifice, a fragrant aroma to God.

⁷ Instead, poured out in emptiness, a servant’s form did he possess, a mortal man becoming. In human form he chose to be, ⁸ and lived in all humility, death on a cross obeying.

²⁸ so the Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And he will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly wait for him.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned, each of us, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he didn’t open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. ⁸ “From detention and judgment he was taken away— and who can even think about his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living, he was stricken for the transgression of my people. ⁹ Then they made his grave with the wicked, and with rich people in his death, although he had committed no violence, nor was there any deceit in his mouth.”
¹⁰ The Exaltation of the Servant“Yet the LORD was willing to crush him, and he made him suffer. Although you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring, and he will prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will triumph in his hand. ¹¹ Out of the suffering of his soul he will see light and find satisfaction. And through his knowledge his servant, the righteous one, will make many righteous, and he will bear their iniquities. ¹² Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong; because he poured out his life to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he carried the sins of many, and made intercession for their transgressions.”

²¹ Our ancestor Abraham was justified by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar, wasn’t he? ²² You see that his faith worked together with what he did, and by his actions his faith was made complete. ²³ And so the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” And so he was called God’s friend.

⁷ The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the desert on the road to Shur.

⁹ The angel of the LORD told her, “You must go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.” ¹⁰ The angel of the LORD also told her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, who will be too many to count.

¹⁷ The LORD Rescues Hagar and IshmaelGod heard the boy’s voice, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven. He asked her, “What’s wrong with you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, because God has heard the voice of the youth where he is.

¹ The Command to Offer IsaacSometime later, God tested Abraham. He called out to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am!” he answered.

¹⁰ Later, the LORD came and stood there, calling out, “Samuel! Samuel!” as he had before.
Samuel said, “Speak, because your servant is listening.”

⁴ He dropped to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

¹⁴ “All of us fell to the ground, and I heard a voice asking me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me? It is hurting you to keep on kicking against the cattle prods.’

¹¹ “I thought that there’s no fear of God in this place,” Abraham replied, “and that they would kill me because of my wife.

² God said, “Please take your son, your unique son whom you love—Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering there on one of the mountains that I will point out to you.”

⁵ I’m going to do this because Abraham did what I told him to do. He kept my instructions, commands, statutes, and laws.”

¹⁸ Three days later, Joseph told them, “I fear God, so do this and you’ll live.

²⁰ Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you may fear him in order that you don’t sin.”

²⁴ Only, fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Indeed, consider what great things he has done for you. ²⁵ But if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

²² Samuel said, “Does the LORD delight as much in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the LORD? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.

¹⁵ Nevertheless, the former governors before me placed a heavy burden on the people. They received food and wine, plus a tax of 40 shekels of silver. Even their young men took advantage of the people, but I never did so because I feared God.

¹⁹ “He will deliver you through six calamities; and calamity won’t touch you throughout the seventh.

²⁸ He has commanded mankind: ‘To fear the Lord—that is wisdom; to move away from evil—that is understanding.’”

⁶ For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will be destroyed.

¹¹ Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

¹² Who is the man who fears the LORD? God will teach him the path he should choose.

¹⁴ The intimate counsel of the LORD is for those who fear him so they may know his covenant.

¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; sound understanding belongs to those who practice it. Praise of God endures forever.

¹¹ But the LORD is pleased with those who fear him, with those who depend on his gracious love.

⁷ The Major ThemeThe fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

¹² Even though a sinner does what is wrong a hundred times and still survives, nevertheless I also know that things will go well for those who fear God, who fear in his presence. ¹³ But things will not go well for the wicked person: he will not lengthen his life like a shadow, since he has no fear before God.

¹³ Let the conclusion of all of these thoughts be heard: Fear God and obey his commandments, for this is what it means to be human.

⁵ They built the high places for Baal to burn their children in the fire as a burnt offering to Baal—something I didn’t command, didn’t say, nor did it ever enter my mind!

⁴⁰ I’ll make an everlasting covenant with them that I won’t turn away from doing good for them. I’ll put the fear of me in their hearts so they won’t turn away from me.

⁶ The Nature of True RighteousnessHow am I to present myself in the LORD’s presence and bow in the presence of the High God? Should I present myself with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? ⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with endless rivers of oil? Am I to give my firstborn to pay for my rebellion, the fruit of my body in exchange for my soul? ⁸ He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good and what the LORD is requiring from you— to act with justice, to treasure the LORD’s gracious love, and to walk humbly in the company of your God.

² But the Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in its light for those who fear my name. You will go out and leap like calves released from their stalls

¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before people in such a way that they will see your good actions and glorify your Father in heaven.”

³⁷ The Cost of Discipleship
“The one who loves his father or mother more than me isn’t worthy of me, and the one who loves a son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me. ³⁸ The one who doesn’t take up his cross and follow me isn’t worthy of me.

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me continuously.

²⁹ In fact, everyone who has left his homes, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

³¹ So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace. As it continued to be built up and to live in the fear of the Lord, it kept increasing in numbers through the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

¹² For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you do not have.

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and worship God in reverence and fear in a way that pleases him.

¹⁸ But someone may say, “You have faith, and I have actions.” Show me your faith without any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions.

²¹ Our ancestor Abraham was justified by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar, wasn’t he? ²² You see that his faith worked together with what he did, and by his actions his faith was made complete.

⁵ A voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all who serve and fear him, from the least important to the most important.”

⁸ Abraham answered, “God will provide himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
The two of them went on together

⁶ You take no delight in sacrifices and offerings— you have prepared my ears to listen— you require no burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin. ⁷ Then I said, “Here I am! I have come! In the scroll of the book it is written about me. ⁸ I delight to do your will, my God. Your Law is part of my inner being.”

¹⁹ God’s Describes His AnointedYou spoke to your faithful ones through a vision: “I will set a helper over a warrior. I will raise up a chosen one from the people. ²⁰ I have found my servant David; I have anointed him with my sacred oil,

²¹ And whether you turn to the right or turn to the left, your ears will hear a message behind you: “This is the way, walk in it.”

⁷ Get rid of the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough, since you are to be free from yeast. For the Messiah, our Passover, has been sacrificed. ⁸ So let’s keep celebrating the festival, neither with old yeast nor with yeast that is evil and wicked, but with yeast-free bread that is both sincere and true.

⁹ In fact, we felt that we had received a death sentence so we would not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has rescued us from a terrible death, and he will continue to rescue us. Yes, he is the one on whom we have set our hope, and he will rescue us again,

¹³ So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are ‘God who sees,’ because I have truly seen the one who looks after me.”
¹⁴ That’s why the spring was called, “The Well of the Living One who Looks after Me.” It was between Kadesh and Bered.

¹³ Then Abraham looked up and behind him to see a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went over, grabbed the ram, and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

¹⁹ and named the place Beth-el, although previously the city had been named Luz.

³⁰ Jacob would later call that place Peniel, because “I saw God face to face, but my life was spared.”

¹⁵ Moses built an altar and named it “The LORD is My Banner.”

³⁶ For the LORD will vindicate his people and bring comfort to his servants, because he will observe that their power has waned, when neither prisoner nor free person remain.

²⁴ So Gideon built an altar right there to the LORD and called it “The LORD is peace.” (To this very day it still stands in Ophrah, which belongs to the descendants of Abiezer.)

¹² Then Samuel took a stone, placed it between Mizpah and Shen and named it Ebenezer. He said, “The LORD has helped us this far.”

⁴ Our ancestors trusted in you; they trusted and you delivered them. ⁵ They cried out to you and escaped; they trusted in you and were not put to shame.

³⁵ A perimeter is to measure 18,000 units, and the name of the city from that time on is to be: ‘THE LORD IS THERE.’”

¹⁷ Your majesty, if it be his will, our God whom we serve can deliver us from the blazing fire furnace, and he will deliver us from you. ¹⁸ But if not, rest assured, your majesty, that we won’t serve your gods, and we won’t worship the golden statue that you have set up.”
¹⁹ The King Orders an ExecutionOut of control with rage, Nebuchadnezzar’s facial expression changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and he ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. ²⁰ Then he issued orders to his elite guard to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego with ropes and throw them into the blazing fire furnace. ²¹ So the elite guard tied them up fully clothed, still wearing their robes, tunics, and turbans, and threw them into the blazing fire furnace, ²² because the king’s command was so drastic. Since the furnace was blazing hot, its flames killed those who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the blazing fire. ²³ Bound firmly with ropes, these three men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the blazing fire furnace.
²⁴ The Fourth Man in the FurnaceAstonished, King Nebuchadnezzar stood up in terror, and asked his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men into the fire, bound firmly with ropes?”
In reply they told the king, “Yes, your majesty.”
²⁵ “Look!” he told them, “I see four men walking untied and unharmed in the middle of the fire, and the appearance of the fourth resembles a divine being.”

¹⁰ Be in pain! Be in labor, you daughter of Zion, like a woman about to give birth, because now you will depart from the city, living in the open fields. To Babylon you will go. There you will be delivered, there the LORD will rescue you from the power of your enemies.”

¹⁴ The Word Becomes HumanThe Word became flesh and lived among us. We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father’s unique Son, who is full of grace and truth.

⁸ How God Rescued PaulFor we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about the suffering we experienced in Asia. We were so crushed beyond our ability to endure that we even despaired of living.

¹⁶ By common confession, the secret of our godly worship is great: In flesh was he revealed to sight, kept righteous by the Spirit’s might, adored by angels singing. To nations was he manifest, believing souls found peace and rest, our Lord in heaven reigning!

² I’ll make a great nation of your descendants, I’ll bless you, and I’ll make your reputation great, so that you will be a blessing.

⁹ like the covenant he made with Abraham, and his promise to Isaac.

²³ Every Knee will BowBy myself I have sworn— from my mouth has gone out integrity, a promise that won’t be revoked: ‘To me every knee will bow, and every tongue will swear. ’

¹³ Indeed, I’ve sworn by myself,” declares the LORD, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror and scorn, a waste, and an object of ridicule. All her towns will become perpetual ruins.”

¹⁴ The LORD of the Heavenly Armies has sworn by himself: “I’ll surely fill you with soldiers like a swarm of locusts, and they’ll sing songs of victory over you.”

⁸ The LORD Swears an Oath“The Lord GOD has sworn by himself,” declares the LORD, the God of the Heavenly Armies, “I utterly detest the arrogance of Jacob; I hate his fortresses; and I will deliver up the city, along with everyone in it.

⁷³ the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham. He granted us

¹³ The Promise Comes through FaithFor the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the Law, but through the righteousness produced by faith. ¹⁴ For if those who were given the Law are the heirs, then faith is useless and the promise is worthless,

¹³ God’s Promise is ReliableFor when God made his promise to Abraham, he swore an oath by himself, since he had no one greater to swear by. ¹⁴ He said, “I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants.”

¹⁶ I’ll make your descendants as plentiful as the specks of dust of the earth, so that if one could count the specks of dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted.

⁵ Then the LORD took him outside. “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if you can!” he said. “Your descendants will be that numerous.”

⁶ I’m going to cause you to have many descendants, and I’ll bring nations from you. Kings will come from you.

⁶⁰ As they were leaving, they all blessed Rebekah by saying, “Our sister, may you become the mother of tens of millions! May your descendants take over the city gates of those who hate them.”

⁴ I’ll cause you to have as many descendants as the stars of the heavens, and I’ll certainly give all these lands to your descendants. Later on, through your descendants all the nations of the earth will bless one another.

²⁸ May the LORD grant you dew from the skies, and from the fertile land; may he grant you abundant grain and fresh wine. ²⁹ May people serve and bow before you; may you be master over your brothers; may your mother’s sons bow before you; may anyone who curses you be cursed; and may anyone who blesses you be blessed.”

³ May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful so that your descendants become a whole group of people.

¹⁴ Your descendants are going to become like the dust of the earth and spread out to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. ¹⁵ Now pay attention! I’m here with you, and I’m going to be watching over you wherever you go. I’m going to bring you back to this land, because I won’t ever leave you until I’ve accomplished what I’ve promised about you.”
¹⁶ Jacob Worships God in BethelThen Jacob woke up during the night and told himself, “Surely, the LORD is in this place and I never knew it!” ¹⁷ In mounting terror, he cried out, “How scary this place is! This is nothing less than God’s house and the gateway to heaven!” ¹⁸ When Jacob got up early the next morning, he took the stone that he had used for his pillow, set it up as a pillar, drenched it with oil, ¹⁹ and named the place Beth-el, although previously the city had been named Luz.
²⁰ Then he made this solemn vow: “If God remains with me, watches over me throughout this journey that I’m taking, gives me food to eat and clothes to wear, ²¹ and returns me safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God, ²² this stone that I’ve erected in the form of a pillar will be God’s house, and I’ll give you a tenth of everything that you give to me.”

¹² Now, you promised me that ‘I’m certainly going to cause things to go well with you, and I’m going to make your offspring as numerous as the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”

²⁵ by your father’s God who helps you, by the Almighty who will keep on blessing you with blessings from heaven above, with blessings from the deepest ocean, with blessing from the breasts and the womb. ²⁶ Your father’s blessings will prove to be stronger than blessings from the eternal mountains or bounties from the everlasting hills. May they come to rest on Joseph’s head, May they be set upon the brow of the one who was separated from his own brothers.”

¹⁷ I can see him, but not right now. I observe him, but from a distance. A star streams forth from Jacob; a scepter arises from Israel. He will crush Moab’s forehead, along with all of Seth’s descendants. ¹⁸ Edom will be a conquered nation and Seir will be Israel’s defeated foe, while Israel performs valiantly. ¹⁹ He will rule over Jacob, annihilating those who survive in the city.”

¹⁰ The LORD your God greatly multiplied your numbers, and today you are like the stars in the sky.

¹⁹ then his parents are to seize him and bring him before the elders at the gate of his city.

² Moreover, all these blessings will come upon you in abundance, if you obey the LORD your God:
³ “Blessed will you be in the city and blessed will you be in the country.
⁴ “Blessed will your children be, as well as the produce of your land, the offspring of your beasts and cattle, and the offspring of your flock.
⁵ “Blessed will be your grain basket and your kneading bowl.
⁶ “Blessed will you be in your comings and goings.”
⁷ “The LORD will make your enemies, who rise against you and attack from one direction, to flee from you in seven directions.
⁸ “The LORD will send blessings for you with regard to your barns and everything you undertake. Indeed, he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is about to give you.
⁹ “The LORD will assign you to be a holy people for himself, just as he promised you, as long as you keep his commands and walk in his ways.
¹⁰ “Then all the people of the earth will observe that the name of the LORD is proclaimed among you, and they will fear you.
¹¹ “The LORD will show his abundant goodness with respect to your children, the offspring of your animals, and the produce of your farmland that he promised your ancestors he would give you.
¹² “The LORD will open his rich treasury, the heavens, to release rain upon your land in season and bless everything you undertake so that you’ll lend to many nations but won’t borrow.
¹³ “The LORD your God will make you the head and not the tail—placing you above and not beneath—if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I’m giving you today to keep and observe.

¹ God’s Instructions to JoshuaAfter Moses, the servant of the LORD, had died, the LORD spoke to Nun’s son Joshua, announcing to him, ² “My servant Moses is dead. Now get ready to cross the Jordan River—you and all the people—to the land that I’m giving the Israelis. ³ I’m giving you every place where the sole of your foot falls, just as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your territorial border will extend from the wilderness to the Lebanon Mountains, to the river—that great River Euphrates—all the land of the Hittites—as far as the Mediterranean Sea where the sun sets. ⁵ No one will be victorious against you for the rest of your life. I’ll be with you just like I was with Moses—I’ll neither fail you nor abandon you.
⁶ “Be strong and courageous, because you’ll be leading this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. ⁷ Only be strong and very courageous to ensure that you obey all the instructions that my servant Moses gave you—turn neither to the right nor to the left from it—so that you may succeed wherever you go. ⁸ This set of instructions is not to cease being a part of your conversations. Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to carry out everything that’s written in it, for then you’ll prosper and succeed. ⁹ I’ve commanded you, haven’t I? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be fearful or discouraged, because the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
¹⁰ Joshua Gives Orders to His LeadersThen Joshua gave orders to the officials of the people.

¹ David’s Military Victories
Sometime later, David defeated and subdued the Philistines, taking Metheg-ammah away from the Philistines. ² David also conquered Moab, then measured them with a cord, making them lie down on the ground. He executed everyone measured out in each two lengths’ measurement of the cord, but spared the ones measured out by every third length. Then the Moabites were placed under servitude to David, and made to pay tribute.
³ David also attacked King Hadadezer, Rehob’s son from Zobah, when he was attempting to restore his hegemony over the Euphrates River. ⁴ David captured 1,000 of his chariots, 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. David hamstrung all the chariot horses except for enough to supply 100 chariots. ⁵ When Arameans came from Damascus to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed 22,000 of them. ⁶ David erected garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, placing the Arameans under servitude to him, and they paid tribute to him. ⁷ David also confiscated the gold shields that belonged to Hadadezer’s officers and took them to Jerusalem. ⁸ He also confiscated a vast quantity of bronze from Betah and Berothai, cities under Hadadezer’s control.
⁹ When King Tou of Hamath learned that David had conquered the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah, ¹⁰ Tou sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory over Hadadezer, because he had been at war with Tou. Joram brought articles of silver, gold, and bronze with him, ¹¹ and King David dedicated them to the LORD, along with the silver and gold that had been dedicated from all the nations that he had conquered, ¹² including from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and spoil from King Hadadezer, Rehob’s son from Zobah.
¹³ David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley. ¹⁴ He erected garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subservient to David, while the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.
¹⁵ David’s Leaders
David reigned over all of Israel, administering justice and equity to every one of his people. ¹⁶ Zeruiah’s son Joab served in charge of the army, Ahilud’s son Jehoshaphat was his personal archivist, ¹⁷ Ahitub’s son Zadok and Abiathar’s son Ahimelech were priests, Seraiah was his personal secretary, ¹⁸ Jehoida’s son Benaiah supervised the special forces and mercenaries, and David’s sons were priests.

¹ Subjugation of Ammon and Aram
Sometime later, the Ammonite king died and his son Hanun succeeded him as king, ² so David told himself, “I will be loyal to Nahash’s son Hanun, since in his loyalty his father showed gracious love to me.” So David sent a delegation to Hanun to console him about his loss of his father.
But when David’s delegation arrived in Ammonite territory, ³ the Ammonite officials asked their lord Hanun, “Do you think that because David has sent a delegation of consolers to you that he is honoring your father? His delegation has arrived intending to search, scout the land, and then overthrow it, hasn’t it?” ⁴ So Hanun arrested David’s delegation, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their clothes at the waist line, and sent them away in disgrace.
⁵ When David had been informed about the incident, he sent word to them, since the men had been deeply humiliated. The king told them, “Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return.”
⁶ When the Ammonites realized that they had created quite a stink with David, they hired 20,000 Aramean mercenaries from Beth-rehob and Zobah, along with the king of Maacah and 1,000 men, and 12,000 men from Tob. ⁷ In response, David sent out Joab and his entire army of elite soldiers. ⁸ The Ammonites went out in battle formation at the entrance to the city gate, while the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob, along with the army from Tob and Maacah, were out by themselves in the open fields.
⁹ When Joab observed that the battle lines were set up to oppose him both in front and behind, he appointed the best troops in Israel and arrayed them to oppose the Arameans, ¹⁰ putting the rest of his forces under the command of his brother Abishai, who arrayed them to oppose the Ammonites. ¹¹ He said, “If the Arameans prove too strong for me, then you are to help me. If the Ammonites prove too strong for you, then I will come help you. ¹² Be strong, be courageous on behalf of our people and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what he thinks is best.”
¹³ So Joab and the soldiers who were with him attacked the Arameans in battle formation, and the Arameans retreated in front of him. ¹⁴ When the Ammonites saw the Arameans retreating, they also retreated from Abishai back to the city. Then Joab broke off his attack against the Ammonites and went back to Jerusalem. ¹⁵ After the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped. ¹⁶ Hadadezer sent for the Arameans who lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they set out for Helam, with Shobach leading them as commander of Hadadezer’s army.
¹⁷ When David learned this, he mustered all of Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and approached Helam. The Arameans assembled in battle array to attack David, and started their assault. ¹⁸ But the Arameans retreated from Israel, and David’s forces killed 700 of their charioteers, 40,000 soldiers, and mortally wounded Shobach, the commander of their army. As a result, Shobach died there. ¹⁹ When all the kings who were allied with Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sought terms of peace with the Israelis and became subservient to them. Furthermore, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.

²⁶ Solomon’s Business Ventures
King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Reed Sea in the land of Edom.

⁸ Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your possession. ⁹ You will break them with an iron rod, you will shatter them like pottery.”

⁸ May he rule from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. ⁹ May the nomads bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust.

²² And you gave them this land which you had promised their ancestors that you would give them—a land flowing with milk and honey.

²² As the heavenly bodies cannot be counted, and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I’ll multiply the descendants of my servant David and the descendants of Levi who serve me.’”

⁴⁴ “During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor its sovereignty left in the hands of another people. It will shatter and crush all of these kingdoms, and it will stand forever. ⁴⁵ Now, just as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without human hands—and that it crushed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold to pieces—so also the great God has revealed to the king what will take place after this. Your dream will come true, and its meaning will prove trustworthy.”

⁹ For Samaria’s injury is fatal, reaching all the way to Judah, extending even to the gate of my people—to Jerusalem.”

⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel! He has taken care of his people and has set them free. ⁶⁹ He has raised up a mighty Savior for us from the family of his servant David, ⁷⁰ just as he promised long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets ⁷¹ that he would save us from our enemies and from the grip of all who hate us. ⁷² He has shown mercy to our ancestors and remembered his holy covenant, ⁷³ the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham. He granted us ⁷⁴ deliverance from our enemies’ grip so that we could serve him without fear ⁷⁵ and be holy and righteous before him all of our days.

⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus the Messiah!

³ The Many Blessings of SalvationBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah! He has blessed us in the Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm,

¹⁵ The Vision of the Seventh Angel Blowing His TrumpetWhen the seventh angel blew his trumpet, there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The world’s kingdom has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will rule forever and ever.”

³ I’ll bless those who bless you, but I’ll curse the one who curses you, and through you all the people of the earth will be blessed.”

¹⁸ “since Abraham’s descendants will become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him?

³ So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his male servants with him, along with his son Isaac. He cut the wood for the burnt offering and set out to go to the place about which God had spoken to him.

¹⁰ Then he stretched out his hand and grabbed the knife to slaughter his son.

⁴ I’ll cause you to have as many descendants as the stars of the heavens, and I’ll certainly give all these lands to your descendants. Later on, through your descendants all the nations of the earth will bless one another. ⁵ I’m going to do this because Abraham did what I told him to do. He kept my instructions, commands, statutes, and laws.”

³⁰ “Therefore, the LORD God of Israel has declared, ‘I did, in fact, say that your family and your ancestor’s family would walk before me forever,’ but now the LORD declares, ‘Far be it from me! The one who honors me I’ll honor, and the one who despises me is to be treated with contempt.

¹⁷ Praising the God of IsraelMay his fame be eternal— as long as the sun— may his name endure, and may they be blessed through him, and may all nations call him blessed.

²³ but I did give them this command: ‘Obey me and I’ll be your God, and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you so it will go well for you.’

²⁵ You are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the covenant that God made with your ancestors when he told Abraham, ‘Through your descendant all the families of the earth will be blessed.’

³ regarding his Son. He was a descendant of David with respect to his humanity

⁸ Because the Scripture saw ahead of time that God would justify the gentiles by faith, it announced the gospel to Abraham beforehand when it said, “Through you all nations will be blessed.” ⁹ Therefore, those who believe are blessed together with Abraham, the one who believed.

¹⁶ Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. It doesn’t say “descendants,” referring to many, but “your descendant,” referring to one person, who is the Messiah.

¹⁸ For if the inheritance comes about through the Law, it no longer comes about through the promise. But it was through a promise that God so graciously gave it to Abraham.

²⁸ Because all of you are one in the Messiah Jesus, a person is no longer a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a male or a female. ²⁹ And if you belong to the Messiah, then you are Abraham’s descendants indeed, and heirs according to the promise.

¹ The Meaning of FaithNow faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exists. ² By faith our ancestors won approval.
³ By faith we understand that time was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are invisible.
⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did, and by faith he was declared to be righteous, since God himself accepted his offerings. And by faith he continues to speak, even though he is dead.
⁵ By faith Enoch was taken away without experiencing death. He could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he won approval as one who pleased God. ⁶ Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.
⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, reverently prepared an ark to save his family, and by faith he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith.
⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who also inherited the same promise, ¹⁰ because he was waiting for the city with permanent foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
¹¹ By faith Sarah, even though she was old and barren, received the strength to conceive, because she was convinced that the one who had made the promise was faithful. ¹² Abraham was as good as dead, yet from this one man came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
¹³ All these people died having faith. They did not receive the things that were promised, yet they saw them in the distant future and welcomed them, acknowledging that they were strangers and foreigners on earth. ¹⁴ For people who say such things make it clear that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking about what they had left behind, they would have had an opportunity to go back. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country, that is, a heavenly one. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared a city for them.
¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac—he who had received the promises was about to offer his unique son in sacrifice, ¹⁸ about whom it had been said, “It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you.” ¹⁹ Abraham was certain that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did get Isaac back in this way.
²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons “and worshipped while leaning on the top of his staff.”
²² By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelis and gave them instructions about burying his bones.
²³ By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after he was born, because they saw that he was a beautiful child and were not afraid of the king’s order.
²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵ because he preferred being mistreated with God’s people to enjoying the pleasures of sin for a short time. ²⁶ He thought that being insulted for the sake of the Messiah was of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, without being afraid of the king’s anger, and he persevered because he saw the one who is invisible.
²⁸ By faith he established the Passover and the sprinkling of blood to keep the destroyer of the firstborn from touching the people.
²⁹ By faith they went through the Red Sea as if it were dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do this, they were drowned.
³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
³¹ By faith Rahab the prostitute did not die with those who were disobedient, because she had welcomed the spies with a greeting of peace.
³² And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. ³³ Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, received promises, shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ put out raging fires, escaped death by the sword, found strength in weakness, became powerful in battle, and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received their dead raised back to life. Other people were brutally tortured, but refused to be ransomed, so that they might gain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Still others endured taunts and floggings, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned to death, sawed in half, and killed with swords. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins. They were needy, oppressed, and mistreated. ³⁸ The world wasn’t worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and from caves to holes in the ground.
³⁹ All these people won approval for their faith but they did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us, so that they would not be perfected without us.

³¹ Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba, because the two of them swore an oath.

²⁸ Hazar-shual, Beer-sheba, Biziothiah,

¹ The Israelis Attack the Tribe of BenjaminThen the entire Israeli nation—from Dan to Beer-sheba, including the territory of Gilead—came out for war. The army assembled as one united force to God at Mizpah.

²⁶ When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

²⁹ Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran, who was the father of Milcah and Iscah.

¹⁰ The Servant Encounters RebekahThen Abraham’s servant took ten camels from his master’s herd of camels and left on his journey with all kinds of gifts from his master’s inventory. Eventually, he traveled as far as Aram-naharaim, Nahor’s home town.

¹⁵ Before he had finished speaking, Rebekah appeared. She was a daughter of Milcah’s son Bethuel. (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.) She approached the well, carrying a jug on her shoulder.

²⁴ “I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she answered. “He’s the son of Milcah and Nahor.

⁵³ May Abraham’s God and Nahor’s god judge between us.”
So Jacob made an oath by his father’s Fear,

²⁵ Cold water to someone who is thirsty— that’s what good news from a distant land is.

⁷ Balaam’s First ProphecyThen Balaam uttered this prophetic statement: “King Balak of Moab brought me from Aram, from the eastern mountains, and told me, ‘Come and curse Jacob for me. Come and curse Israel.’

¹ Job’s FaithfulnessThere once was a man in the land of Uz named Job. The man was blameless as well as upright. He feared God and kept away from evil.

² But then Barachel’s son Elihu from Buz, one of Ram’s descendants, got really angry. He was furious with Job because he had been declaring himself righteous instead of vindicating God.

¹ To the Director: A special Davidic psalm to the tune of “Lily of The Covenant,” for teaching about his battle with Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, when Joab returned and attacked 12,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley.
A Prayer for God’s Help against Adversaries God, you have cast us off; you have breached our defenses and you have become enraged. Return to us! ² You made the earth quake; you broke it open. Repair its fractures, because it has shifted. ³ You made your people go through hard times; you had us drink wine that makes us stagger. ⁴ But you have given a banner to those who fear you, so they may display it in honor of truth. Interlude ⁵ So your loved ones may be delivered, save us by your power and answer us quickly! ⁶ Then God spoke in his holiness, “I will rejoice— I will divide Shechem; I will portion out the Succoth Valley. ⁷ Gilead belongs to me, and Manasseh is mine. Ephraim is my helmet, and Judah my scepter. ⁸ Moab is my wash basin; over Edom I will throw my shoes; over Philistia I will celebrate my triumph.” ⁹ Who will lead me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? ¹⁰ Aren’t you the one, God, who has cast us off? Didn’t you refuse, God, to accompany our armies? ¹¹ Help us in our distress, for human help is worthless. ¹² Through God we will fight valiantly; and it is he who will crush our enemies.

⁴⁷ “That’s when I asked, ‘Whose daughter are you?’
“She replied, ‘I’m the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore for him.’
“So I gave her a ring for her nose and bracelets for her wrists.

⁵¹ So here’s Rebekah—she’s right in front of you. Take her and go, so she can become a wife for your master’s son, just as the LORD has decreed.”

⁶⁷ Later, Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent that had belonged to his mother Sarah and married her. Isaac loved her, and that’s how he was comforted following the loss of his mother.

²⁰ Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean from Paddan-aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.

² Instead, get up, travel to Paddan-aram, and visit the household of Bethuel, your mother’s father. Marry one of Laban’s daughters, since he’s your mother’s brother.

⁵ So Isaac sent Jacob off toward Paddan-aram to visit Bethuel’s son Laban, the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

¹⁰ Not only that, but Rebecca became pregnant by our ancestor Isaac.

³ so Abram’s wife Sarai took her Egyptian servant, Hagar, and gave her as a wife to her husband Abram. This took place ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.

⁶ While he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to his concubines and sent them to the east country in order to keep them away from his son Isaac.

²⁵ The house of the proud the LORD will demolish, but he will protect the widow’s boundary line.